printing with weed trimmer line

Hey guys
I have been gone for a while because of school but I just wanted to check if anyone has tried printing with weed trimmer line as per the instructions I wrote here:
[www.reprap.org]
It would be cool to see how far people have gone with it (if any)
I have been printing using this method for quite a while and it is suprisingly reliable and fairly easy to set up

Yes, it pops and crackles, but it works.

However, It has now been proven to give off cyanide gas at around 0.1 PPM levels. It is because of contaminants in the weedwhacker (it isn't meant for this purpose!). IT isn't deadly dangerous by a long shot, but I don't wanna be exposed to it.

Do you have any pictures of printed objects with weedwacker line. And what kind, size, etc and some pics of the package. Thanks

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I've printed with it. Oven baked eliminated crackle and pop.

It does warp EXCESSIVELY. Smaller parts are usable, large parts lift alot. I've been running a trimmer line stepper gear on my extruder for 4 months now, looks like almost no wear at all. It meshes with an ABS hobbed bolt gear that is showing typical wear.

0.65" blue, round line, generic brand. Trimmer line does come in different extrusion profiles other than round. There are more trimmer line options if you are running 3mm filament, I'm running 1.75mm.

Printed on FRP(fiberglass reinforced panel) with very good adhesion, not so much on glass, didn't try kapton.

Pink Panther Woman is 50mm.

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/2013 12:31AM by Dirty Steve.

What temperature did you set your extruder?

Inquisitor Wrote:
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> What temperature did you set your extruder?


I used every color/brand you could find in home depot. They all worked the same, and they all crackled. I did 235C.
I recommend against using this material with small nozzles, and I am sure it will clog, plus the minute amount of cyanide no one seems to care about:

[www.instructables.com]
"Two brands of Trimmer or weed-whacker Line mfg in the US = .1ppm"

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/22/2013 10:42AM by Simba.

Temperature varied with generic brands, can only find blue and a semi-clear that will run in a 1.75mm hot end, 210 to 240, no clogs with a 0.25 nozzle, no pops during print after oven baking.

Printed about 10 degrees below popping and smoking a little. Material bubbles if too hot.

Why not just use the Nylon filament from octave?

Wow this is really cool to have all these people continuing something I started I love seeing all the people working on this.

@SIMBA
Ya I'm sure melting any plastic isn't gonna be good for you anyways, adequate ventilation is always good to have. If you are still getting crackling and little puffs of steam, you should dry the filament more. When I print I don't get any crackling.
@Squad
There are some pictures of objects printed with weed trimmer line on the wiki video. These parts were fairly large, but also thin so they didn't warp as much as other taller objects.
@Dirty Steve
Those are some nice looking prints . I haven't seen anyone use 1.75mm line yet. That is cool that you use fiberglass board, I wouldn't have thought of that. I use cardboard and it sticks to that like glue, but the cardboard is a little hard to get off the bottom of the part. One thing I have found with the warping problem is that the hotter the heated bed, the better it gets. I think if you get it hot enough you should be able to almost eliminate warping, but I haven't tried it. What I do to stop big parts from warping is I print a large skirt as well as printing on cardboard. As long as the cardboard is secure, the part shouldn't warp. Look at the wiki for more details.
Oh and also, different trimmer line may be made of different materials. Line with embedded strengthening fibers or whatever might be what changes the melting point.
@doog
I am sure it is probably more expensive than trimmer line, but maybe more accurate? Depends on the application I guess.

I'm using stuff from home depot, part comes out glossy but have to print on cardboard for the warp, I'm pretty sure its got another plastic in in cause it melts and pushes through relatively easy, only problem i saw was it neededs a good hobbed bolt to grip it.

extruder at 235c
bed at 110 but after cardboard most likely closer to 80

doogleass Wrote:
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> Why not just use the Nylon filament from octave?


Do you mean Taulman nylon?


What are the recommended recipe for baking the water out of this blue weedwhackrr line?

I bake the blue line at around 200F for 2 or 3 hours.

Simba Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> doogleass Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Why not just use the Nylon filament from
> octave?
>
>
> Do you mean Taulman nylon?
>
>
> What are the recommended recipe for baking the
> water out of this blue weedwhackrr line?


yeah I meant Taulman

All I will say is you guys are far braver than me. I would NOT melt and extrude a plastic that I have no idea what is in it. I can almost guarantee you that string trimmer line is not pure nylon, or pure anything. It will be whatever leftovers the manufacturer had left over from other runs, so there is really no telling what you are printing with.

@crispy
I have been printing with weed trimmer line for a while, and I haven't gotten my extruder clogged. As for the toxicity of the trimmer line, there is an instructable on the reprap nylon page that details the chemicals that are given off by the trimmer line when melted. Also, if you do clog your nozzle, it shouldn't be hard to just run ABS behind it to clean it out.
@blitz
The trimmer line I use also melts fairly easily at around 235, I am pretty sure that the trimmer line is Nylon 6, which melts at 220 C.

It would be interesting if anyone could try printing with trimmer line on a hotter bed, say 150 C, and see if the parts still warp. I think this would only be possible with an aluminum bed since pcb breaks down at those temperatures. Really the only problem with printing with trimmer line right now is the warp, which can be fixed by using cardboard or fiberglass, but that is really just a bandaid solution.

One sample does not prove every supplier of trimmer line to be safe. In fact, it doesn't even prove that every batch from the supplier that WAS tested will be safe.

I have that .65mm blue trimmer line but I have a 3mm hot end so no go there. I still haven't gotten brave enough to try it. I guess if I get my ventilation setup together and find some bigger trimmer line I might have to try it out. I think I'll wait till I machine my new 1.75mm modified j-head to give it a round.

anyone know any good measurement tools out there measuring the gasses ?