Sovol SV01 printed great, until it didn't

[Delcie70]

Well, it looks like I was able to solve the hot end leaking problem on my Sovol SV01.

I took the hot end assembly apart earlier today and found the heater block covered with plastic. When I removed the nozzle, to clean the inside of the heater block, I discovered that the nozzle was loose. I knew that I had tightened the nozzle the last time I took everything apart. However, I remembered that I has tightened it while cold and with plastic stuck to the threads. So, it appears that when the hot end heated up to operating temp. the plastic on the threads melted and then caused part of the leakage. However, I still had melted plastic on the sides and top of the heater block. I think I solved that problem by replacing the white Teflon tubing with a piece of Capricom tubing which I cut about 1.5mm longer than the Teflon tubing. Now, when the nozzle is screwed in tightly, it kind of squishes the Capricom Tubing inside the hot end, therefore creating a tight seal between nozzle and tubing.

The printer has now been running for a couple of hours and there is no random strings or blobs on the print. Everything seems to be working fine. The under extrusion problem has now disappeared. I think that is because there is, now, no leaking in the hot end and all filament is coming out of the nozzle instead of leaking all over the outside of the heater block.

Looking back, I believe the first mistake was when I changed nozzles the first time, I failed to remove the filament from the hot end and created a glob of plastic inside the hot end that did not allow the nozzle to seat properly when it was re-inserted.

Thanks to everyone who tried to help with this problem. The information was helpful.

I bought the better Bowden Tube connectors when I got my Ender 5, which I returned. However, I was just informed by e-mail that my new Ender 3 V2 has just arrived in the lobby and the very first thing I am going to do is replace the original connectors with the better replacement connectors.

I also ordered the Dual Drive BMG Extruder and a ANTCLABS BLTouch : Auto Bed Leveling Sensor for the Ender 3 V2. However, I am not going to install them until I have everything running smoothly on the stock machine.

Catch you all later. I gotta go play with the new printer.

[Geit]

I knew that I had tightened the nozzle the last time I took everything apart. However, I remembered that I has tightened it while cold and with plastic stuck to the threads.

Yeah, that is a common mistake.

You also should tighten the nozzle, unscrew it a quarter of a turn, screw in the head pipe from the other side and as the last step tighten the nozzle against the heat pipe. All under hot conditions of course. You may get away without doing this, but usually it fires back.

Do it right or do it twice

[Delcie70]

Exactly what I did today except I unscrewed the nozzle a full turn. The Sovol has a direct drive extruder and the tube inside the hot end is locked into position when you install the hot end. That is why I cut the tube approx. 1.5mm longer than the original tube. That way you compress the tube when you tighten the nozzle like you are supposed to.

[Ender5r]

I would keep an eye on the 1.5mm extra length. If you run into clogging or sudden underextrusion you might want to disassemble the hotend again and check to see if the Capricorn tubing has become distorted or pinched. It it does, it might be an idea to cut the extra length to 1mm or even 0.5mm. I love the idea of having a little extra length in order to get a more secure fit, but the exact amount of extra may be pretty important.

[Delcie70]

I measured the diameter of both the old Teflon tube and the new Capricorn tube. The Teflon tube was 4.07mm while the Capricorn tube was 3.97mm. 1/10th mm smaller, which gives a little "wiggle" room for the compressed tube to adjust to within the 2+ inch length of the tube. So, I think, maybe, that the 1.5mm should work fine. If it doesn't, then I will trim it as you suggest.

[Ender5r]

Yeah. I'm not at all suggesting that 1.5mm is wrong... not at all. I'm only suggesting you keep it in the back of your mind that, if you do have issues, you might check out the hotend again.