Filament measuring alignment tool

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I've found that starting with an accurate estimate of filament diameter is crucial, especially for long-running jobs. Experience has shown me that the measurement size indicated on a purchased spool of filament is often inaccurate, making it tedious but essential to measure every new spool before loading it into my printer. This tool makes getting an accurate measure much easier. My TAZ 5 printer (.5 mm nozzle) was previously producing garbage prints, with excellent results only in the first part of long jobs that would eventually fail due to clogging and stringing about an hour and a half into printing. Now, I can run very long-term jobs and get perfect prints without any issues. A 9.5-hour job is currently running smoothly. I've noticed that measuring filament thickness requires precision, as slight deviations from perpendicular measurements result in inaccurate readings. This tool holds the filament securely while measuring, allowing for accurate readings every time. The design features two holes to accommodate both 1.75 and 3 mm filaments. Printing without accurate measurement has led to problems such as clogging, stringing, caking on the feed gear, and notches gouged into the filament. I've learned that estimating filament diameter too low can cause high pressure in the nozzle, leading to excess extrusion and clogging. Conversely, underestimating can result in a cumulative deficiency of filament, causing the print job to eventually fail. When the feed stops, the extruder feed gear can gouge out a chunk of filament, becoming caked with plastic chips until it's cleaned off. This can cause the printer to slip against new filament loaded into the machine. To avoid this, I take an average of 21 measurements and enter the filament diameter up to four decimal places. If a measurement fluctuates between numbers, I assume the true value lies between them. Calculating standard deviation has revealed that some filaments are more consistent than others, with varying levels of accuracy in their thickness measurements.