Nozzle scrub brush is damaging my nozzle tip

[Buurman]

I know its weird, but it seems that the scrub brush is damaging my nozzle.

I had some bad printing results and wondered what is was, but ended up taking a picture of my nozzle tip and, look a that...

Luckily these are only 30 bucks a piece.. argh..  but cant imagine what else caused it, since I didnt print any (hard) materials.

Now im looking for softer copper brushes, I know there is a lot of variation in even copper brushes, the ones I now have, are quite hard..

But even better, why not and silicone variant... I dont really need a brush, I just need something to pull off any ooze thats on the tip...

 

Ideas?

[smirk]

Well beyond getting nozzles made of whatever your brushes are made of you thinking silicon brush as in something like this cooking brush? But would the plastic stick to t the silicon or catch on it?

However,I can't really imagine how the wire brush is causing such damage surely the nozzle would have to be realy grinding into it. Perhaps you could "thin" the wire brush out a little, guess you don't need to take bristles out all the way, just randomly trim some so there's less bristles contacting the nozzle?

And here's me set on adding a nozzle scrubber as my latest mod.....

[Buurman]

1 hour ago, smirk said:

However,I can't really imagine how the wire brush

me neither, but here I am... woudnt know what else could cause this.

Remember, the nozzle is running in my case every start and end of print 4/6 times trough the brush.. in exact the same position i assume.

And only the tip is running trough, the scratches on the lower part are me, cleaning it manually.. and as you see, the brush easily scratches the brass nozzle.. just by hand already...

[atrushing]

Are you certain that the brush isn't steel? I have some BBQ brushes that have steel bristles with a gold colored coating. You could try testing it with a magnet but that isn't a completely reliable test with some grades of stainless steel. Brass bristles are usually more on the flexible side. You could also try using the brush on a piece of mild steel to see if it scratches or leaves brass on the surface. I really hope that they don't just use a soft brass for the Revo nozzle..

You could even try nickel plating your nozzle!

[mvdveer]

5 hours ago, Buurman said:

I just need something to pull off any ooze thats on the tip...

I think th consensus out  there is a silicon brush.  

1 hour ago, atrushing said:

I really hope that they don't just use a soft brass for the Revo nozzle..

I m having my doubts about Revo

[CityWrecker]

This guy is right...check for steel. If it holds a magnet its steel. Im guessing from the look of your nozzle you got a cheap steel brush. They plate them to look like brass. Got to find a real brass brush. Careful for things like 'copper plated' etc. etc. 

[CityWrecker]

This guy is right...check for steel. If it holds a magnet its steel. Im guessing from the look of your nozzle you got a cheap steel brush. They plate them to look like brass. Got to find a real brass brush. Careful for things like 'copper plated' etc. etc. 

6 hours ago, atrushing said:

Are you certain that the brush isn't steel? I have some BBQ brushes that have steel bristles with a gold colored coating. You could try testing it with a magnet but that isn't a completely reliable test with some grades of stainless steel. Brass bristles are usually more on the flexible side. You could also try using the brush on a piece of mild steel to see if it scratches or leaves brass on the surface. I really hope that they don't just use a soft brass for the Revo nozzle..

You could even try nickel plating your nozzle!

 

[Buurman]

9 hours ago, atrushing said:

You could try testing it with a magnet

Why didnt I think of this!!! even though I bought copper ones, I tried the magnet test, and its definitely not clean copper, since its quite sticking to the magnet.
So yes, I think these are yellow plated steel brushes.. omg... wtf is ... is Aliexpress not honest about what they sell?  yes, should have known!

 

2 hours ago, CityWreker said:

This guy is right...check for steel. If it holds a magnet its steel. Im guessing from the look of your nozzle you got a cheap steel brush. They plate them to look like brass. Got to find a real brass brush. Careful for things like 'copper plated' etc. etc. 

Ah... guess I been fooled... but at least it explains this weird phenomenon!!

 

THANKS GUYS!! 

[Buurman]

9 hours ago, atrushing said:

I really hope that they don't just use a soft brass for the Revo nozzle

I hope not too, and the one with the hard layer is still in pre-order.. but Revo nozzles should be awesome anyhow, looking at the price... pfff...

Good idea to invest in softer bushes for sure...

[smirk]

2 hours ago, Buurman said:

but Revo nozzles should be awesome anyhow, looking at the price...

Ah! Sir, needs to buy the special E3D Revo nozzle cleaning brush, scientifically designed to optimise filament removal from your Revo nozzles whilst lovingly carressing them to make them feel extra happy. Yours for a mere €45 + VAT (for the handle,NB: heads sold separately for €12.50 + VAT)

Now were I put those magnets I'm off to check those brushes I bought recently.

