Transcript
Hello everybody and welcome to another video tutorial. Today we’ll be addressing the question that some of you had in the past as to how to change the nozzle on the CR10 V3 since the housing is very tight and difficult to disassemble. Well the good news is that you can do this pretty much as easily as any other machine if you know what to look out for in the process. As always, I am in no way responsible for any damages that may occur so do this at you’re own risk.
Before we even begin removing the existing nozzle we first need to clean out the hot end and there’s a very simply method that I prefer to use for this. The main method I use now days is commonly known as a “Cold pull”. Not only is this great for cleaning out your nozzle if it’s jamming, but it’s also great for clearing out the passageway when doing a nozzle change.
Although I do prefer to use some TPU while doing this, PLA will also work, but you’ll just have to be careful not to snap it in the process. To start things off, if you don’t have any filament already loading into your machine you’ll need to preheat the nozzle by going to “Prepare” + “Preheat PLA” and “Preheat PLA End”. Both PLA and TPU will both use the same temperature settings in this case. Now with TPU you have the option of tying the end into a knot which will make it easier to remove later on, so we’ll cut a piece off that’ll be long enough to feed through and feed it into the hot end. Just make sure that it’s a little longer so that it extrudes slightly. Remove the part that extruded from the hot end and begin cooling down the machine by going to “Prepare” + “Cooldown”. The hot end should be at its normal room temperature before continuing to the next step. Once it’s Cooldown completely you’ll restart the heating process while tugging on the filament at the same time. As the hot end heats up any residue will be dislodged when the filament is pulled out at a low temperature. As you can see I did this process with both TPU and PLA with the same results. Once again just make sure not to snap the filament while doing this step.
For the following steps here’s what I recommend you pick up for the nozzle change. While some of these are optional most are highly recommended. A ratchet with extender and bits, needle nose vice grips, magnetic tray, pipe joint tape and your replacement nozzle.
With the nozzle cleaned up we can now begin swapping the end so to do this will need some needle nose vice grips. Normally for most machines you don’t need this specific tool however because of how close the hot end assembly is to the components and the difficulty which can be experience in removing the outer shell I do highly recommend you pick this up. A small ratcheting socket set is also helpful however there are more specialized tools out there, so this one isn’t as necessary. You’ll want to take a close look underneath to check where the wiring is mainly located since the last thing we want to do is damage the thermistor or heater cartridge. To do this we’ll raise the hot end assembly up the Z axis by going through the menu system. Go to “Prepare” + “Move Axis” + “Move Z” and we’ll set the number high enough to easily access the hot end with our tools. As an extra precaution I would also recommend putting something on the glass bed just in case you drop a tool on the surface.
Anything after this point should be done with a minimum of one glove on your hand to keep from burning yourself. With your vice grips you’ll lock this onto the heater block while making sure to avoid any of the delicate wiring that’s on the inside. Luckily the design of the hot end assembly automatically places these components into an area where they’re less likely to get damaged. Here’s a picture of how this looks under my machine but double check just in case before clamping the vice grips in place. The nice thing about using a ratchet which has an extender on it is that the extender helps to defuse the heat far easier and prevents burning. So you’ll unscrew the nozzle carefully and remove it from the hot end assembly.
Before we begin putting on the replacement, we first want to add some pipe joint tape since this’ll help produce a greater seal within the threads and prevent material from oozing out. I personally prefer using the version which is thicker since it requires less wrapping, but that’ll depend on your preferences. This material can be found at any local hardware store or online depending on what’s more convenient. A very important note is to make sure that the hole isn’t in any way covered or that you get this material inside. This can cause some very bad nozzle jams so take care of this step. If it’s covered, simply use your tweezers to punch a small hole and roll the material around the edge of the thread. Now we simply screw back in the nozzle making sure to have it just tight enough to hold into place. Just as you’re getting close to finish tightening the hot end, you’ll hold onto the vice grips and tighten the hot end followed by slightly turning the vice grips to allow for a greater seal. DO NOT under any circumstances do not overtighten the nozzle since it can snap in the heater block. Simply remove the vice grips, and you’re ready to go.
Also, for those of you who actually want to use this video as guide keep in mind that I will be posting the transcript on my main website to make it easier to follow along. Alternatively please feel free to slow down the video by hitting the gear icon on the bottom right-hand corner of your screen and to change the speed settings.
