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Topic: vertical mount = no fan?

I'm sorry if this has been covered before.  I did search.  I am converting to a vertical mount with the winder.  Looking at the pictures of filastruders in the wild mounted vertical I do not see a fan.  Is this the recommended way to mount vertically or have I missed something

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Re: vertical mount = no fan?

A fan is less necessary with a vertical mount as the filament does not get touched by anything for a few feet. Extruding horizontally, you need to cool it more quickly before it touches the filament guide.

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Re: vertical mount = no fan?

I've been having trouble getting the filament up to size without getting the temps down to near minimum for extrusion, without the fan.  Since the plastic is hot longer, it can stretch more.  I finally got the fan mounted again, and am seeing 1.75 at a temp that was giving me 1.60 before.  The fan can make it harder to set up the loop for the winder however.  In the course of guiding the end of the filament to the spool, it gets pushed around a lot at the nozzle.  The fan will quickly set the filament into waves that can be harder to get through the intake tube.   If you can cover the fan while getting the filament to the winder, it will be a lot easier.  Then once everything is running smoothly let the fan cool the filament.

4 (edited by Briggs 2014-01-10 05:11:53)

Re: vertical mount = no fan?

Ian, I haven't started putting my Filawinder together, still working on the Filastruder. What if we used two or more opposing fans to "trap" the filament within a vortex of air? Since I'm mounting mine vertically, I'll give it whirl in the coming weeks. If somebody else comes up with a better or working solution, please share!

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Re: vertical mount = no fan?

IanJohnson wrote:

I've been having trouble getting the filament up to size without getting the temps down to near minimum for extrusion, without the fan.  Since the plastic is hot longer, it can stretch more.  I finally got the fan mounted again, and am seeing 1.75 at a temp that was giving me 1.60 before.  The fan can make it harder to set up the loop for the winder however.  In the course of guiding the end of the filament to the spool, it gets pushed around a lot at the nozzle.  The fan will quickly set the filament into waves that can be harder to get through the intake tube.   If you can cover the fan while getting the filament to the winder, it will be a lot easier.  Then once everything is running smoothly let the fan cool the filament.

Just over drill the nozzle.

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Re: vertical mount = no fan?

I might try that later on.  I get up to 24"/sec at higher temps, but 1.45 diameter.  If I enlarged the nozzle, could I get 1.75 at that speed, or does the bigger opening reduce the pressure and slow down the extrusion?

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Re: vertical mount = no fan?

You'd get 1.75 at around 20"/min.

Also if you are getting 24"/sec, I'd like video.

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Re: vertical mount = no fan?

It's like silly string,  but with filament.

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Re: vertical mount = no fan?

I like this approach better, why put the brakes on (cooling fan), when you can go all out. Seems like we need a nozzle tip that can adjust the orifice size on the fly. It could all be controlled by the filament diameter measuring device Ian and others are working on.

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Re: vertical mount = no fan?

IanJohnson wrote:

It's like silly string,  but with filament.

That's an awesome image. According to Google, 24 (inches per second) =
1.36363636 mph. That would be _awesome_. We just need to gear up the FilaWinder, right? We'll need larger FilaBottles, though. Drink faster!