Spooling Issues can Spoil Your 3D Print

By on June 1st, 2014 in learning

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Of the numerous issues that can fail your 3D print, spooling issues are among the most frequent. 

In the case of plastic extrusion 3D printers, a material filament is fed from a spool into the hot end to effect printing. The printing will succeed only if the filament is properly delivered from the spool, underlining the importance of the often designed-as-an-afterthought spool. 

So what can go wrong? We came up with a list of common scenarios and what you might do to mitigate them: 

  • Tangles: Have you ever left a loose filament end on an unused spool? Donā€™t. Thereā€™s a possibility the end might become looped under one of the other strands. You might not even notice it – until the print stalls when the loop becomes a snag. Always keep the filament ends secured; many spools now include a small notch or hole to put the end through. Do It. 
  • Tube Issues: Many personal 3D printers include a plastic guide tube to lead the filament directly to the extruder. Normally they work quite well, but sometimes they donā€™t. If there is debris hidden in the tube or even broken filament strands (YES, we have actually seen this), your filament will experience a lot of extra friction. Friction can also occur if thereā€™s a bend in the tube. While the extruder may appear to work normally, the motors will be working harder and in the case of stress (e.g. a slightly wider diameter segment of filament), the print may stall. Keep your tubes clean! Thereā€™s also a theory that you can lubricate them, but weā€™re not convinced this is a good solution. 
  • Rotational Issues: Some spools sit on a fancy hub with a bearing that ensures almost frictionless spinning. Others just sit on a stick. Guess which approach ensures more reliable printing? Yeah. 
  • Curve Issues: When brittle materials such as PLA are printing, you may encounter issues when youā€™re almost at the end of the spool. Thatā€™s because the brittle material retains the ā€œcurveā€ shape as it was tightly wound around the small inner diameter of the spool. These ā€œcurvyā€ filament segments may have to traverse guide tubes that might be straight. What does this mean? Friction. Lots of it. Thatā€™s the moment when your print may fail. Thereā€™s little you can do other than buy spools that have larger inner diameters and cross your fingers.