Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Cleaning ABS from a RepRap (or MB Cupcake) Nozzle & Barrel



Yet another in my series of how to do things in RepRap.  BTW I know that :

-ABS let's off some strong fumes when burnt (I have the windows open, and fan on high)
-ABS when burnt let's off black soot (I know, I had to dust the house after my wife tried to kill me)
-My had was under the drop zone for the plastic about 1/2 the time


Ohh and I let myself run low on alcohol, a 3 foot tall fireball is what ended the video (and a section of my eyebrows).  This will not happen if you don't let the alcohol get as low as I did (about 1cm).
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4 comments:

  1. LJJanuary 18, 2011 at 9:44 AM

    when you use the torch to take the nozzle off, I find it helps to use two m6 nuts jammed together to hold with pliers so I don't have to worry about messing up the threads. also helps me just throw on an adjustable wrench so it's easier to take the nozzle off using two wrenches instead of working with the two pliers.

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  2. John GilmoreJanuary 18, 2011 at 12:16 PM

    In the video you indicated that you where using the alcohol to cool the brass, preventing it from getting soft.

    If that's all it's for, wouldn't it also work to use (the much safer) water?

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  3. UnknownJanuary 18, 2011 at 12:35 PM

    The alcohol is also to help break down the oil. ABS when burnt leaves an oily soot.

    The water tends to smear the soot. Also unless you have very pure water, as it evaporates it leaves minerals. Alcohol leaves no residue when burnt.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Xaq RothmanJanuary 18, 2011 at 2:44 PM

    I've used acetone + paper towels/pipe cleaners to clean out my nozzle and it works like a charm, no combustion necessary.

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