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I have been using 3d printers for about a year. Most of the time, the spool runs smoothly while printing. But sometimes, the filament just gets tangled on the spool (crossed with other coils) and the printing cannot continue. It's a big headache as I have to withdraw the coil, loosen several coils and rewind, and start to print all over again. When this happens, it'll take much time to deal with it, which is so annoying. Can anyone offer some tips? Thanks a lot.
Here's how I solved the problem:
1. I made a spool carrier from a length of PVC which became the axle and two 50 mm PVC female pipe adapters which fitted into the axle hole of the spool so that it would rotate on the axle.
2. I made a support bracket from a length of fencing wire which was laying around. If you live in the city you can replace the fencing wire with a wire coat hanger.
This is what I finished up with:
Attachment 3678
3. Using a cup hook, I attached a retractable lanyard to the ceiling and tied the other end of the lanyard to the wire support bracket. Then I unrolled enough filament to reach the extruder.
4. When I use my printer, I always check what Pronterface says the length filament needed to do the print will be. Then I pull what I think is enough filament from the roll and let it dangle. If there is any twist in the filament due to how tight it was spooled on, it has the chance to untwist before it gets to the printer.
This is what my set up looks like. (Sorry for the blurry pic. I'm blaming the slow shutter speed, not the contents of several beer cans.)
Attachment 3679
Another thing to watch is that the torque of the stepper is not enough to make the spool rotate on a spool holder, especially after you have reached halfway. By suspending the spool from the ceiling, you have the opportunity to pull enough filament off the spool to do the print, but it is out of the way so it is not likely to get tangled around things on your work bench.
If you are really careful putting the hook into the ceiling, no one will pick it if you ever have to leave. If you botch up putting in the hook, you can always leave a pot plant to disguise things.
Old Man Emu
Most of the time a tangle will come from the user either removing the spool from the packaging ir the machine then letting the end if the filament go. It will usually unwind a bit then next time you grab the end you end up pulling it under ine if tue other coils. Print yourself some filament clips and never let the end of the filament get out if your hand