{"id":165899,"date":"2022-10-26T10:55:52","date_gmt":"2022-10-26T02:55:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/facfox.com\/docs\/?post_type=kb&p=165899"},"modified":"2022-11-22T16:31:41","modified_gmt":"2022-11-22T08:31:41","slug":"how-to-prevent-jamming-in-all-metal-hot-ends","status":"publish","type":"kb","link":"https:\/\/facfox.com\/docs\/kb\/how-to-prevent-jamming-in-all-metal-hot-ends","title":{"rendered":"How to Prevent Jamming in All-Metal Hot Ends"},"content":{"rendered":"
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All-metal hot ends are incredibly popular and versatile, but they’re often prone to jamming. Read on to keep your hot ends running smoothly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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All-metal hot ends<\/a>\u00a0are incredibly popular for\u00a0FDM<\/a>\u00a03D printers. By eliminating\u00a0PTFE<\/a>\u00a0(Teflon) in heated areas of their assemblies, they\u2019re capable of reaching much higher temperatures and have increased versatility compared to standard PTFE hot ends. Certain high-temperature materials common in 3D printing, such as\u00a0polycarbonate<\/a>, can only be printed with all-metal hot ends. For this reason, they\u2019re both common as stock printer parts and also sold as an independent upgrade, such as the\u00a0E3D V6 and the Mosquito hot end<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With this expanded temperature range, however, also comes a proclivity for jamming. It\u2019s especially true when printing low-temperature materials like PLA, which happens to be one of the most frequently used materials in 3D printing. Needless to say, such malfunctions are less than desirable.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, there are a number of ways to prevent these filament jams.\u00a0 We already have\u00a0a dedicated guide for fixing general filament jams<\/a>, but all-metal hot ends come with their own specific set of solutions.<\/p>\n

Here, we\u2019re going to give you five quick tips to keep your all-metal hot ends working like a dream. We\u2019ll also indicate whether this jam is specific to all-metal hot ends or if it applies to other types of hot ends because in some cases, the metal material can exacerbate the situation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Tip #1: Cool Your Heatsink Properly<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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Heat creep (left) vs. normal operation (right) (Source: Polymaker)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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All-metal hot ends feature heatsinks that comprise the cold side of their assemblies. This provides a cold surface with which you can safely attach the hot end to your 3D printer.<\/p>\n

When a heatsink is improperly cooled, heat from the heated areas can travel up, in a phenomenon known as \u201cheat creep\u201d (pictured above). This causes filament in the heatsink to soften and become tacky. The filament then conforms and sticks to the walls of the heatsink, causing a jam.<\/p>\n

Testing for this issue is very simple: Feel the heatsink and check if it\u2019s distinctly warm. If it is, you\u2019ll want to improve your heatsink\u2019s cooling by getting a stronger heatsink cooling fan or a better fan duct to direct the air.<\/p>\n