IGUS Filament

[Jherman 0]

I have purchased some Igus filament (iglidur® I180-PF) and am trying to run it with my Ultimaker S5. I have attempted it several times, each with the same outcome.. grinding the filament. I have ran the tension all the way off, all the way on, and every possible place between.. to no avail.. Does anyone have experience using this filament on a S5 (or any gear-fed/bowden tube printer)?

[Dim3nsioneer 557]

Does the same print core work with a different filament and does the I180 work in the other print core?

[Jherman 0]

Yes. The print core works flawlessly with other materials. I cleaned the extruder with cleaning filament before inserting the I180 material. Only issue is the gear eating the material each and every time it pushes on it.

[Dim3nsioneer 557]

Sorry to be a bit persistent: Does the same print core also still work with other materials after you printed the I180 with?
As for the print core cleaning: did you use hot pulls or cold pulls? In case you used cold pulls: did you get a perfect mirror image of the inner print core geometry on the pulled filament?

[Jherman 0]

No worries. I have used it afterwards, with no issues printing PLA. With the print core cleaning, both hot and cold. I have been able to clean it out and it was pretty clean afterwards. The filament did mirror the internals after a few pulls (meaning I got all the gunk out).

[Dim3nsioneer 557]

Does the grinding happen right from the start of a print or later?

[Jherman 0]

It begins right at the start. As soon as the print starts, the material is fed to make a prime blob. That is when the grinding happens and the filament will not flow out of the extruder. I have cleaned the nozzle (hot and cold pulls with Ultimaker cleaning filament) and still haven't had any luck.

 

I have loosened the tension and pulled the handle up to release the set tension, but still keep some tension on the filament. In other words, the handle is not completely upright (meaning the filament could be pushed through with no friction). 

 

I hope that made sense.

[Jherman 0]

For the UMS5, the key is to not use the tensioner when running igus I180-PF filament. Here are the best suggestions that I have received:

1. Run the tensioning screw all the way loose.

2. Lift the handle that is used to put tension on the filament, so that the handle is facing downwards, but not clamped into the tensioning position (picture is attached for reference).

3. Printing it at 240°C works best.

4. Turn off retraction.

[neute 16]

Hi,

 

IMO filament grinding is usually just a symptom of other, extrusion related problems. When the extrusion works unrestrictedly, the filament shouldn't be ground even if the tension is high. Accordingly, I find it rather strange to manipulate the feeder in the way shown.

 

So I'd look someplace else. Are you using the profile for iglidur I180 provided by igus? Aside from temperature, feeding speed is also relevant for extrusion, so if you're using another profile that might play in the same temperature range but uses faster extrusion speeds, you might get the same problem. Remember that this is a material filled with additives for wear resistance, so it doesn't quite extrude as freely as other materials such as plain colored PLA.

 

I suggest using the igus profile, and/or using extrusion temps about 245 - 250 °C and no higher than 40 mm/s at 0,2 mm for print speed. For extra security, dry the filament spool at 70 °C max for at least 4 hours to eliminate any influence by possible moisture content.

 

hope this helps,

Best regards, Niklas