I realised I hadn't been taking great care of my first love, my Artillery Genius. When I moved it in May 2021, the heater block looked like a Halloween party, so I tore the hotend down and rebuilt it.
A dirty surprise
When I moved the printer, my eye fell on something disgusting: the whole heat block was covered in melted PLA, and there was dust everywhere at the back. So I decided to replace some parts: a new nozzle and a new heater block assembly with new wires, so everything would be clean again.
The video shows the teardown and reassembly, set to music, with the goal of doing it without damaging anything. In real life the job took me about 40 minutes. I cut the video down to about four so it's easy to follow.
Why maintenance matters
Looking after your printer and giving it the right attention makes it last longer, and it keeps the quality of your prints high. A heater block covered in plastic can cause problems over time, so it's worth checking it regularly instead of waiting until something goes wrong, like I did.