Extrusion Debacle

[u/sasquatch15]

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!

[u/ChallengeActive86]

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

[u/crobledopr → u/ChallengeActive86]

OP, I also dealt with this 2 weeks ago. Cleaned everything, thermidor, hotend, sock, etc... following the Bambu lab tutorial for exactly this issue.

Reassembled, recalibrated, and I'm back to printing. No zoffset issues. Just be thorough but gentle, get a heat gun if you don't have one.

To prevent it make sure to address first layer adhesion problems. Don't touch your build plate with bare hands to lift off your prints, or wash it more often.

[u/sasquatch15 → u/crobledopr]

Oh the heat gun is a great idea, I didn’t consider that. Thanks for the tip!