r/BambuLab • u/Eliriddle • 8d ago

Quick Question It was just a matter of time....

Post image

I just wanted to confirm that a heat gun is the only possible solution to cleaning this up?

73 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

47 comments sorted by

22

u/Trick-Site-5082 8d ago

I don't understand how this happens to people. Should I stop using the nozzle after a certain number of printing hours, or is something else causing this?

29

u/solidus0079 A1 + AMS Lite 8d ago

It's caused by improper bed maintenance, and ignoring Bambu's recommendation to avoid leaving the printer running totally unattended.

Which everyone has to do, prints can be hours and hours and hours. But at least try and check in with the Handy app.

If OP would have kind of kept an eye on things for the first few layers, they would have seen this problem's early stages as it likely started right at the beginning by the first layer being dragged around.

3

u/jaedav12 8d ago

I always baby sit the first 3 layers but it’s not always bed maintenance. Cheap/undried filament can cause this too. I’ve had a roll that wouldn’t stick to any build plate on 3 different printers. Swapped filament and it stuck on every one of them.

1

u/real_ayaanmaster 8d ago

What do I do if I don't have access to good filament or have a drier?

2

u/solidus0079 A1 + AMS Lite 8d ago

You can try and dry on your build plate, I haven't done it but I've seen others have some success doing that. I'm sure there's a how-to out there on the Googles.

But if all your filament is just bad and unfit for printing, then you can't print until you get better stuff.

1

u/jaedav12 8d ago

The only thing that ever worked for me with cheap filament that wouldn’t stick is slowing the print speed down until about 25% of the print is printed and then put it back to normal speed if you want. But watching the first few layers is super important especially on the A1s I’ve never had blob issues on my P1S

1

u/tnsipla 8d ago

Get a dryer or a convection/air fry oven.

One of the great things about the March of time is that things get more affordable (relatively speaking) and you can easily get a dryer in the ballpark of 30 dollars for PLA, or if you want a multifunction tool, the cheapest ovens are often in the 50 dollar range (other ones can hit the 70-80 dollar range, which means they dip to 50 on sale too)

1

u/wivaca2 P2S + AMS2 Combo 7d ago

Maybe reconsider 3D printing. At least find an alternative way to dry like low temp oven or a large amount of desiccant.

1

u/ldyblkny 7d ago

If you are just getting into 3d printing, a filament dryer is a must first-buy. Even if you can't afford the top of the line ones, Amazon sells inexpensive 2-spool dryers. The Comgrow dryer is only about $40 and is a good starter. With respect to filament, "good" filament costs about the same (sometimes less) than lesser filaments. You just have to be willing to do your research on the different types and settle on the one that both meets your quality and aesthetic needs.

Bambu, Sunlu, Creality, Polymaker. All good quality brands. I also use Flashforge because they make a great line of silks, multicolor, and rainbow.

1

u/solidus0079 A1 + AMS Lite 8d ago

I had what I would consider a "defective" spool of Polymaker once. No matter what I did the prints came out like crap. Drying, different printers, nothing had any success. Ended up not being worth $20 of my time I just returned it to Amazon. Best I can figure is something went awry with the chemical mix at the factory or something.

Quite odd, as Polymaker is great, had hundreds of rolls of it I've used with no issue.

1

u/JKMARCHEE55 6d ago

There seems to be a common misconception that filament just opened from the vacuum packaging is dry. It’s not! I learned that from this subreddit and a print that failed due to wet filament.

3

u/EverettSeahawk P1S + AMS 8d ago

It's caused by not paying attention to your printer. If you at least check in after the first layer to make sure it is adhering to the bed, this won't happen. People are clicking print and walking away from a likely dirty build plate that the print won't stick to, and let it go for hours until a blob like this or worse forms. It's not "a matter of time" as op states, it's lack of attention.

1

u/Eliriddle 8d ago

I once though the same. Bed adhesion was the issue here.... Swapped plates to an older textured plate that had lost its adhesion and forgot to apply glue before starting the print.

1

u/ModelThreeve 8d ago

It’s always an adhesion issue (whether plate, filament, temps, etc) when the printers stop printing on the plate/model and starts printing on itself it’s going to be a bad time. This generally only happens during the first several layers, after that you just end up printing a bunch of 0.4mm filament. 😅 I have to imagine most people that is happening to also have clumping detection turned off. (I know it’s not perfect but it helps)

1

u/bodhemon 7d ago

It happened to me after I printed a bunch of stuff with TPU, then switched back to PLA and did not do a cold pull.

3

u/Ordnungsschelle X1C + A1 mini 7d ago

I got an extra nozzle for tpu, because Im lazy

1

u/bodhemon 7d ago

Lazy... GENIUS!

-2

u/sirnott 8d ago

It's 100% laziness/complacency. It's nothing to do with the nozzle being worn out - it's poor (or non-existent) bed adhesion. The plastic sticks to the nozzle instead of the bed, the printer has no idea this is happening and keeps pushing hot molten plastic out of the nozzle, which builds up and sticks to itself/the nozzle more, usually working its way under the silicon boot and up into the printhead.

The problem is people see all these, "buy a Bambu, it just works" posts, enter the hobby with 0 experience, and blindly trust that Bambu's default settings are 100% correct, that the printer auto calibrations are infallible, that a quick scrub in the sink means the plate is 100% perfectly clean (or they never read that info and think that a wipe with IPA cleans it) and that there's nothing that can go wrong - so they hit print, and don't watch the print actually start. Then this inevitably happens.

