Help! I have a glob of filament stuck to my hotend.

This happens infrequently these days but it does happen.  If it happens to me, it is probably going to happen to someone starting out.  Here is a walk-through on how to clear your hotend that has a blob, glob, mass, molten ball of plastic or whatever you might call it.

This process will help you clear a Creality Ender 3, Ender 3 Pro, Ender 5, CR-10 or CR-10S and probably any Creality 3D Printer that uses FDM.  The process would be similar on most FDM Printers.


What you may need

Creality Compatible Silcone Sock – Amazon – eBay

Creality Ender 3 Fan Kit (24V) – Amazon – eBay

Creality CR-10 / CR-10S Fan Kit (12V) – AmazoneBay

3D Solutech PLA 1.75mm (My go to filament) – Amazon


This typically happens when your bed is out of level or your filament is not adhering properly.

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This blob was especially messy, it scoop up the Z axis cable, Broke the fan and destroyed the hotend insulation.  To access the hotend, I removed the 2 M3 Screws from the shroud.

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A better look at the aftermath.

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Heat up the hotend to 240C.

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Wait for it to get hot!

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Start to wiggle the glob gently.

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This was a mess…

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After a bit of work I was able to break it free.  Remember the filament is hot and will burn you if it gets on your skin.  Notice the cotton hotend wrap is coated in PLA.

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A real mess…

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Somehow it managed to get the hotend wiring in the molten ball of plastic so I cut it free.

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Hotend free and just about clean.

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I used a pick to scrape off the excess PLA and the cotton head shielding.

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I put a fresh Silicone sock on and reassembled.  Additionally, I had to replace the fan as it had a broken blade.  More on that in a future post.

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Back in action!

There you have it..


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