Spool wraps too tight and prevents feeding

[lschachtner 0]

Hi everyone,

 

I am running into an issue where during my prints the PLA becomes too tightly wrapped around the spool and gets stuck under the rest of the filament, which then causes the material to grind in place and halts feeding. Is there any way to overcome this issue? It's almost as if the spool was too loose at one point so now the leading filament gets stuck under the rest of the spool as it gradually tightens.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

[kmanstudios 1,120]

The only thing I can think of is to try to rewind it so that it does not get up under itself. Those types of tangles are not easy to operate with. When you take a spool off to store, make sure you do not let too much slack into the reel or it will create the tangles you are experiencing. Basically a friction knot.

[mike-truly 3]

On my U2+ printer, I use a small bit of clear plumbing silicon grease on the filament holder spindle (get this from the hardware store/plumbing section).  This makes the reel spin easily and the filament never pulls down between the other filament strings.

 

(You could probably also use silicon spray on the spindle but the grease stays longer.  I would spray the spindle with it detached from the printer).

 

Hope this helps!

 

Mike

 

Edited March 5, 2018 by mike-truly

[cloakfiend 995]

If this always happens to you and you can't stop it, then just print off the roll. but it takes a bit of getting used to. But the benefit is that you will never get a snag again guaranteed ever if you do it properly. This is how I print all my models.

[geert_2 557]

Another option: if your prints are not too long, manually unwind a bit of filament and straighten it. I do this by winding it in the opposite direction around a skater wheel of 7cm diameter. Then unwind a bit more, and straighten it. Until you have done a few meters. This takes only a few minutes, while the printer is warming up anyway. Then roll the filament up again, but now it will sit loose on the spool.

 

Additionally, if you have colorFabb spools - or identical ones - you could print one of these clamps and use that to prevent filament getting stuck under itself while in storage, and to prevent it from falling off the spool while printing. When the while thumbwheel screws are present, they lock the filament. When absent, the clamp can slide freely along the edge of the spool, and thus prevents filament from falling off sideways, unwinding itself and producing a huge ball of 3mm spaghetti. Feel free to derive your own version of this.

 

 

For the STL-files and RSDOC-files, see here (scroll down a bit):

https://www.uantwerpen.be/nl/personeel/geert-keteleer/manuals/

 

 

[lschachtner 0]

Thanks for the help everyone! I will start with trying the silicon grease and move to the other suggestions from there.