Filament Ballast

thingiverse

Since I started using my low-friction Universal Spool Holder, available at http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1614533 occasionally, rapid extruder pulls on the filament cause several convolutions of the filament to become loose. They then overlap each other and may eventually block the filament flow, causing print failures. The solution turned out to be simple. I used an old 608 bearing as a ballast that hangs on the filament. Initially, I simply hung it on a paper clip, but then decided to design and print this thing that holds the bearing and has a hook that fits both - 3mm and 1.75mm filaments. When using with my Vertex K8400 printer, this ballast brings another benefit: the filament entry angle into the extruder is not as steep as the original, especially with smaller pool sizes. Print Settings Printer Brand: RepRap Printer: VERTEX K8400 Rafts: No Supports: No Resolution: 0.2mm Infill: 15%