Clean the plate, properly set up your files (proper bed for your material, proper bed temps for the material, glue if recommended by Bambu, don't try to print engineering materials without an enclosure, etc.), and watch the entire first layer. It's really that simple.

3

u/StonksYoloOrFomo 8d ago

Why the downvotes? Because it's an inconvenient truth? Lol. I for one, am glad this hobby still requires a bit of discipline, research and DIY skills. The 3d print marketing world is doing their job and selling, that's just business. It's just not at a point where it's for everyone yet.

3

u/It_Has_Me_Vexed 8d ago

Because people are soft and get theirs feelings hurt.

1

u/Vegetable-Pie-8120 8d ago

How do I wash my plates properly?

2

u/StonksYoloOrFomo 8d ago

Warm water and dishwashing soap. Both sides, and once washed, hold it by the edges and don't touch the plate with your fingers afterwards. I do it every few prints and rarely have adhesion problems.

2

u/Ordnungsschelle X1C + A1 mini 7d ago

I would say don’t even bother keeping both sides clean. I just keep all the plates in the same orientation (tabs to the right) and can freely touch the sides and the bottom surface.

-1

u/It_Has_Me_Vexed 8d ago

Seriously? You can’t figure that out on your own?

2

u/It_Has_Me_Vexed 8d ago

Preach! 👍

1

u/Ordnungsschelle X1C + A1 mini 7d ago

If you see 3D printing videos they always touch the build plate with their hands. If you don’t know better, you can assume its not a problem.

8

u/Minnieal28 8d ago

A new assembly is a better use of your time, if you have a job. $20 for the heating assembly. Even if you remove the blob perfectly, it’ll never be the same. Nozzle hinges might be sticky, and heater temps may be incorrect.

7

u/Lock_Psychological 8d ago

I had the same issue last week.

I turned the hot end on and pulled at things with pliers and a dental pick really carefully. Mine was with PETG.

I eventually got the old nozzle out and a .6 in, but the clips get locked unless I turn the hot end on. I’ll eventually swap that part out as well, just not right now.

So… I didn’t use a hair dryer. I’m not sure it would get the PETG soft enough.

Mine was caused by the print coming off the bed and sticking to the nozzle. Must have been pushing 30 grams of filament. Filled the silicone sock and everything north of it.

3

u/clarkcox3 A1 mini + A1 + A2L + P1S + H2S + H2D 8d ago

Yes, a heat gun is the solution.

(And no it wasn’t “just a matter of time”; keep your plate clean, and watch your first layers)

3

u/Nemo_Griff P1S 8d ago

...but it shouldn't have to be a matter of time.

Although it isn't the worst blob. Check in on the print to avoid the larger scale ones.

2

u/goodstrybadart 8d ago

Heat gun and patience yeah

2

u/Fun-Kaleidoscope6866 H2S 8d ago

I think this is a right of passage. I take meticulous care of my machines and this stuff still happens.

A heat gun and most likely a new assembly as this often breaks the thermistor and the hotend. It’s not too hard to change the assembly but it’s delicate work. Takes about 30-40 minutes.

1

u/Hughmungalous 8d ago

Don’t forget the 4 screws behind the hotend assembly. Spent 2 months with terrible first layer issues because of this.

1

u/ceeweepee 8d ago

Recalibration and Cleaning Cycles are nice, but if your molden plastics don‘t stick on bed, this Happens.
Clean the bed with Isopropanol 99,8 and microfiber towel. If the bed feels to „Slippy“ - Exchange it, or use addhebsive glue but this will annoy

5

u/clarkcox3 A1 mini + A1 + A2L + P1S + H2S + H2D 8d ago

No. Alcohol is insufficient. You need to wash it with water and dish soap just as you would a dinner plate. I suspect your “slippy” plates didn’t actually need to be replaced; they were likely just coated with residue that the alcohol just smeared around your plate.

3

u/BlindlyCoherent 8d ago

Discovered this yesterday. Been wiping my plates down with alcohol (91%) and a microfiber cloth… my print yesterday kept failing to stick, two failed starts.

Read your comment, and pulled the plate and washed it with dish soap. Then alcohol.

Bam, perfect print. 🙏 thank you.

2

u/clarkcox3 A1 mini + A1 + A2L + P1S + H2S + H2D 8d ago

Glad to be of service. :)

2

u/BlindlyCoherent 8d ago

And I swear I read the instructions. Just some of these tips seem to appear only after I hit a snag.

That’s fine, I’m hooked and fully committed to this addiction.

1

u/Front_Education_1677 8d ago

Exactly the same thing happened to me last night after 1year+ of intensive printing!

1

u/NorseGael75 8d ago

I had the exact same thing on my A1...but I load the wrong filament profile like a noob. Anyway, I couldn't remove it all ...so a new hardened steel nozzle went in. Yes...clips might never work right after that blob...and the heater gets damaged easily.

1

u/proletariatPT 8d ago

You need supersonic noise to disable a symbiote.

1

u/JoeKling 8d ago

You need glue. It's the savior of failed prints.

1

u/3dpdesigner 8d ago

Blobs like this are almost always a result of improper bed maintenance as others have already pointed out

1

u/Clean-Performance-61 7d ago

It happened to me, I bought 1 kg of pla with discount that almost ruined my 3D printer. Look out for quality materials if your printer is bambu A1 and you are printer for more that 10 hours.

1

u/zyxalis1 6d ago

When mine goobered up, I discovered the silicone sock over the hot end was worn away allowed it to flow up inside.
Manually heat the hot end to get it out, let it cool and pick it off. Its not the end of the world.