@gr5, i think both 3dsolex' as well as ultimaker's are PFA. PTFE had maybe 1/3 or less friction when i compared them to ultimaker and 3dsolex. curvature does hardly matter anymore. Up to now, nobody could explain me why ultimaker is using PFA instead of PTFE. Onl advantage i see, is that it is more transparent.
Recommended Posts
gr5 2,293
I did some tests recently on the tube from ultimaker and the tube in my store. The tubes were not connected to any printer. I chose filament that had been through the feeder to be as accurate as possible and slid it through the bowden. I used a scale such that the filament stuck out a bit and I held only the bowden and pushed down on the scale until the filament slid.
It made a huge difference what the curvature of the bowden was. It made a big difference if the filament was inserted to follow the bowden versus go against the bowden curvature. But I couldn't tell the difference between the 2 materials. So I'm not sure how the 3dsolex bowdens could cause much difference other than the length of the tube.
However... every time you change the bowden you have to insert the new one into the print head. There are 2 things that can cause underextursion when you do this:
1) the bowden tends to stop 1mm short at the top of the teflon part. If that happens you have a 1mm gap that filament can get into especially if you have hours of printing and lots of retractions. Getting PLA in that gap can cause underextrusion.
2) If the teflon part isn't new (even if it is), pushing down on it with a few pounds of force from the bowden can make a big difference on the resistance of the plastic through the teflon. Many people have tried loosening the 4 thumb screws one full turn and found that makes a huge difference to fixing underextrusion. Really the proper fix is not to push down so hard when installing the bowden.
Link to post
Share on other sites
tomii 0
I just ordered this from McMaster Carr. Seems to work well. And with shipping, it's only about $2/foot
http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/122/144/=13jbuf4
Link to post
Share on other sites