I’ve come across a number of spools that have the end of the filament taped to the barrel of the spool. I really wish that manufacturers weren’t doing this. It defeats my (and I suspect others) switches for filament detection by jamming the filament and never allowing the end of the filament to pass the switch. Which in turn makes it difficult to efficiently use spools up and print anything larger than a single spool.
Anyone have ideas to work around it? I know a pulse type sensor would be effective but I just got the switches implemented. I’d rather not have to worry about this and I can’t be re-spooling material just to remove this tape.
On the manufacturer’s side, if they put a small hole in the side of the spool by where they might tape it and stuck the filament out that hole and clamped it on the outside of the spool instead then there would be no tape needed and customers would be happier. As a big community with some high profile youtube content providers among us, we can probably get the filament makers to switch to that method or at least label the filament end holding method.
@NathanielStenzel I’ve seen many that do use that method and almost all spools I’ve seen have a hole for it too. I don’t see why some think the tape is a good idea. I’d really appreciate if this got some visibility to stop this practice.
Looking at the first photo this manufacturer already provides a hole in the core tube for the purpose.
I’ve noticed a few spools with no “centre” hole, so the only option would be some kind of tape, it’s a failure of the spool maker really. That said, when I do this for re-spooling small filament runs, I’ve seen that the extruder is usually strong enough to pull the filament loose from the tape…
On the extruder maker’s side, we could have a twist sensor which could detect extrusion resistance and spool resistance. The sensor would have a holding force which is just before when a quick fit connector would break. This would have the benefit of us needing to worry less about not setting our current on our extruder motors too high and knowing what is up for extrusion issues.
@Jon_Gritton I guess the question is if it can overcome extrusion resistance and spool tape resistance at the same time while not busting quick fit connectors. Current tweaking needed for some, perhaps.
Thinking through it I agree with you @NathanielStenzel a hole on the side at the root (rather than the core tube) would give: continued compatibility with all existing spool holders, the option to remove tape from the outside of the spool, & not lose the security required for tensioned spooling.
The particular spool pictured is a Matterhackers Pro ABS. Several of them have it.
I called 3DXTech about this to make sure that an order I will be placing won’t have it. The only time they use tape is for a brittle material such as a Carbon fiber filled.
3DSolutech does a great job of clipping the bent end off as cleanly as possible, their spools have always worked great for me.
I don’t recall if the end of the Scaffold Snap or MatX I used up had this or not. +Sanjay Mortimer, can you comment? If you guys do use tape, can you work on a way to avoid it? I love the materials but tape makes it difficult to use reliably. Thanks!
As for making a different type of detector, two flaps that try to close on the spool from other sides may work. If they detect a difference in the measured radius of the spool+filament, you are out or dangerously close to it. The catch is that the flaps need to be as wide as the inside of the spool and axis of the flaps must be parellel to the axis of the spool.
Mine is not Bowden. The tape comes off the spool, but as it gets pulled up to the filament detector, the tape jams as it doesn’t go into the hole/tubing and then the filament strips at the drive wheel.
missing/deleted image from Google+
This is why I prefer rotary encoders for filament detection instead of simple switches. Catches extruder jams and spool tangles in addition to out-of-filament.
I suggest you put a microswitch (in line with the current sensor) on the spool bracket. If it reaches its end and does not come out of the spool, it will raise it and then turn this micro switch on.
You can buy larger spools of material too. 2kg, 4kg, 10kg, etc.
@Cameron_Spiller Like this? I designed it a long time ago (2014?) but never bothered finishing it. The Tunell filament monitor came out (uses a rotary encoder and connects to most boards) and it worked so well I stopped trying to DIY my own.
missing/deleted image from Google+
@Ryan_Carlyle dude! That’s awesome
Lovely bit of design there!
@Martin_Dolan feeding filament in is a pain, gets stuck. Needed iterating to make it viable and I stopped working on it.
