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Topic: Filament Diameter

I recently put on a new nozzle with melt filter.  Getting about .052" dia. output at 180C.  I've had excellent results running filament in my machine that was .063".  Any ways to get that .010" or so? If I need to drill nozzle, what size should I go to? Shall I just redirll with 1/16"?

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Re: Filament Diameter

Who uses SAE units anymore? smile

0.052" = 1.32mm
0.063" = 1.60mm

By default, they are drilled to 1/16" (1.58mm) which gives 1.6-1.7mm filament for most polymers. I aim for a slight undersize to avoid people having jams in certain polymer/temperature combos.

1.32 is too small though. What material? Fan on? Did you wrap the nozzle in Kapton to prevent the thermocouple from getting a bad reading?

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Re: Filament Diameter

I am used to using SAE from working in a machine shop for some time.....  Polymer is abs from osprinting.  Fan was partially covered, though uncovered did not seem to change result.  No kapton on it for now, only relying on clamp. Although, since you've mentioned that... does seem like a good idea.  Any substitutes for kapton till I get it ordered??  I did get larger diameter with original nozzle.  However, I did not check the ID on either of them.

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Re: Filament Diameter

Have you tried decreasing temperature? I'm not sure what could have changed besides the probe. All Filastruder 1.75mm nozzles are drilled with a 1/16th bit.

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Re: Filament Diameter

I will do some experimenting and get back to ya.  I've had it down to 175 but did not want to go further.  I'll probably get back on here tomorrow with more info.

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Re: Filament Diameter

Yeah, 175 is about the limit for ABS, you should hear the motor start working harder around 170. After that, it's decreasing nozzle to floor height and increasing cooling. After that, redrilling the nozzle.

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Re: Filament Diameter

I've actually got it setup with a filawinder.  Extruder is at 45 deg. angle.  All seems to work properly aside from size.  Once I have some more time I'll try a few things before drilling it.

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Re: Filament Diameter

You could try putting the winder and extruder closer together, maybe the sensor higher.  That will reduce the amount of filament hanging from the nozzle, equivalent to putting it closer to the floor.  I haven't seen too much difference from that, but it might work.  The biggest effect I have had on diameter with the winder was increasing the cooling.

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Re: Filament Diameter

Ended up moving my band heater 1/4" closer to nozzle.  Also found my temp. sensor was not quite in the nozzle far enough.  Seems to have fixed problem.  Getting consistent .062-.063"

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Re: Filament Diameter

jmdw52 wrote:

Ended up moving my band heater 1/4" closer to nozzle.  Also found my temp. sensor was not quite in the nozzle far enough.  Seems to have fixed problem.  Getting consistent .062-.063"

Have a feeling it was sensor position that was the issue here.

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Re: Filament Diameter

elmoret wrote:
jmdw52 wrote:

Ended up moving my band heater 1/4" closer to nozzle.  Also found my temp. sensor was not quite in the nozzle far enough.  Seems to have fixed problem.  Getting consistent .062-.063"

Have a feeling it was sensor position that was the issue here.

I just started putting thermocouples in using high temperature RTV silicon sealant (bought a tube at an auto parts store), and it not only holds the thermocouple in place securely, I think that it probably gives more consistent temperature readings because there's no air gap.  Note that it's a sealant, not glue, so the sensor comes out if you pull on it (which is good).