1 Topic by Randavian

  • Randavian
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Topic: First attempt to use extruded filament...failed

Hey all,

Sorry for the long post... you were warned. Lol.

Not sure if anyone can help, but I got my first clog since owning my SD3 (over a year now) and it happened with my filastruder filament.  Just looking for suggestions as I am soaking my nozzle as I type.

Here is what I did...

I have had the filament extruded for about 6 months. 

I did trash the first 10 to 12 hours of filament as suggested due to contaminants.  Haven't seen any contaminants in what I am trying to use.

No, I did not keep it out of the humidity, but I don't keep my store bought filament out of the humidity either.

I mic'ed a piece of my store bought filament which read 1.8 mm and then my filastruder filament which read 1.7.  I changed my filament setting in slicer to reflect the difference.

Otherwise all my settings, SD extruder temp, etc, were the same as always.

The first 2 layers worked good, even though I noticed a slight gap in "some" of the bottom layer lines where as with store bought the lines were always tight together.

Somewhere, either at the very end of the second layer or somewhere in the third layer is when the nozzle clogged.

For a little bit I was able to push the filament into the extruder and it would extrude a little bit, but that only lasted so long. 

I backed out the filastruder filament and put in some store bought and it extruded a little bit before stopping again.

Basically just wondering if there were any tweaks that others have found that need to be done when using filastruder filament. 

Got my filament from OS along with blue colorant.

I did a search, but didn't find much.  Seen where some people stated they do not run their temps any different with filastruder filament, etc....but I could have sworn that I had seen a post, way back when, where some people stated they had to run theirs at a lower temp.

Thanks.

2 Reply by elmoret

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Re: First attempt to use extruded filament...failed

Running a melt filter nozzle?

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E3Dv6 All Metal Hotend - the premier 3D printing hotend

3 Reply by jlspea01

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Re: First attempt to use extruded filament...failed

@Randavian,

What is your mix ratio? Do you remember?

If you add too much masterbatch, you change the properties of the ABS. For instance, it can become brittle or in some cases, you can really gum things up.

If you really messed up the batch by measuring tablespoons instead of teaspoons (like I did for a batch), you can have really crummy filament.

But the ABS + Blue colorant from osprinting was good stuff. I am printing with a spool of it now, as a matter of fact.

4 Reply by Randavian

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Re: First attempt to use extruded filament...failed

@ Elmoret, No I haven't purchased a filter yet.  Figured I would wait to see how the first batch went.

@ Jlspea01, I want to say that the ratio was pretty sparce.  It made a light blue.  But I only eyeballed the mix.

5 Reply by elmoret

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Re: First attempt to use extruded filament...failed

Randavian wrote:

@ Elmoret, No I haven't purchased a filter yet.  Figured I would wait to see how the first batch went.

There's your problem. You need a melt filter for any nozzle smaller than 0.6mm.

Filastruder - the robust, inexpensive filament extruder
E3Dv6 All Metal Hotend - the premier 3D printing hotend

6 Reply by tealvince

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Re: First attempt to use extruded filament...failed

jlspea01 wrote:

@Randavian,

What is your mix ratio? Do you remember?

what ratios does everyone else use?  I found that with anything much less than 1:16 that the color is not even and visible "pulses" appear presumably as each masterbatch pellet goes in.  It seems that my filastruder does not mix filament well enough to use leaner ratios.

Yet at this high ratio I seem to get frequent clogs around the very tip of the nozzle, even with a melt filter.  These clogs are almost outside the nozzle entirely so they are easy to poke clear, but I don't have clogs with commercial filament so it makes sense it is due to too high of a masterbatch ratio.

7 Reply by elmoret

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Re: First attempt to use extruded filament...failed

tealvince wrote:
jlspea01 wrote:

@Randavian,

What is your mix ratio? Do you remember?

what ratios does everyone else use?  I found that with anything much less than 1:16 that the color is not even and visible "pulses" appear presumably as each masterbatch pellet goes in.  It seems that my filastruder does not mix filament well enough to use leaner ratios.

Yet at this high ratio I seem to get frequent clogs around the very tip of the nozzle, even with a melt filter.  These clogs are almost outside the nozzle entirely so they are easy to poke clear, but I don't have clogs with commercial filament so it makes sense it is due to too high of a masterbatch ratio.


1:16 is too high, and is probably why you're having trouble.

You need to make the masterbatch smaller before use, with a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle. Other thing to try is increasing temperature 5-10C.

Filastruder - the robust, inexpensive filament extruder
E3Dv6 All Metal Hotend - the premier 3D printing hotend

8 Reply by tealvince

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Re: First attempt to use extruded filament...failed

Sorry, I didn't mean to hijack this thread, but yes, that is why I embarked on my two pelletizer projects that I've posted about separately.  But again that begs the question: I already suspected 1:16 is too high, so what ratios is everyone else using?  Also, bumping up the temps has not helped for me.

9 Reply by elmoret

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Re: First attempt to use extruded filament...failed

Depends on the colorant, you'll want to contact the vendor. Typically anything from 32:1 to 100:1.

Filastruder - the robust, inexpensive filament extruder
E3Dv6 All Metal Hotend - the premier 3D printing hotend

10 Reply by Randavian

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Re: First attempt to use extruded filament...failed

Ok.  Thanks for the information.  I'll have to order a melt filter soon.

11 Reply by rbakerohio

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Re: First attempt to use extruded filament...failed

My first attempt failed too.... not to worry. It's part of the learning curve.  I have since made 12 full 1kg spools of ABS and experimented with PLA. I am running consistently 18"-20" per minute now. I don't use a melt filter. I use a stock nozzle opened up slightly to 1.70mm. On (ABS) I use 3 teaspoons per cup . 2 teaspoons did not give me a consistent color. Doesn't mater whether red, blue or black or yellow I always use 3 teaspoons per cup. I run at 180C to 185C. I run vertically with a puller no fan. It's not brittle and prints very well some of the best I've had.
Now for the PLA . I had a job that I really needed PLA because of the design couldn't have any warping. Normally I prefer ABS.
Ok I have had some success extruding with natural PLA but it's difficult and the minute I added colorant it was not a pretty sight. This reflects the experience of many on this board. Having 3 bags of PLA in stock and wanting to use it up I thought this would be a good time to make a hybrid of 1/2 PLA and 1/2 ABS. I made 1 cup of PLA with 3 teaspoons of yellow PLA colorant and 1 cup of ABS with 3 teaspoons of yellow ABS colorant and mixed them together. Ok now I got "PLABS". I'm hoping to reduce the warping just enough to get by. It is running now at 20" per minute and it is smooth and not brittle. I did a very small test batch about 2 months ago and it printed well but the object was small and didn't have the opportunity to warp. This is just my experience and people and setups vary greatly. Wish you luck  . I'll let you know how the "PLABS" works out.