This week’s selection is the Filament Cutter by Printables contributor fuchsr.
Anyone operating a FFF 3D printer has a problem: cutting filament for use in the machine.
It turns out that many extruders simply load far more reliably when the tip of the filament is sharpened, and this is typically done with a pair of sidecutters. Often sidecutters are even included as standard tools in today’s desktop 3D printer shipments.
But the problem is that you have to get the angle correct — 45 degrees, and you have to deal with the cut off bits.
My floor is littered with snipped off pieces of filament. This is because I’m usually frantically trying to get a machine to work and am repeatedly inserting the filament. Each time I do so, I end up with another segment of filament being cut off and on the table or floor. Sure, I clean it all up sometimes, but that’s extra work.
Enter the Filament Cutter. This intriguing design includes both a slicing mechanism and a container to hold the cut off pieces.
To operate the device, simply insert a filament and press down strongly. The filament will be cut at precisely 45 degrees and the cut off piece is captured in a storage bin for later disposal.
There’s even an option to mount the cutter on the side of the 3D printer, making it even more convenient to use.
There are several parts to this 3D print, and you’ll need screws, springs (from a standard pen) and of course a blade. The blade should be a segment of a standard 18mm box cutter system, which fuchsr explains should be broken off with pliers to avoid nasty outcomes.
Assembling the device is straightforward, although you apparently may need some glue to hold the blade in place. Once done, you’re ready to start snipping filament safely and in a tidy manner.
I very much like this print because it’s an accessible design that anyone can produce, and the result is a highly functional mechanism that will no doubt be frequently used by 3D printer operators.
Via Printables
