1 Topic by Claghorn

  • Claghorn
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  • From: Delray Beach, FL
  • Registered: 2012-10-22
  • Posts: 730

Topic: What have I done now?

I decided to try and print something larger than my initial tests once I got everything aligned and it used up the remaining sample filament during the print without me actually noticing for a while. The only filament left in the print head now is below the drive gears. What is my best move at this point? Will trying to load more filament just push the leftover down, or would that be more likely to make things worse?

On a related topic, has anyone made a filament alarm that notices when the end of the filament gets pulled through the back hole and warns me that I'm an idiot? :-). Something simple like a copper wire that rests on the filament and drops down to complete a contact when there is no more filament to rest on?

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2 Reply by 2n2r5

  • 2n2r5
  • 2n2r5
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  • From: Frederick, MD
  • Registered: 2013-05-09
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Re: What have I done now?

Search for filament alarm. There are topics that cover it but none using the printrboard. For the filament , you can swing the tentioner arm out of the way and pull the filament out with tweezers.

SD3 w/ mods:
Glass bed with QU-BD heat pad upgrade, threadless ballscrew w/ 8mm smooth rod, spectra line belt replacement, lawsy MK5 extruder, Lawsy replacement carriage, E3D hotend, Ramps 1.4 w/ reprap discount controller, DRV8825 drivers, 12v 30A PS, Acrylic case, Overkill Y-idlers, Filament alarm, Extruder fan + more.

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3 Reply by Claghorn

  • Claghorn
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  • From: Delray Beach, FL
  • Registered: 2012-10-22
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Re: What have I done now?

Thanks. I was afraid it might be something like that - I've been reading about how easily the acrylic breaks :-(. I may have to get some longer tweezers...

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4 Reply by Claghorn

  • Claghorn
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  • From: Delray Beach, FL
  • Registered: 2012-10-22
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Re: What have I done now?

I was able to pull the remaining filament up a little, but using enough force to pull it up more risked slipping off the filament and smashing into the acrylic (which I really wanted to avoid). However, I realized that the filament was now high enough to contact the drive sprocket, so I screwed it back together and used the retract button. It worked like a charm, and now I have everything back to normal with my full spool of filament feeding into the extruder.

Shouldn't run out of filament again soon, and maybe I'll rig up an alarm before I do (not necessarily integrated with the firmware - just a piezo buzzer to attract my attention).

Claghorn's Website