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An idea to deal with twisted filament !?


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Posted · An idea to deal with twisted filament !?

I have one spool of filament which is kind of twisted on itself... Stress accumulates till the filament suddently rotates in the feeder, and it creates a lot of grinding sometimes. I only managed to reduce the issue by putting my spool about 1.5 meters away, but this is no definitive solution of course (and there is the added danger that it bends in a sharp angle)...

Some people seem to hang their spool in a bag attached to the ceiling (not an option for me), which in turn can rotate in the horizontal plane. I would get the same result by placing the spool holder on a platform that can rotate (check "lazy susan"). But it means so much space "wasted" around the printer! :s

Has anyone tried to pre-heat the filament very gently to release all kind of internal stress *before* it enters the feeder?

Of course it should be allowed to cool down enough before it enters the feeder, or it would get torn/flattened by the bolt/idler.

With higher temperature, I would love to reshape my filament into a nice circular constant diameter, but... well... this is called an extruder and it requires a feeder in the first place, a recursive issue! :lol:

my two cents

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    Posted · An idea to deal with twisted filament !?

    Hey,

    I have a similar problem, plastic that is at the bottom of a spool, is tighter packed / coiled.

    This plastic , seems to cause extra friction, and cause the filament to get stuck tin the tube or grind in the feeder.

    I ended out making a plastic straightener that i run over the filament im about to use, to straightener it out before using it.

    something similar to this:

    http://www.leadmaker.co.uk/Seconduserpi ... HTENER.jpg

    My local surplus store has *hundreds* of grooved bearing that fit the 3.0mm filament snugly.

    I have had great results, plastic that i previously couldn't use works perfectly now.

    If your interested, ill get the stl up on thingiverse.

    Cheers

    Kym

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    Posted · An idea to deal with twisted filament !?

    I feel like the better solution is to just use 4mm ID tubing. That way it doesn't bind entirely when the filament is slightly the wrong shape. My printer is running on 4mm ID PTFE tubing and it works great! Super slippery on the inside, held by threaded-on bolts at both ends (heater/feeder)

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    Posted · An idea to deal with twisted filament !?

    I have moved my filaments onto a bar that leaves about a meter of distance from the spool itself to the extruder. I have found so far that this not only cleans up the back of the machine/worktop, it tend to allow the filament the time and flexibility to straighten itself out/release its package memory. Still a recent move, but I have been VERY impressed thus far...

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    Posted · An idea to deal with twisted filament !?
    I feel like the better solution is to just use 4mm ID tubing. That way it doesn't bind entirely when the filament is slightly the wrong shape. My printer is running on 4mm ID PTFE tubing and it works great! Super slippery on the inside, held by threaded-on bolts at both ends (heater/feeder)

    Are you still running the same setup as the last time it was discussed?

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    Posted · An idea to deal with twisted filament !?

    Well, my issue is more about accumulation of stress *before* the hobbed bolt. Then, the stress suddenly releases in the feeder and filament sometimes gets so much damaged that the bolt starts to grind into it without making it advance anymore.

    I like the grooved bearings idea, though I would have to find/buy some and it is still a bit cumbersome.

    And yes, putting the spool farther really improves things but in my case I had to move it at least 2 meters away which is not convenient, I want it on its support ;)

    In fact my best results so far are with a new filament feeder of my own, and a new kind of homemade grooved bolt (hardest part to make of course). I still should print many more hours before I tell (where would I tell btw? thingiverse is less friendly suddenly imho...). But it is already stronger and more robust than the stock one, esp. regarding PLA dust that otherwise accumulates in the bolt thread, which results on an obvious lower grip and failed prints in the end. Mine really was made to reduce friction and it seems to do a good job.

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    Posted · An idea to deal with twisted filament !?

    Are you still running the same setup as the last time it was discussed?

    Yes. 4mm ID PTFE tube for most of the length, short 3mm ID PTFE tube from the top of the print head into the nozzle. I screwed a bolt on the short tube and wedged between the aluminum plate and the bottom of the wooden print head, as well as two bolts on the long 4mm ID tube to attach to the feeder and the top of the head.

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