Left over PVA rolls...

[Ronan 58]

I easily have a dozen left over PVA rolls nearly done. Individually not enough to print much support... is there a way to 'combine' them? I would probably be able to fill up a roll or something...

I was thinking maybe cutting the edge at 45 degree angle, and using... water to combine the 2 parts? Rinse & Repeat?...

This stuff is expensive, worth every dollar... but it hurts seeing so many rolls with a few turns on each, and not being able to use them for customer prints.

@Sandervg @gr5

Edited April 3, 2017 by Guest

[celso-santos 11]

You should check this product in an Indigogo campaign: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/fuse-welding-filament-clamp-for-3d-printers#/

[Ronan 58]

Interesting, i'll take a look.

Thanks

[SandervG 1,521]

There are also people who use some PVA-slurry as an adhesive on the bed. Perhaps this is something how you can still use it?

You won't save much on a glue-stick, but PVA by itself comes with its challenges to store it so it stays good over time, and connecting two ends and make it strong so it can pass the feeder, and no thicker, so it can pass the bowden tube, sounds very challenging.

[ahoeben 1,955]

I have one of those FUSE units, but I have never been able to use it successfully.

The design of the device is such that you cannot easily open the device once the ends are fused. You have to pull one of the end through the device, and unless you have a lot of space the filament will bend to the point where the still fragile connection between the ends breaks. It is fairly frustrating in use. Perhaps it works better for 1.75 mm filament.

[geert_2 558]

Instead of using water to glue them, what about a thin layer of wood glue, or PVA-slurry? First try manually with a few centimeters if that works.

Also, you could design your own tool to align and glue these filament ends, print that, and clamp it in a vise or so. Just two simple plates with some 2.9mm diameter indentations, and some alignment features, will do. It would be an interesting experiment.