Filament tangles - what to do ?  

RE: Filament tangles - what to do ?

I check every spool before I put it on the machine. I've caught a few. I have even untangled a couple while the machine was running, not easy but it worked. Most of them were due to the way I put it away after the last use.

Tom

RE: Filament tangles - what to do ?

You can not let go of the spool end for an instant on any spool.  If you do there's always the chance that it will go under and then you get this situation.

Stick to good brands and watch the end whenever loading/unloading.  I've only ever had one cheap spool where I was certain it was like that from the factory.  The other few times it could just as easily have been me letting go of the filament.  

RE: Filament tangles - what to do ?

I know, it gets very frustrating. Been there.

Tom

RE: Filament tangles - what to do ?

That's entirely possible - now that I think about it, I haven't been religious about putting the spools away neat. It may be that I see the problem more with some brands than with others because of either the tightness of the wind or the tendency of some filaments to "remember" their position better than others (higher dry temp prior to packaging ?)

I will try the filament clip!

Posted by: @foxrun3d

Some brands are worse about this than others (ahem, Overture)

Thankfully I haven't seen any tangled spools in, what, at least two years or so, and I print a LOT of Overture. As Neophyl said, the main thing you can do is to NEVER let go of the filament. I also find using a filament clip such as the one I'm using ( https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4060728) to be one of the best preventive measures. For some reason it seems it keeps filament from tangling more than any other one tried.

RE: Filament tangles - what to do ?

I agree that user mishandling must be responsible for 90-95% of the entangling issues, but the other 5-10% is a risk that we have to minimize sticking to known brands ( and hope for the best .. ).
Sometimes I got spools that looked a mess and they were trouble free. Instead, others in visual flawless condition developed a knot suddenly, My last issue was a few days ago with a Prusa vanilla white PLA. Not a regular spool but one of those 1 Kg refills, without side plastic discs, only a cardboard core. It was the first time I ordered one of those spools. After looking at the messy winding, I feared the worst and yes, a knot appeared shortly after starting to print. 100% sure that it wasn’t my fault, because I took special care handling it. After printing a few hours more with this spool no further problems have appeared. Hopefully, this isn’t usual with ‘refill’ spools and that lousy winding was accidental but, frankly, I’ll think twice before ordering more Prusament refill spools.

RE: Filament tangles - what to do ?

I think 8 hours into a print, as the OP posted, is unlikely to be user error as letting go of the end etc. usually only affects the top few layers.

RE: Filament tangles - what to do ?

Posted by: @jp-guitars

I think 8 hours into a print, as the OP posted, is unlikely to be user error as letting go of the end etc. usually only affects the top few layers.

Agreed.  I have had so many instances with Overture getting wedged in along either side that I’ve quit using it.  Elegoo also.  A real shame because they’re good filament, otherwise.

RE: Filament tangles - what to do ?

@largriff / @jp-guitars - good to know I'm not alone! At this point, I have had the least issues with Polymaker and Prusament. For other folks who have encountered the same problem - what brands have worked well for you ?

RE: Filament tangles - what to do ?

Posted by: @foxrun3d

Some brands are worse about this than others (ahem, Overture)

As Neophyl said, the main thing you can do is to NEVER let go of the filament.

During the first few months of my printing process, I had tangles. After that, it was "never let go of the end again," and no more tangles. About 20 rolls of overture and many other brands.

How could something like that happen during the manufacturing process? I couldn't explain it.

RE: Filament tangles - what to do ?

Surprised to hear you have issues with polymaker.  I've printed over 100 rolls of their filaments on 3 different brands of printers and never had a single problem related to spool winding on any of them.  It's my go to brand.

RE: Filament tangles - what to do ?

Probably wasn't clear - Polymaker and Prusament in general DO NOT give me trouble. Overture has, as have some of the smaller brands sold on Amazon. I once got tangling with a "made for Prusa" filament that was not actually Prusament. 

This is why I wanted to know what other brands work for folks. Even with potential handling issues on my end, I  see some variation in behavior based on the brand of the filament I use.

RE: Filament tangles - what to do ?

I print a fair amount. I’ve used a lot of poly makers polyterra, but I’ve never had an issue with any of their other sub types either whatever the naming scheme. 

other brands I’ve not had issues with extrudr-10+ rolls, 3dtommorrow filament, 20+ rolls, 3dqf 20+ rolls, mkoem- lots, azurefilm 5+, also lots of brands where I’ve had a few rolls , 5 or less, kingroon, Landu, elegoo, r3d, filamentum, fibreology. The list goes on. 

the one brand I stopped using after a lengthy period using them is spectrum, used to be good and then I had about 3 in a row where the rolls had filament joins about 3mm diameter part way through the spools that caused jams as it wouldn’t feed. Said never again. Spooling was ok though. The 2 where I am certain it wasn’t me were really really cheap no name brands off eBay that cost about £6 a roll at the time. Saving wasn’t worth it. 

RE:

The Golden Rule: Never let go of the filament end! This is the absolute number one preventative measure. Once you open a new spool or take filament out of the printer, always secure the loose end. If it springs free and unwinds even a little, it can easily slip under another coil. Many people buy or print simple 3D filament clips that snap onto the edge of the spool and securely hold the filament end. Most spools have small holes around the edge specifically for tucking the filament end into. Use them diligently.

Posted by: @happykatz

This isn't a printer problem, so much as a printing problem...

It's 3AM and yet another 10 hour print has been ruined 8 hours in by the filament tangling on itself on the spool.

Maybe "tangle" isn't the best description. It appears that when the filament was originally wound, it didn't go down evenly on the spool and as a result, when the filament feeds into the printer, it crosses under the filament still on the spool and gets jammed. The more the printer tries to feed the filament, the more it gets stuck - kind of like pulling on one end of a knot makes it tighter.

Some brands are worse about this than others (ahem, Overture), but no brand seems to be totally immune. 

What I'd like to know is - what do other people do to prevent the tangling ? Avoid filament brands where it occurs ? I've had spools that are so badly wound that I have to unwind 50g or so at a time and rewind onto a new spool just to get any use out of it.