Stringing/Oozing Problem
I am using an Ender 3 Pro v2, and I have followed multiple guides (they all say the same things) for setting up a print to prevent stringing. I’ve also switched between two filaments (Creality and Amolen) and the stringing doesn’t change at all. I have noticed that when heating up the horned, the filament just oozes out like ectoplasm even before the print starts.
I have never had this problem before, and could use some human advice.
I have upgraded/replaced the following parts in the past:
- Bowden Tubes
- Printer Nozzles
- Dual Gear Extruder
- Heater Block
- Heater Cartridge
- Thermistor Temp Sensor
You successfully printed the Combine checkpoint from Half Life 2, failing to see the problem here
I just got finished fixing some weird oozing problems. All the settings I tweaked, the best I could get still had stringing and blobbing at the end of every layer.
Turned out my hotend had fragments of bowden tube clogging it. I don’t know how, but assume I had the heat cranked too high at some point. There’s no real cleaning that out, and I ended up replacing the entire hotend.
I also had a clog or damage or something causing heavy resistance in the pull-tube going from my spool to the extruder. Replaced that too and everything is printing beautifully again.
Stringing like that coming out of nowhere happened to me when a got a batch of filament that wasn't properly dried. It was so wet I could hear the water boiling off as small pops when it flowed out the nozzle. I went through all the calibration stuff but nothing helped until i dried out my filament.
I just ordered a filament dryer. If that doesn’t work, I’m going Office Space on that b¡tch.
Make sure your filament is dry.. It can make a big difference for stringing.
Since my oven can only go as low as 75°C, I ordered a filament dryer. 😠
Stupid oven.Anytime I take a spool off the printer I put it back in the filament dryer. Once it's done it goes in a sealed bag with dessicant. This keeps the filament dry and prevents stringing.
Also don't use your food oven for plastic anyway.
Would a plain old ziplock bag with the air vacuumed out be sufficient?
😅 um.. 😅 🥺
Yes that's what I use. Any 1 gallon Ziploc or other brand is fine.
I mean if you have a heated bed that works.
Do you hear pops when the filament flows out of the nozzle?
Pops? I hear the gear slipping sometimes.
@dohpaz42
this also can be the problem, when it doesnt push or retract as required, melted plastic will simply ooze... see if you can clean the gear, it wont hurt your printer anyway
EDIT : + retract speed and length fine tuning
@bblkargonaut
What temperature range is the filament rated for, and at what temperature are you printing at?
Oozing is a fact of life. But it's a lot less of a problem at lower temperatures. Also how old is the filament? Has it been sitting out absorbing humidity? Wet filament will drool a lot too.
Filament oozing at the start is normal, that's how you know it's up to temperature. The start of your g-code should have a wipe at the edge of the build plate before starting the first layer to deal with the initial oozing.
What variable was being modified in the stringing test print in the image? Personally I would just keep doing those stringing test towers and modify a different retraction variable with the z-axis each time. You could also modify temperature to see if perhaps the filament is not sufficiently fluid at 185C.
For reference, on my Ender 3 Pro I use 8mm retraction distance at 80mm/s.