Topic: Spool unwinding
Is there a simple way to prevent the spool from unwinding during a print? I'm thinking just some friction on the spool might work? Or perhap something like a large rubber band? That works on fishing line spools.
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SoliForum - 3D Printing Community → Help/Repair/Maintenance → Spool unwinding
Is there a simple way to prevent the spool from unwinding during a print? I'm thinking just some friction on the spool might work? Or perhap something like a large rubber band? That works on fishing line spools.
Yep, try
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:31317
or this
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:117621
depending on your setup.
Awesome! So it's not just me, then? ![]()
Nope not just you. I have a hybrid version of the Lawsy design (1st link) and never had the unwinding problem after that.
it still trys jumping side of spool at times so I take wire coat hangers and bend them to fit close to sides across spool and hook into opening of spool so they hang at bottom and filament cant unwind off spool more than half way around. have different sizes for each size spool used
Dammit!!
I printed a couple of the 2nd ones and have been using them since the last post here. Seemed to do the trick
I had about 2hrs worth of printing of the remaining parts for my carriage upgrades, and the filament managed to hop off and get caught up, which ruined the print.
Dammit!!! What the hell can be done to prevent this? It seems some kind of constant tension on the spool would solve it. I think what's happening is that the slack in large Y-axis movements back towards the rear can sometimes be enough to allow the filament to jump off the sides of the spool.
Take a look at getting the spool above and centered rear of the printer. A big lazy arc on the filament is best. Take a look through my posts for a picture of how my holder and enclosure is set up. The filament enters through a hole centered on the printer. I am not suggesting you do as I did but you could duplicate where and how the filament is guided. I can run full spools and I have never had it jump the roll since. I also have a friend that just used PVC pipe to hold the spool directly over the center of the printer. It's an ugly setup but it works and doesn't bother him ![]()
The spool is centered on the built-in holder, and I have an elastic band wrapped around the pipe to provide a little friction to the spool. The guide is mounted so that it's away from the printer, with about a foot of filament b/w the guide and the entry to the case. The hole in the case is centered at the top of the rear panel.
I've had many successful prints since I started using the guide, and I check the filament before each print, but last night it messed up. Just weird..
The guides are a cool solution. I use a filament dehydrator. It is just a box with a lid made of polycarbonate that holds my reel the way I want so it does not uncoil and stays dry.( small bags of dessicant inside) A small hole in the lid and some half hoops on each side to hole the reel off the bottom. Simple and fixes two problems for me.
pic of one of my tricks posted above works great
Try a loop of PTFE like on the filawinder.
pic of one of my tricks posted above works great
Thanks, that looks simple. I'm now thinking of printing something similar..
Having a nice easy filament path is important. I have never been a big fan of running the filament through that hole in the back. It places a lot of unnecessary force on the extruder as it pulls the filament which can cause the filament to strip or even skipping of the y-axis. If you have play (and we all do) in the carriage it will also lift it up and down throwing any calibration you do right out the window. I know a lot of users run it this way but wanted to point out that a nice lazy arc with minimal resistance has been well established for several years as the best way to feed your printer filament.
Here is a picture of how I have mine set up. Even with the fullest rolls It never jumps the spool even when I have three on there and pull from the outside spool.

Hope this helps ![]()
Thx. Yeah, I've been wondering about that lid...
yeah I got the cover with mine and SD didnt think about that tight bend for filament seems. but I do like having the foam dust wiper and like keeping everything including filament covered to keep clean and dry plus controling operating temps better. I have seen some nice plexy DIY covers that would be a better investment than the metal 'deluxe' cover plus load filament above extruder like some delta printers did. saves floor space too
Great.. another project! lol..
And here is my very complicated setup
http://www.soliforum.com/topic/6531/how … ing-issue/
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