UltiMaker cleaning filament is a pack of precut, straightened pieces of material. They are ideal for cleaning the inside of the print cores and removing any blockages. It is the most effective material for the hot and cold pull procedure.
What is cleaning filament
Cleaning filament are sticks of 2.85 mm material. These sticks are straight for easy insertion into the print head during the hot and cold pull procedure. They are precut to an optimized length. One stick of cleaning filament is easy to handle and is sufficient to clean one severely blocked print core, or even multiple cores with minor blockages.
UltiMaker cleaning filament is transparent polycarbonate (PC) material. If you need to learn more about the material specifications, please take a look at the UltiMaker PC safety data sheet.
Why use cleaning filament
The cleaning filament sticks are optimized for easy handling. Also, this material (PC) is most effective for clearing any blockages inside the print core and removing any material residue left inside the nozzle. On certain printers, you can also use other materials, such as PLA, for cleaning the print core by cutting off a length from the spool of filament, but this may not be as effective or efficient.
Note: Using PLA for print core cleaning is not supported on all UltiMaker printers. For example, on the UltiMaker S6 and S8, only cleaning filament can be used for the guided hot and cold pull process.
When to use cleaning filament
You can use cleaning filament both as preventive and corrective maintenance.
It is recommended to apply preventive maintenance to the print cores. This is based on a number of printing hours or prints, depending on the type of print core. See the recommended maintenance schedule here:
Print core cleaning maintenance schedule
You can also use cleaning filament when switching between materials that have very different printing temperatures to prevent extrusion issues. Or, if you want to switch to a contrasting material color, you can clean the print core beforehand to prevent color mixing in your next print.
If you notice extrusion problems or no material is coming out of the nozzle at all, you should clean the inside of the print core. Using cleaning filament is especially recommended for more severe blockages.
How to use cleaning filament
This filament can be used to clean the print cores of the UltiMaker 3, Factor 4, and S series printers by applying hot and cold pulls. Hot pulls are used to get the biggest parts of carbonized material out of the print core and are highly recommended when the print core is clogged. With a cold pull, the remaining small particles will be removed, ensuring the print core is completely clean.
The UltiMaker 3, Factor 4, and S series printers contain a guided process for cleaning the print cores. You will need a stick of cleaning filament, pliers, and cutting pliers / wire cutters. Detailed instructions on how to perform the hot and cold pull procedure with UltiMaker cleaning filament can be found on this page:
Clean the print core: How to perform a hot and cold pull
Printer compatibility
UltiMaker cleaning filament is intended and optimized for cleaning the print cores. This means it is officially compatible with the UltiMaker 3 series (including the 3 and 3 Extended), UltiMaker S series (including S3, S5, S6, S7, and S8), and Factor 4.
However, the cleaning filament sticks can also be used to apply a similar cleaning process for the nozzles of other UltiMaker printers, including the UltiMaker 2+ Connect, 2+ series, 2 series, and even the Original. Note that these printers do not have a guided cleaning procedure built into the firmware, but you can set the temperatures manually. Cleaning filament requires a high temperature, so set the nozzle temperature to 260 °C.
Note: UltiMaker cleaning filament is not compatible with the Method, Sketch, and Replicator series printers, as these are designed for 1.75 mm filament.
