Filament Reducer

So I have a few spools of 3mm filament from before I got with the times and switched over to 1.75. I want to eventually make my own filament so have been playing around with adding various components to reduce the filament diameter. I finally have something that works decently and I was able to make if from various stuff I had left from other projects.

[www.youtube.com]

So the main components visible in the video:
- 3mm spool with cardboard fingers to keep it from unspooling too fast
- Homemade extruder... most any type would work
- Filament Puller, I made this using the rubber from some old printer feeding mechanism (custom design)
- Extruded lever switch to control the spooling motor (custom design)
- Loop of tubing to hold some tension
- Spooling motor with really noisy/sloppy gearbox

So anyone who has looked into this probably knows about the filaspooler:
[www.filastruder.com]

Which is a nice way to go but if you're like me and want to do it the hard way then this option works too.

I control the device with a RUMBA running a special version of Marlin (bioprinter) which allows multiple 'extruders' to run simultaneously at different speeds. My extruder output is bigger than 1.75 I control the output diameter by running the 'puller' at different speeds. This is a nice way to go because once set the diameter stays fairly consistent with a variance maybe 0.1mm. The puller also keeps the filament from getting pulled out of the extruder too fast during extruding.

I ordered a proper gearmotor to make it quieter and may eventually add a spreader to more evenly load the spool.

Other than noise the main issue is the autospooling is pretty touchy it would be nice to add a little delay so the motor isn't turning on and off so much.

If there is enough interest I can publish all the info with more detail.

Wow!
I hardly could believe my eyes what I saw :-)

I mean, congratulations, your... contraption works.
Noisy but it works.
My obvious question is: why don't you swap your 3mm with 1.75mm with somebody.
I'm sure somebody would be interested in this swap.

On the other hand, hm....I was thinking if there is anything I can learn from your project and put it in my perlettes filament extruder.
I mean, a two stage filament extruder.
First stage is to change the filament granules into a filament (with rather big thickness)
Second stage, reduce the diameter by re-extruding it to a desired width.

This, based on the assumption that variations in the input diameter will lead to variations to the output length and not output diameter.


Coming back to your design: what's with the "Master" lock on the bottom of the design?
It even has a key in it :-)
Have you used it as a weight tensioner or...something else?

Hi Alexella,

Yes it works... for the most part. I still get issues with the extruder skipping which means a pause and break in the extruded filament and another takeup spool needed. Probably going a bit too fast...

. I could try swapping filament around but I found this interesting and educational... also I will have most the parts ready if I ever get a filastruder.

A couple new things:
- I am using a Potentiometer (as a voltage divider) at the bottom instead of the switch. From some initial testing this works really well in that it slows the spool take up and then speeds back up as the lever moves up and down.
- I got the gear motor and it is silent in comparison... just working on mounting it

As to the lock yes it is just a counterweight... it was lying nearby

perlettes filament extruder?

Mike

"perlettes filament extruder."... I don't know how to name them.
Plastic grains I mean, the standard ones.


Yes, indeed, I agree with you: the educational part rulez.
Anyone would have been able to do a swap but... a filament reducer, that's far more interesting.

I don't have enough time these days so my filament extruder was put on a pause.
And I returned to my filament supplier which...gives it to me for a good price.
As in your case, making my own filament was/ is more likely a challenge then a necessity.


keep on havin' fun
Alex

Here is my updated system,


[www.youtube.com]

Improvements:
- E3D Hot end
- Potentiometer and LM317 voltage regulator to control spooling
- Gear Motor

I have been able to reduce ABS, PLA, and PC. I couldn't get nylon (taulmen 618) to work it doesn't seem to like to be pulled, either the temp is too high and it drops out of the hot end or the temp is too low and it doesn't stretch.

PC worked at much lower temperatures than expected I have run it at 200 and 220 with a feedrate of 75 and 125 respectively.

I have also been printing with the filament I make, jams seem to happen more often then professional plastic but I went through lots of plastic during the development of my system.

Some [minor] issues still:
- Spooling isn't spread evenly, if I have enough distance from the 'spooling regulator' this seems to take care of itself for the most part
- Consistency: the filament diameter stays pretty consistent tolerance +-0.1mm but running my fingers along the filament I can tell its not perfect. I extrude undersize ~1.65 to be safe

In general I am happy with the results, it's a good platform for when I eventually try making my own filament from pellets or recycled prints.

Mike

First of all, I like your bedroom :-)

Second, I put my filament extruder on a pause..
I works but.. the output looks like a crappy shit from a tired small mouse.
It's brittle and with lot's of bubbles.

In my next attempt, I will try first to dry the ABS.

Also, I have to make the automated spool system, otherwise it's no fun.

Or, the best plan, is to completelly replycate the Lyman v5.
For this, I need around 200EUR or more but, with that amount of money, I can buy around 16kg of filament and ... this amount is enough for a year atleast.
Still, in my next idle time, I will make more progress on my filament extruder...

Quote
alexella
I works but.. the output looks like a crappy shit from a tired small mouse.
It's brittle and with lot's of bubbles.

maybe your extruding temperature is too high?

I have no ideea if temp was to high.
what you see in the picture is the only filament I've made.
Just wanderind if the motor will be powerfull enough to extrude, no further tests.
Temperature probably around 220C...

On my next attempt, I'll do it more sistematically, writing down parameters and retuning after each attempt.

I will start first by drying out the ABS

Try again at 180 degree Celsius to get better surfaces.
Vary around this temperature +/- 10 degree to find best match to your kind of ABS.

---

CTC 3D Drucker, fabrikator II mini, ultimaker-diy,
Modifizierter Prusa I3 Boxed.
Baubericht im Blog: [blog.gafu.de]

well... thanks for the advice but, I think I'll leave this as heritage for the next filament extruder.
Eventually I decided that it takes far to much space and time (compared to my filament requirements) so I intend to close this project.
I found a cheap source and.. I'll stick with it.


However, I noticed also at my printer that my quality of prints (and popping noise) dramatically decreased after I reduced the ABS printing temperature...

popping noise is moisture trying to escape. Drying the filament will solve it and give beter printing results

yes but.. moisture should explode around 100C.
The fact that I'm hearing popping at 235C but no more popping at 210C (for example), makes me thing that maybe I'm extruding at a temperature that's higher than required.

Otherwise, allthough I know what you mean through filament moisture, I have... no reasonable way to dry it. I'm just relying that my room is dry enough (no humidity sources and computer runs all the time)