I made the fatal error, I left home before I ensured the print had started successfully. Please don’t provide “you should have” or “what the problem was” - I know…I know (head held in shame). Now, the question is, what do I do about it? The print had gone for about 25 minutes before I realized on the app what had happened and stopped the print. Now, There is a wire that had broke and there is this massive glob of hardened filament all around my extruder. What is the best way to clean it up and then…how do I fix the broken parts?
Welcome to the community.
There is no shame in learning and everyone has to experience the “Blob of Death” at least once to truly learn how to avoid it. In fact, some of us… multiple times before we learn it. 
From what I can see in your photos, this is not as bad as some I’ve seen. In fact, this photo appears to show that the heater and thermistor connectors unplugged rather than having their wires torn out, so hopefully that means the hotend can be removed without damage to the surrounding components.
There are two basic choices. You can try to salvage the nozzle/hotend, or you can replace it. Either way, I always recommend having a spare on hand. They typically cost around $23-$28 on Amazon and, if you live in an area with Prime service, you can generally get one within 1-2 days. As an example, in my area, if I pay $28 I can sometimes get one the same day if I order early enough, but if I am willing to wait two days, it’s around $23.
There is no single solution to freeing up a blob because each blob forms differently. The basic strategy is to soften the material first, remove whatever comes away easily, and then progressively cut or nibble away the remaining material until the hotend can be removed.
The initial goal is to free up the hotend and get it out of the printer. You can then work on salvaging it later if you want, but at an average of around $25, it may not be worth your time. In my case, I did it mainly because I wanted to understand how the machine was put together.
Creality also has a K2 Plus-specific procedure for hotend clumping:
Check out Rick Impey’s general guide on blob softening and removal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCFOI5kUWQg
Here’s one on the K2 blob, but in this video the person has already removed the main blob and is showing how to remove the molten filament that traveled up around the silicone sock. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5We3lIxnog
List of tools you will want on hand.
-
Heat-resistant gloves.(optional but will save you from burnt fingers)
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Needle-nose pliers, both long and short.
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Flush wire cutters, AKA “nippers.” These 5" cutters allow you to get into tight spaces and nibble away small pieces with good control. Amazon.com : wire nippers
- Diagonal cutters or side cutters. These 6" cutters are very sharp and can be useful for cutting into thicker portions of the blob when the smaller nippers are not enough. WORKPRO 2 Pack Wire Cutters, 6 Inch Precision Flush Cutters, Side Cutters | 2-Piece Diagonal Cutters with Carbon Steel, Ergonomic Handles for Crafts, Jewelry Making, Electronics, 3D Print, Floral - Amazon.com
Start by softening the blob.
This is the safest place to start.
Heat the nozzle above the normal printing temperature of the filament that created the blob. There is no single temperature that is correct for every filament.
For example, Creality recommends approximately 250C for a PLA blob. Once the nozzle reaches temperature, let it soak for roughly 5-8 minutes so the material surrounding the hotend has time to soften.
Using heat-resistant gloves and a pair of needle-nose pliers, see if you can gently pull or peel material away from the hotend.
Remember, the nozzle and surrounding components are very hot.
Do not force it. You do not want to use the PCB, wiring, fans, or nozzle camera as leverage. If a section does not come away easily, leave it alone and work on another area.
The goal is to progressively expose the hotend.
If the blob cannot be removed in one piece.
If the softened material will not peel away cleanly, use the flush cutters or diagonal cutters to start nibbling away accessible portions of the blob.
Work slowly and cut off small pieces rather than trying to split the entire blob at once.
Be particularly careful around:
- The heater and thermistor wiring
- The hotend adapter PCB
- The model fan
- The heat-break fan
- The nozzle camera
When you cut through one section of the blob, the remaining material can suddenly move or place pressure on one of those components.
The nozzle or hotend is relatively easy to replace. Damaging the PCB, fans, wiring, or camera turns this into a considerably larger repair.
As more material is removed, gently work the remaining blob from side to side or front to back. Creality specifically recommends this approach for stubborn clumps.
Eventually, you should be able to expose enough of the hotend to remove the bulk of the material.
Once the hotend is free.
After you have removed the majority of the blob, allow the nozzle to cool before attempting to remove the hotend. Creality’s procedure specifies cooling the nozzle to approximately 30C before proceeding with hotend removal.
Then follow the Creality hotend replacement procedure on their Wiki.
Once the heater and thermistor connectors are disconnected and the hotend assembly is removed, you can work on the remaining filament away from the printer where you have much better visibility and access.
At that point you can decide whether the nozzle/hotend is worth cleaning and salvaging or whether it makes more sense to replace it.
Personally, I would concentrate first on getting the hotend safely out of the printer and getting the machine operational again. You can always experiment with cleaning and salvaging the removed hotend later.
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Thank you do much for the detailed response. It really helped! Unfortunately, both wires were melted into the blob, so I could not get them to reach to plug in again. Also one wire was broke. With some patience, I was able to free the hotend. I did order one from Amazon and it was delivered about 4AM today. I have already installed it and I’m back up and running. Again, thank you again for your help! It was appreciated more than you know!
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DVweaver,
My first one was much worse than yours and I had to work real hard to cut globs out from behind the hot end just to remove it. Once I removed it I just ordered a new one It was too thick with plastic gobs to fix.
The second one, a few days ago, I was able to remove and replace with a spare rather quickly and then I cut away the globs. Next time I will try the heating it up method.
DVweaver,
It looks like you can get to the hot end screws. It pulled the hot end power out, and has encapsulated the Temperature sensor wires. replace the hot end and the hotend circuit board in the extruder. it looks like the connector housing for the heater was pulled off the board.