Filament Storage

Hi all, newbie here, still getting to grips with the Ormerod but picking up tips from everyone at a rapid rate!

Thought others might be iinterested in my solution to filament storage, Lakeland sell a 'Clean Click' 0.85 Litre round storage box, item 16823 (barcode 5052775168237), at £3.79 which is a perfect fit for the 100 Metre reel of 1.75mm filament (RS / FilamentPrint) and allow space in the bottom for a Lakeland no spill hanging moisture trap sachet (24337 - 50552775243378) £9.99 for eight, to remove moisture. Not sure yet about Lavender scented filament - I will let you know.

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Steve - RS Ormerod - 7th Feb 2014
"... the clouds looked as if they had heard about snow and were considering the idea." - (Terry Prachett, The Light Fantastic)

Hi Poly,

Sounds like a nice idea for the 100m reels, I think most of us are now buying the much much cheaper 1kg (~360m) reels from a proven good quality and reliable ebay seller, [www.ebay.co.uk]

I wonder if there is a similar box that will take the larger reels, I'm already beginning to notice the difference between dry stored and filament exposed to moisture

Matt

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Limited Edition Red RS Ormerod 1 #144 of 200 - RRP 1.09fw
iamburnys Ormerod Upgrades Github
Follow me on ThingiVerse My Designs

I've got a spare roll of grey PLA, keeping it the airing cupboard with the linen

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Another RS Ormerod Mk1 meets the world

Retired now but I used to make....
CNC Machined Mk1 aluminium bed support plates for the Ormerod
CNC machined X-plates and ribs for Mk1 & Mk2 Ormerods
CNC machined bed support arms for the Mk2 Ormerod.
Dual Hot-End heatsink blocks.

Doesnt 1kg rools always ship vacuum bagged?

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5dala
Doesnt 1kg rools always ship vacuum bagged?

No! I received two reels in open plastic bags - they had dessicant, but no airtight seal - pretty pointless

Ray

My experience so far:

1kg Jet PLA bought via Amazon Marketplace from Jet-jet2004 - NOT sealed, with desiccant. I had problems getting this to stick to the bed after a few prints.
1kg PLA bought from eBay supplier latest-bidder aka Galactic Warehouse - sealed, with desiccant
1kg ABS bought from eBay supplier betterfuture66 - sealed, with desiccant

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Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].

Hmmm.

100 Metre reels from RS (FilamentPrint) in a (not very well) heat sealed bag (destroyed on opening), no desiccant (and unlikely to be purchased again due to price).
1 KG reel from 3DFilaprint (not yet tested) vacuum sealed, with desiccant and supplied with a re-sealable bag in which to place the reel once opened: impressive.

Still looking for a suitable storage container for the 1KG size. All of the square ones are excessively tall (might take 2 reels perhaps?) but there may be one aimed at cake storage that gets nearer the mark. Hovering around the shelves with an oversize cotton reel under one's arm trying for size may become a little embarassing......

Steve

Does everyone leave the machine fitted with the reel in use?

I'm not even sure how you change reels yet so have just left it fitted.

If it runs out while printing can you just follow the end through with the start of the new reel?

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Another RS Ormerod Mk1 meets the world

Retired now but I used to make....
CNC Machined Mk1 aluminium bed support plates for the Ormerod
CNC machined X-plates and ribs for Mk1 & Mk2 Ormerods
CNC machined bed support arms for the Mk2 Ormerod.
Dual Hot-End heatsink blocks.

Hi Davek0974,

I've never fitted the back panel on the electronics box, and I've always had a remote spool holder (and i think most other people have a remote spool holder of some kind). You can definitely just chase the end of the previous filament with the start of another spool - as long as you're there and your vigilance is up to it (mine isn't always!), just keep pushing it in gently until the extruder grabs it

Ray

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Davek0974

I'm not even sure how you change reels yet so have just left it fitted.

filament changing had good instructions for changing filaments and the principles work well for me. From web interface I just raise temp, reverse feed 10mm, drop temp, and do 4 100mm reverses at full speed. On the last one the filament stops coming out and you just pull it out.

For storage of other filaments, once they are out of the supplied vacuum packing I use ziploc freezer bags with dessicant. Larger size bags can just take the 1kG reels. The bags sealing strip at least eliminates extra moisture getting in.

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rayhicks
Hi Davek0974,

I've never fitted the back panel on the electronics box, and I've always had a remote spool holder (and i think most other people have a remote spool holder of some kind). You can definitely just chase the end of the previous filament with the start of another spool - as long as you're there and your vigilance is up to it (mine isn't always!), just keep pushing it in gently until the extruder grabs it

Ray

Yes, that's what I do also, but three things to be aware of:

1) Don't relax after the new filament has been grabbed - if there is a retract operation shortly afterwards it will be pushed back out. Wait till you see the new filament end moving in the bowden tube.
2) Retract operations won't result in negative extruder pressure until the new filament hits the hotend, so you may get increased blobs and strings for a while
3) Careful that while you are pushing the filament into the extruder you are not moving the X axis arm sideways, which will create a big step in your print at that place. I lift the extruder off the arm and hold it while pushing in the new filament (keep fingers away from the gears!).

Dave
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