Monday, December 17, 2012

3D Printing Tidbit - Spooling loose filament

Believe me when I say that hours of trial and error have gone into discovering this trick. Sometimes you get loose filament, filament that is not on a spool. And whether you use an empty spool or print one getting the filament on the spool in always a challenge. The filament either gets twisted and wants to knot up or gets loose and wants to fall all over. I've tried it alone, I've recruted help, I've slipped it over a broom handle, nothing. Whatever I do it's a mess and takes way to long to successfully spool until I figured this out:
The trick is to spool the filament with the same curl as the filament on your arm. Then you alternate between turning the spool and turning your hand around the spool as the filament gets too tight or too lose on your wrist. You can also shake your arm to loosed it up along the un-spooled bit. Works great, doesn't take too long, and doesn't require any help. The only down side is once you start you're committed to finishing, so make sure you don't start spooling when your significant other is going to need help with the kids.

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