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Tangled filament

Discussion in 'General Questions' started by Eric Viglotti, Jan 16, 2018.

  1. Eric Viglotti

    Eric Viglotti Member

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    Hello,

    Anyone ever seen spools of PLA that look like this midway through a print causing the head to just move around and not extrude anything or jack up the print entirely? I feel like I have had this happen both on my R2 and R1+ and with Robo PLA as well as Hatchbox PLA. This picture is Hatchbox wood PLA specifically, but I've had this happen with really any PLA. Is this something I'm doing wrong with loading it or does this just happen and you have to accept that sometimes prints will fail because of this?

    Thanks!
     

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    #1 Eric Viglotti, Jan 16, 2018
  2. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    90% (or more) it's user error. If you let go of the end of the filament it will find a way to tangle itself. Best you can do is untangle and try to salvage the roll.
     
    #2 Geof, Jan 16, 2018
  3. Eric Viglotti

    Eric Viglotti Member

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    Is this related to user error loading the spool? I typically just unpack the spool from the bag, put it on the holder and load it in. Sometimes there is some slack that happens in doing so, so maybe that's where the tangle comes in? I just feel like it's unavoidable to have some slack come from that process...
     
    #3 Eric Viglotti, Jan 16, 2018
  4. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    It is as @Geof says so very easy to let the end get loose and it gets under itself which will then cause this.

    They way spools are, well, spooled on it is darn near impossible for it to happen when they are made. That doesn't mean that they could not have done it very early on the spool the same way you can, but that you can usually see when you are fist loading the filament from it. Most good sources/vendors will not have this problem.
     
    #4 mark tomlinson, Jan 16, 2018
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  5. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    Ditto. Most times I mess it up is unloading :)
     
    #5 Geof, Jan 16, 2018
  6. Eric Viglotti

    Eric Viglotti Member

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    Right, that's my thinking. I can unpack it, and load it holding on really tight, but as soon as I take it off the machine to unload it, it just starts unwinding. But maybe the key here is that when I store it for use later after switching spools, maybe I need to latch in the loose end to the notch, just as it is when it is brand new. I never thought of that...
     
    #6 Eric Viglotti, Jan 16, 2018
  7. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    100% that. If your leaving loose that is 100% the problem
     
    #7 Geof, Jan 16, 2018
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  8. Eric Viglotti

    Eric Viglotti Member

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    I love solvable problems, learn something new everyday, thank you all!!!
     
    #8 Eric Viglotti, Jan 16, 2018
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  9. AlienBeans

    AlienBeans Active Member

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    I've had this happen frequently to the older spools that don't fit on the R2/C2 holders. It's been bad enough that it actually pulled the filament off the roller stand and up to the run out block. Unit kept printing in mid air but no filament was being extruded. It's happened to me on several different spools (always the older spools though). I sent pictures to Robo and they actually replaced some of the filament for me so I'm not entirely sold on this being a user problem. The guy I spoke to on the phone told me they had stopped selling a particular batch because of some flaws in the batch. So, basicaly what I'm reading here, the looser the filament is on the spool the bigger the problem? Seems to me it would be the exactly opposite in that loosening it up on the spool would allow it to feed more consistently. But i've tried both and they still get tangled.
     
    #9 AlienBeans, Feb 4, 2018
  10. Eric Viglotti

    Eric Viglotti Member

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    Good to know. I do think that latching in the loose end into the spool for storage probably will help. I have had this happen with both Robo and non-Robo spools.
     
    #10 Eric Viglotti, Feb 4, 2018
  11. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    older spools :D. The way a spool is "spooled" from the factory there is really no way for it to get tangled (at least the set ups I've seen run). Its a solid strand being spun tightly on the spool.

    I'd assume Robo's flaws were out of spec or printability issues, not tangles due to the above statement. Still nice they replaced some for you.

    The issue is when you let go of the end (not clasped to the spool holes, or clipped in place to keep tension) it "unspools" backwards and the end sneaks its way under a loop, then when you start printing all is well until the extrusion systems pulls the filament until the it becomes a "knot" and stops extrusion.
     
    #11 Geof, Feb 5, 2018
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