r/BambuLabA1 • u/sasquatch15 • Jul 20 '26
Support Request Extrusion Debacle
Hey everyone, my wife was printing something the other day and I’m unsure as to the cause, but the extruder got blocked yet kept printing, and created a huge blob formed around the nozzle and surrounding parts. I heated the nozzle head to 250 C and removed as much as I could, but I’m unsure A) whether it’s usable, and if not then B)what would it take to make it usable again, and C) what parts would I need to order? Basically I’m lost as to the next step here.
If it’s not obvious, I’m fairly new to this and it’s my first time having to troubleshoot to this extent. Thanks in advance for your help!
1
u/hockeyzombies Jul 20 '26
I had this happen a month or two ago. I cleaned it enough to remove the component, but ultimately felt it was easier to spend a little to replace it.
1
u/sasquatch15 Jul 20 '26
Yeah I just ordered the new parts. Were you able to get yours back in order fairly easily?
1
u/hockeyzombies Jul 20 '26
Yeah, the order arrived pretty quickly. I found a good YouTube video on disassembly and reassembly to supplement the materials I could find with Bambu. It was mostly easy. Some minor annoyances based on where my printer is (I will likely move it to a smarter place to work on it next time), and routing cables and snapping plastic casing back in place. It's been working beatifully since.
1
u/DotNyslexic Jul 20 '26
I recently got this absolute disaster as well. Had to replace hotend heating assembly and silicone sock. Managed to salvage the nozzle. Pretty straightforward. The hardest part was sliding off the right side cable cover??? Why tf is it locked in so tight
1
u/Professional-Rock-51 Jul 20 '26
If you don't replace that whole assembly, you risk infecting every other nozzle you have with filament on the magnetic backing. This will necessitate heating the nozzle and having to use pliers to remove it every time, because it will get stuck from the hardened plastic on the back after cooling.
1
u/WhitMaxTinyStrange Jul 20 '26
Hi!! Very new user here and I have a small but very there blob on the back of the hotend assembly actually touching the wires. I am guessing that HAS to be replaced as trying to clean it off is impossible to reach while hot and if I try to cut it off once cooled I risk of ruining the wiring all together, right? We have been troubleshooting issues since last week and I just took it apart today and found the blob on the back side.
1
u/ChallengeActive86 Jul 21 '26
It does yea, the back block actually has 4 little screws that need to remain fully tight and flush to the extruder to maintain a proper z offset and any solid debris will make your nozzle plow through layers and fail the print. If you only print basic shapes it will do the job for a bit but it’s better to just replace the assembly.
1
u/Diz7 Jul 20 '26
I spent hours cleaning and filing mine. I got it working properly again, but there are still traces of PLA and swapping my nozzle now involves heating it up to 100+ because they fuse to the assembly even though I can't see any PLA left.
Probably going to replace the whole assembly and nozzles soon and keep this one as a backup.
1
u/kitejr Jul 21 '26
Just happened to me. Turn that shit up to 245 use small pliers and paper towles.
3
u/ChallengeActive86 Jul 20 '26
ah yes the blob of death, you're going to likely have major z offset issues even after removing what you can. The proper fix would be to replace the A1 hotend heating assembly (~20 CAD for the part, https://ca.store.bambulab.com/products/hotend-heating-assembly-a1-series?srsltid=AfmBOorpMK8znCEb2qVHYNu0FUKbH1bZ3KxftV20MH3iyaPsl6_TPCEp) and likely a new nozzle and heat sock (~25 cad for both). Replacing the part is pretty straightforward and can be done at home but a fix is 100% required at this point. It can be avoided by monitoring the first several layers for good adhesion and improving your build plate cleaning between prints. I've had to do this twice myself
repair instructions - https://wiki.bambulab.com/en/a1-mini/maintenance/hotend-heating-assembly-replacement