1 Topic by Claghorn

  • Claghorn
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  • From: Delray Beach, FL
  • Registered: 2012-10-22
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Topic: Filament is irregular diameter?

I wanted to print something in black, so I switched back to some old black filament I haven't used in a long time, and found a weird problem.

It will print perfectly OK for a while, and then at some apparently random time, the filament will stop feeding through the extruder. I don't hear clicking like it is trying and failing to push the filament through, it just stops coming out.

I thought it might be a clog, but when I switched back to the natural filament I had been using, it feeds perfectly well, and was able to print the entire object (which I'll now need to figure out how to paint :-). There was no dust in the gear that needed to be cleaned out either.

The only thing I can figure is that the filament has occasional thin spots every few feet and sometimes it just can't be grabbed enough to feed through. Does that sound like a reasonable theory? Anyone else ever seen this symptom?

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2 Reply by wardjr

  • wardjr
  • wardjr
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Re: Filament is irregular diameter?

Run into this a lot with saturated (moisture) filament that hasn't been properly stored. Which for me is a lot of my rolls of filament.  The steam creates back pressure and acts just like a clog.  Try the old oven trick.

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3 Reply by Claghorn

  • Claghorn
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  • From: Delray Beach, FL
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Re: Filament is irregular diameter?

wardjr wrote:

Run into this a lot with saturated (moisture) filament that hasn't been properly stored. Which for me is a lot of my rolls of filament.  The steam creates back pressure and acts just like a clog.  Try the old oven trick.

Thanks. It is definitely worth a try. It's in the oven now, I'll see if it works better after baking a few hours.

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4 Reply by wardjr

  • wardjr
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Re: Filament is irregular diameter?

If not you'll always thought it should have wink

Printit Industries Model 8.10 fully enclosed CoreXY, Chamber heat
3-SD3's & a Workbench all fully enclosed, RH-Slic3r Win7pro, E3D V6, Volcano & Cyclops Hot End
SSR/500W AC Heated Glass Bed, Linear bearings on SS rods. Direct Drive Y-axis, BulldogXL
Thanks to all for your contributions

wardjr's Website