When it comes to a 3D printer’s extruder, it is inevitable, that at some point you will experience the unspeakable event of having your extruder nozzle clog or gum up. There are many methods of trying to clear the clogs, and remove the gummed up material from a 3D printers extruder, however, very few methods really work all that well.
One of the more reliable methods of clearing gunk from your nozzle, is using nylon filament, which is extruded at 200C, and then reduced to 135C to allow it to harden and soak up all the gunk in the extruder. However, even this is not a fool proof method.
Esun, a China based company which was founded back in 2002, has come up with a specialized filament, which has one purpose; to clean that clogged or gummed up 3D printer extruder. Just announced last week, this new filament is said to “directly remove residual material inside the printer”, and it can be “applied to the switching transition between two materials, to prevent degradation of low temperature material and residual plug of high temperature material”.
The filament may be used for regular mantenance of the 3D printer’s extruder, according to the company. The product ships in rods, rather than spools, like those of traditional 3D printing filaments. It has excellent heat stability, and can be used with your extruder set between 150C – 260C.
While Esun doesn’t say what the material is made up of. There is a good chance that it is a nylon-like material. You can purchase this cleaning filament via the Esun website. It comes in packages of 100 rods, that are 150mm long, and are made for 3D printers that use 1.75mm filament. Pricing details will be provided upon contacting the company, depending on the amount ordered.
What do you think? Is this cleaning filament something you would consider purchasing? Have you had bad clogs in the past? Discuss in the Esun Cleaning Filament thread on 3DPB.com
