How to Use 3D Clean, Step by Step

The process is the same for sticks, coils, and spools: heat up, feed it through, and watch the nozzle tip until it runs clean.

Steps

1. Heat the hotend to the right temperature. Use the printing temperature of the material you're purging out, or 230°C, whichever is higher. If you last printed something at 280°C, purge at 280°C.
2. Remove the current filament.
3. Feed 3D Clean into the extruder. Insert a stick or the end of a coil, and manually extrude it using your printer's controls. With a stick, you can feed your next filament in right behind it to push it through.
4. Watch the nozzle tip. You'll see the old color, residue, or black specks come out first.
5. Keep going until it runs clean. When the output is translucent and milky with no specks, you're done.
6. Load your next filament and purge it until 3D Clean no longer comes out.

How much will I need?

There's no fixed amount; it depends on what you're removing.

• A simple color change, like black to white PLA: about half a stick.
• A complicated material change, like nylon to PLA: possibly several sticks.

Printers that load filament automatically

Some printers need a minimum length of filament to load. The Bambu Lab H2D, for example, needs about 30 cm, which is longer than one 8-inch stick. On these printers, use a coil or spool, or follow the stick with your next filament so the extruder never loses grip.

See also Common nozzle-cleaning mistakes.