Extruding PET (PETE, not PETG) plastic with Filastruder (Page 1 of 2)

It's too late now but the issue is not voltage, it's current. You should have upgraded to a 12 volt supply of higher wattage or current. Now your are supplying the fan with too much voltage and the heater as well and that will burn them both out sooner.

They are designed for 12 after all and you are pushing 18 into them now which is going to make the fan run 30% faster which will also impact cooling.

And this is the message I got from Tim Elmore before I decided to upgrade to 18V.

"The heater and PID temperature controller are rated to 18 volts, but we provide a 12 volt power supply. The purpose behind this design choice is to limit beginners to ~260C even if they bypass the controller."

"By providing 15 volts to the heater and temperature controller, heater output is increased by 56%. As a result 400C is possible, and the heater is rated to 400C."

"If you upgrade the power supply, any 15-18 volt supply capable of 5 amps or more will be fine. Do note that the gearmotor is rated for 12 volts, suppling it with 15v of 18v will decrease its live. You can use the stall protection board to  step-down/regulate the motor’s voltage, though."

elmoret, thanks for the message!

These are the characteristcs - a food grade PET copolyester:

Product Properties
Intrinsic Viscosity (IV)* 0.80 ± 0.02 dl/g
Melting Temperature (Tm) 248 ± 4 ºC
Acetaldehyde content (AA) ≤ 1 ppm
Color b ≤ 1
Fines ≤ 50 ppm
Water content ≤ 0.2 %
Pellets weight 1.7 ± 0.1 g/100 pellets
Pellets shape Spherical granules -
*Ph/DCB 2 : 3 (w/w), 25ºC

I have to say that the PID temperature was going up and down by +/- 10C (or perhaps maybe even 20C).

So these are the next steps, I'm going to try:

1. Mount Filastruder vertically. This was if the temperature is a bit higher the plastic will not drip on the fan. Perhaps it will just be very thin.
2. Get the autotuning sorted. If I get get the plastic extrusion going I hope overtime I can get the temperature stabilisation.
3. Check if adding extra fans could help. I saw somewhere people suggesting to use a bit higher temp and then either drill a bigger hole in the nozzle or do extra cooling. I prefer extra cooling.

1.) Have you autotuned? I doubt it is the sensor.
2.) Have you tried reducing temperature?

tomas0413,
Can you post pictures of your thermocouple placement?

-os3dp

I'll try to remove the fan that you see in the picture and install a couple of large fans a bit lower so they don't blow straight into the nozzle. I also plan to try a new sensor, but I think the problem isn't in the sensor.

Or maybe the sensor wire had to be routed inside the insulation and insulation then could be lowered a bit?

Any suggests are welcome!

Thanks, everyone.

Thanks for the advice, just ordered some kapton tape!

Quick update on the status:

1. I replaced the temperature sensor.
2. Put the Kapton tape to secure the temperature sensor.
3. Installed four fans with adjustable speed
4. I installed a 3mm stainless steel nozzle. (used to be 1.75mm stainless steel nozzle).

This time see that the best extrusion I get when I set the temperature to 230C (used to be 205C), so it's already entirely different.
I managed to extrude 1.75mm filament, which is excellent, but there will be a lot more work needed to get the width consistent.
I have a Filawinder ready but haven't tried it yet.

Also, the temperature is much more stable now, but still +/-5C. (After autotune).

I found this blog post, I'll if I need to get manual settings to get more constant temperature :
http://sestosd1s.blogspot.com/2015/04/s … aving.html

A few more updates from my side:

1. I'm able to get better results from PID on temperature stability, but it's not at the level which I'd be happy. Ideally, I'd like to achieve +/- 0.1C and in the worst case scenario + / - 0.5C. I ordered a different PID from Inkbird so that I can compare it to the Sestos.
2. I used Kapton tape to secure the thermosensor, but I didn't cover the entire nozzle. I plan to use heat insulation cotton to cover the nozzle and also use a bit more Kapton tape to secure the insulation.
3. I discovered the interesting results from 3DEVO that seem to be more or less in line with what I learned so far:
https://3devo.com/wp-content/uploads/20 … ycling.pdf

Hi,

in my case it's this:

1) to be able to recycle plastic and use recycled plastic in 3D printing (not only PLA or ABS)
2) to reduce the cost of large 3D printed objects (let's say around 10kg in size)
3) The cost of PET granules per 1.3 EUR (per kg) (1.46 USD)
4) PET from www.re-filament.com (made from recycled plastic bottles) has been already successfully tested and works:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BimHp3DAu9H/
5) just general curiosity of learning something than just consuming

Its in a hole, though its not secured like it should be.