SoliForum - 3D Printing Community — Filament Protector

Re: Filament Protector

2012-08-19T23:44:38Z

That could be combined with the grommet!

Re: Filament Protector

2012-08-19T23:38:40Z

and perhaps add this to remove abs dust on the filament.. It can be attached anywhere on the filament.

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:16483

Re: Filament Protector

2012-08-19T23:09:38Z

The simpler solution for the edge of the hole itself is a rubber grommet. I put one on the S1 since I was concerned about the edges scraping the filament. It looks a little more finished too. If there is a rubber grommet that is the right size to hold some tubing for a guide, then theres the solution right there, no printing required.

Re: Filament Protector

2012-08-19T23:06:32Z

what about a product like rubber dip or even the rubber spray.
You buy it in small cans and you can dip your tool handles etc in it to create a rubber handle.
You could use the spray locally on the hole cutout for the filament. Would create a soft edge for the filament to run by...

Re: Filament Protector

2012-08-19T17:54:10Z

I like the clear tubing idea, I think ill do that.

Just print some sort of cap for the hole in the back to funnel in the filament and connect to the piece of tubing.

Re: Filament Protector

2012-08-19T17:26:16Z

My solution was to avoid the hole altogether. I had another idea for a filament guide for the sideways mounted spool on the back. It would just be a collar to fit inside the hole with an inner diameter sized to hold a short length of clear tubing. The tube would extend out the back just past the edge of the spool, and far enough inside to keep it off the edge of the frame.

For printers with cases, I think some kind of filament guide for the top of the extruder would be good. I had some trouble with the S1 with the filament getting kinked into a 90 degree bend on top of the extruder while the case was on. There is only 12mm of clearance above the extruder, so the filament has to make a fairly sharp turn. Something on top of the extruder that maintains the largest possible bend would help keep the filament from getting pulled down flat and kinked by forward movements.

Having the motor cooled will help keep the filament from getting softened too much on the way to the extruder, but on long, enclosed prints there might be enough heat buildup at the top to be a problem. When my case comes in I'll tape my thermocouple up there and see what happens.

Filament Protector

2012-08-19T17:13:36Z

When using the filament guide hole in the back of the Solidoodle, it forces the filament to scrape against the frame. This is fine when the filament is being drawn forward, but when it is forced back with +Y movement the frame is sharp enough to scrape pieces of plastic off the filament. Only minor damage, nothing fatal, but there's an easy fix as show in the picture. Just print out a cover for the part of the frame that scrapes against the filament. I've included an STL, but you might want to design your own as it'll be one of the simplest things you've designed and your frame thickness might be different to mine.

You can see that the reel I'm using has a wide diameter. I suspect this is the cause of the problem and the problem might change to the hole itself if a smaller diameter reel is used. So perhaps a grommet for the hole will be necessary for me at a later point.