TIP: PolyBox Spacer

[Hudson 2]

Recently I started using an Ultimaker S5 at work. The main printing material will is Corning's XStrand GF30-PA6.  The PO was written before the CC core was available, so I ordered the 3D Solex hardcore print core and Everlast nozzle kit.  Because I knew the filament could be challenging I also ordered Capricorn bowden tubes, a top enclosure, and a PolyBox.  Of course I ordered the large reel of XStrand material, only to find out the it does not quite fit in the PolyBox...

 

The spool fits front to back, but the height of the box was limiting. So I created a spacer and printed it with the sample Tough PLA Ultimaker material that came with the printer. 

 

I have the PolyBox sitting to the left of the S5 with a short piece of Capricorn tube between the PolyBox and the feeder.  Over 40 hours of printing and no problems with feeding the filament, even when running a 12mm retraction. 

 

The filament was dried at 80°C for 5 hours and placed into the PolyBox where it has held 10% humidity for 3 weeks.

 

Attached is the .STL for the spacer if anyone would like to use the PolyBox with a larger spool

PolyBox Spacer.stl

[Smithy 1,146]

Hi and welcome aboard!

 

Thanks for sharing your spacer, a very good idea. Personally, I haven't such a big spool yet, but who knows 🙂

 

Have you connected your tube somehow to the S5 feeder or do you use just a short piece for the Polybox itself? I am not sure if I should use the tube or not, because it is hard to design something for the S5 feeder to connect it at the bottom.

 

Can you post a picture of your setup?

 

[Smithy 1,146]

BTW your spacer can also be used to make some additional holes to feed the filament from the bottom and not from the top case. The Polybox has all openings in the top case, so when you lift the case you have to fiddle with the filament. So it is better to feed the filament through a hole in the bottom part, but if you don't want to drill your Polybox you can now drill it in the spacer. Another great use-case.

[Hudson 2]

Unfortunately I can not take pictures in the office, but I will try to explain it a little better.

 

I replaced the standard Bowden tubes from the feeders to the print head and had a small piece left over (10-12 inches). 

 

I knew I wanted to protect the filament between the box and the feeder and wanted to use a tube to help it feed better/ properly.  At first I thought about making a stop to keep the tube from being fed or ground up in the feeder, but when I looked at the pictures of the feeder from the maintenance page, there is already a tapered section in the feeder before the gears, so I just placed the leftover piece of tube between the box and the feeder and when the feeder pulls its tight and smooth. 

 

 

I just changed materials and checked the end of the Bowden tube going into the bottom of the feeder and it shows no signs of wear.

[Hudson 2]

11 minutes ago, Smithy said:

BTW your spacer can also be used to make some additional holes to feed the filament from the bottom and not from the top case. The Polybox has all openings in the top case, so when you lift the case you have to fiddle with the filament. So it is better to feed the filament through a hole in the bottom part, but if you don't want to drill your Polybox you can now drill it in the spacer. Another great use-case.

 

That's a good idea.  I am using the middle hole in the PolyBox base, the large spool walks side to side a little but hasn't gotten hung up on the edge yet.  If anyone would like the .STP file let me know. 

[Smithy 1,146]

Thanks for the clarification, sounds good and I should give it a try. Never thought that the Bowden tube will fit there at the bottom of the feeder. But only when the Polybox is "connected" to the feeder you have a closed system.

[Hudson 2]

FYI:  apparently the PolyBox II (the one that I have)  has the lower set of holes in the base, not in the cover.  I can see how that would be annoying to have all of the holes in the cover. 

[Smithy 1,146]

You are right, Edition II has the holes already in the base. 🙂 Never noticed that, because I feed currently from the top with this box. The other one is the older version with the holes in the cover. I should exchange my two boxes, then everything is fine without the need to drill additional holes. 🙂