MakerGear Forum

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:932145

I made a simple, fully rotatable, extendable right filament guide with a snug hole for the filament tube. The stock one wasn't very adjustable and it didn't hold the tube in place; ended up kinking then breaking the PLA filament loaded on the right side. The stock tube was a bit short too so I bought a 10ft length of Teflon PTFE tubing (McMaster-Carr #5239K11) and cut it to size; could be imagining things but the filament seems to slide much smoother through it.

Thank you! Fixing the right-side filament guide has been on my to-do list, and as my to-do list is pretty long, I've been hoping somebody else would get to it first.

You are not imagining things. The stock filament guide is not PTFE, and a PTFE tube greatly reduces the friction with the filament. Normally this doesn't make a whole lot of difference but it can be critical for stretchy filaments like Ninjaflex (however, I used the stock filament guide for the right-hand side with PVA, which is also very stretchy, and I didn't have any problem with it).

You're very welcome; I'm glad someone else has a use for it. If you notice any problems with it let me know. I hear you about the to-do list. Next I'm gonna come up with a wiper vessel that attaches to the right side, maybe to an extension off the right side spool holder. Also want to add some bearings to the right side spool holder; I've seen the free standing spool holders with bearings but I really want everything to stay attached to the printer chassis.

Yea, I could tell that the stock tubing wasn't PTFE since it was much clearer and I know PTFE is lower friction but wasn't sure if the difference I felt as I slid the PLA filament through each was cognitive bias. I'll have to do a timed gravity friction test to see if an equal length and equal curvature piece of PTFE tubing slides down a length of PLA (or better yet NinjaFlex) faster than a stock piece of tubing does.

Here's an old thread with my early attempt at a wiper: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1431
It didn't really work very well, and I gave up on it.

Apparently, new dual kits come with a piece of silicone if you are motivated to build a wiper?

jsc wrote:Here's an old thread with my early attempt at a wiper: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1431
It didn't really work very well, and I gave up on it.

The code on that thread will be very helpful for me if/when I attempt the wiper since I don't know the commands yet. Looks like a good idea but the kapton tape on a solid bar is the main shortcoming. I see you mentioned a brush to clean and retain the ooze; I think that is key. About 10 years ago I used to print with a commercial 3D printer and it definitely had a stainless steel brush that it would wipe across; it may have also had a silicone wiper. If I make one i'm thinking i'll put a silicone wiper on either side of a stainless steel or brass brush. Not the tastiest sandwich but could make for some tasty prints. Probably a clear plastic or glass container to catch the extruded filament when priming a nozzle as well as catching whatever got wiped off.

jsc wrote:Apparently, new dual kits come with a piece of silicone if you are motivated to build a wiper?

Yea I was dumbfounded by it since the directions I had didn't mention it; I thought maybe I missed a step and would have to take things apart. The piece of silicone seems too narrow; need to be able to mount it to something; doesn't leave a lot of room for adjustment or for clamping. I'll have to buy a sheet from McMaster.

I just printed out your filament guide and bolted it on, and it looks great; right on target. Thanks again.

Cool, glad you like it. I feel silly continuing this thread considering it's such a simple assembly but...

Did you print the 4.8mm P2 and used it with the stock tube OR did you print the 4.6mm P2 and used it with the McMaster Teflon tube OR did you do some other combination? The 4.6mm P2 fit perfectly with the Teflon tube but the stock tube didn't go into it (i'm sure I could have forced it in but I had anticipated that it would be too tight which is why I made the 4.8mm P2 as well so others could reuse the stock tube).

I printed out both, installed the one for the stock filament tube. The other one is a little bit large for my PTFE tube, which I got off of Amazon somewhere and was the smaller diameter of two choices I found. The stock tube fits perfectly.