[smirk]

Goddammit! Those bloody brushes I bought are plated steel/iron! Well you can take comfort that we have learned from your pain @Buurman

[claudermilk]

Dang! I was also going to say check for steel--sounds like that's what it is. If you guys were in the US I would suggest Harbor Freight brushes; that's what I have and after nearly a year of scrubbing my Revo nozzle looks fine.

[mvdveer]

Looks like you got us all looking for steel now. Phew - brass, not steel. Sourced the brushes locally - wasn't that expensive either. AUD 9 per brush.

[Buurman]

2 hours ago, mvdveer said:

Looks like you got us all looking for steel now. Phew - brass, not steel. Sourced the brushes locally - wasn't that expensive either. AUD 9 per brush.

I think copper is better, since brass is just as hard as your nozzle (standard brass) and may still damage it? just a theory, not knowledge, since I dont possess any.. clearly  

[PFarm]

A reputable 3d printing supplier in Canada is selling these, I'll give them ago. Looks like they are Fystec brushes if that helps anyone.

Edited February 5, 2023 by PFarm

[claudermilk]

I have this:

https://www.harborfreight.com/brass-detail-brush-69524.html

It's been on the printer for most of a year and the same Revo 0.4 nozzle most of that time. No damage at at all.

[smirk]

I took a punt and bought some from Amazon, they're not magnetic, feel soft(ish) so I'm now trying to guess what non-ferrous metal they could be masquerading as Brass (they're sure as hell ain't copper). I take some small comfort that Amazon weren't using the old advertisers trick of slightly misspelling words to avoid the truth - "100% purest Brazz".

Well cut some the strands in half and the yellowish brassy colour is consistent throughout so it doesn't look to be some plated non-ferrous material so may well be purest brazz......

[mvdveer]

2 hours ago, smirk said:

slightly misspelling words t

But then you also got to read the fine print. Advertised as a copper brush but descriptions says stainless steel wire brush.

[PFarm]

What are everyone's thoughts about using something like this?

https://www.printables.com/model/359645-bambu-lab-style-nozzle-wiper-2020-extrusion?fbclid=IwAR1mIhWlwenGxb6Wn0d3KkBOI5rOxFkyLOadUvU-xiYLV2NyxWcAzB2MUJY

 

Edited February 6, 2023 by PFarm

[mvdveer]

Looks interesting and uses a silicon tube. Similar principle as a silicon brush, it is the mount that has changed. Will have to make sure your movements are acurate not to hit the mount when scrubbing. Can work and definitely better than a steel brush

[billbr]

I've been working on a nozzle scrubber that uses RTV molded parts to provide scrubbing and a hole for purging. It isn't ready for primetime yet. but I had the same issues with harder stuff shorting my Euclids or damaging the nozzle. The silicone brushes are too soft (10A hardness) to clean the nozzle. So I've found that either 20A or 30A hardness of the RTV is stiff enough. Now I just have to work through my molding process and finish the mounting design. The current molds leak! The picture is of a 20A wipe pad from a PLA mold. I intend to mill the mold from milling plastic so I don't end up with layer lines. The pad is molded onto a 3D-printed part to provide rigidity and easy replacement.

[Penatr8tor]

For a long time I thought that I needed a brush and I have one, it works and it does the job but then...

I learned that it's best to home and probe and do all the stuff that needs to be done before actually laying down filament onto the print surface with the nozzle at <150c. Oozing then became a thing of the past and so did needing to brush the tip. Now, even though I do a brush before probing, I really don't need to. Granted there are materials that ooze like crazy, TPU is one of them but for ASA and PLA... I don't really need to brush.

As for testing whether your brush is steel or not with a magnet goes... Bear in mind that the bristles are held into the plastic head with a staple at the bottom of the hole and guess what the staple is made of? Yup.  So it's entirely possible that a magnet will stick to the plastic of the brush and the bristles can be brass. So it might be a good idea to pull a few hairs out of the brush and test them with the magnet.

 

[jrdnlc]

I have this brush. Been working great- just checked my nozzle lol

[Rixi]

Has anyone ever considered or tried to use a simple toothbrush for this?

Not shure what kind of plastic the bristles are made of. I assume makes sense move the nozzle through it relatively quickly through the bristles to not melt them.

[geekandi]

8 hours ago, jrdnlc said:

I have this brush. Been working great- just checked my nozzle lol

These are exactly what I use and I have destroyed 3 CHT nozzles with them in 2.4s and Trident.

I have changed my start now. I still hit the brush but for far less swipes (about 1/10th - 3 swipes) and my nozzles thank me, and my wallet.