<p>I normally print a skirt. This acts as a quality check for: flow rate; bed adhesion; bed level; and proper zero position in the Z. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-20T15:44:15.420Z
Very much this!
Carl Witthoft
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-19T16:35:37.183Z
2017-04-19T16:35:37.183Z
Davo
<p>I just go and pull it off the print head with pliers when it's about to start and sometimes shortly after it starts printing, but its probably not the safest way to deal with the problem. Printing a skirt, brim, or raft should help to fix the problem.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-28T13:52:01.113Z
2017-04-28T13:52:01.113Z
Brendan Smith
<p>On my Kossel Mini I programmed it to go to the edge of the bed and purge a small amount of filament which creates a dot.  I purge enough to get the dot to stick to the bed and then go on with printing, when the head moves the dot stays attached and usually pulls excess material off the nozzle.  This can be added to the "Starting G-Code" section of your slicer.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-31T06:27:34.020Z
This is exactly how Ultimaker primes their filament, I'm also doing exactly the same as this works very well!
0scar
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-19T16:32:20.090Z
2017-04-19T16:32:20.090Z
tjb1
<p>So when my Prusa I3 is heating up, a small bit of filament is coming out of the nozzle, forming a small string at.</p>

<p>When the printing starts, this results in a small plastic ball on the bed, impacting the overall printing process.</p>

<p>How can I avoid this?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-26T08:15:16.697Z
take it apart with a tweezer.
Fernando Baltazar
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-22T03:21:05.387Z
You might pull back the filament when hot before shutdown, and not feed until hot again?
Ecnerwal
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-22T16:10:00.470Z
@Ecnerwal That would be a valid solution, if I weren't just so damn lazy.
Philipp Ludwig
<filament><prusa-i3>
How can I avoid that a small bit of filament sticks out of the nozzle during heating?
Philipp Ludwig
# How can I avoid that a small bit of filament sticks out of the nozzle during heating?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-04-19)

So when my Prusa I3 is heating up, a small bit of filament is coming out of the nozzle, forming a small string at.

When the printing starts, this results in a small plastic ball on the bed, impacting the overall printing process.

How can I avoid this?

**Tags:** filament, prusa-i3
> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: You might pull back the filament when hot before shutdown, and not feed until hot again?  
> **username_0**: @Ecnerwal That would be a valid solution, if I weren't just so damn lazy.  
> **username_1**: take it apart with a tweezer.  

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## 3 answers

### Answer by username_6 on 2017-04-19. Score: 7 | Accepted answer

On my Kossel Mini I programmed it to go to the edge of the bed and purge a small amount of filament which creates a dot. I purge enough to get the dot to stick to the bed and then go on with printing, when the head moves the dot stays attached and usually pulls excess material off the nozzle. This can be added to the "Starting G-Code" section of your slicer.

> **Comments:**
> **username_7**: This is exactly how Ultimaker primes their filament, I'm also doing exactly the same as this works very well!  

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### Answer by username_3 on 2017-04-19. Score: 9

I normally print a skirt. This acts as a quality check for: flow rate; bed adhesion; bed level; and proper zero position in the Z.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: Very much this!  

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### Answer by username_5 on 2017-04-28. Score: 2

I just go and pull it off the print head with pliers when it's about to start and sometimes shortly after it starts printing, but its probably not the safest way to deal with the problem. Printing a skirt, brim, or raft should help to fix the problem.


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