spool holder for prusa 2

I know its kind of embarassing for someone who has a 3d printer for 3 years now , but while ive gained a lot of experience inthe field all those years, I still have an unsolved problem.

how to manage the filament.

Most of my failed prints are due to some problem on the fileament holder.

the usual one is that the filament gets entagled in the spooler and cannot be pulled

the problems are worse with PLA which is harder and less elastic than ABS (I use 3mm filament)

my usual solution is to keep an eye on the print and help the filament along. but thats a pain in the ass as I cannot really leave the printer unattended for more than a few minutes every time

so could you please proveide me a solution ?

for the last few months I have scrapped the idea of using pla on the spool and I cut pieces of it, but still it gets tangled along on itself

What does your filament holder look like?

It is important that it doesn't move too freely, there must be some resistance.
I accomplish this by tightening the the spool such that it moves with some resistance using my Mendel Snap-in Filament Spool Holder.

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Bob Morrison
Wörth am Rhein, Germany
"Luke, use the source!"
BLOG - PHOTOS - Thingiverse

I had this problem and I looked at it to find the problem.
The problem was that when I finished a print I released the filament and it unwound a layer on the spool.
So when I started a new print I pulled out the end and often it was under an other coil so it would jamb up after a few turns.
I solved this by pulling out a long length and if it was under an other coil i would pull it out from under that coil until I was sure I was past any jamb up.
I then rewound filament the spool.
As received the spool will not have any crossovers as it is not possible to wind a coil that way.

To prevent introducing crossover coils when you finish a print get in the habbit of feeding the end of the fillament through one of the holes on the edge of the spool and back through the next hole to lock it and prevent it unwinding.
If it can't unwind it can't create a crossover.

@george4657 thanks you described exactly one of my problems. crossover on the filament
Ill try and hold the filament winded as you described.

@rhmorrison I have 2 types of filament holder. the one is a 2kg white heavy plastic one from reprapworld.
the other is a lighter black 1kg with cardboard in the middle. the 2kg ones are nearly impossible to be moved by the extruder and the X motor.

I had a spool holder quite similar to yours, and now I made a new one the type with the 4 608zz bearings to roll on. (hopefully at least for the more flexible ABS)

Im also considering this one as a way to cut pieces of hard pla and let it roll on it.

You might instead consider using a filament clip.
There are many different designs on Thingiverse, I use THIS ONE.

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Bob Morrison
Wörth am Rhein, Germany
"Luke, use the source!"
BLOG - PHOTOS - Thingiverse

@rhmorrison that sound a more stable solution.
thanks, ill try it