What to do with samples and short ends?
Prusa now sells 25 grams samples of their filament. Very convenient, but when you unpack these small rolls they jump open into a loose coil that is difficult to manage and no way to get them back in the bag, let alone be neatly stored somewhere.
Similar problems with the last few meters of a spool. Sure the filament will come to use some day. Throwing it away would be a waste of filament, but keeping it on a near-empty spool on the shelf is a waste of space.
How do you people go with this? Someone must have come up with some clever storage system?
RE: What to do with samples and short ends?
RE:
Yes, that would be a solution for the runout ends, provided you have a new reel of same filament or you are happy with a rainbow print. I was more looking for a solution that keeps the parts available separately, labelled in some way, so I can use when needed. Tieing it up in a small roll held by ties, like the Prusa samples come, is an option but laborious to unpack and repack.
There must be some way to respool on something compact.
RE: What to do with samples and short ends?
I would just buy a load of 10-15cm zip lock bags and stick them in there
Buy a 3D pen for a youngster and become their supplier.
Cheerio,
RE: What to do with samples and short ends?
Print small spools.
RE: What to do with samples and short ends?
Thank you for the replies.
@JP Guitars: Plastic bag for sure is a good way to work with. I am thinking in that direction now.
@Diem: Good suggestion, but not sure if youngster's 3D pens take anything else than PLA, which I hardly ever use.
@ MichaelK: I have been thinking about that, and of course it would be feasible, but before I start reinventing the miniwheel(spool) I thought it worth-while to ask around about existing solutions.
Any other good suggestions anyone?
RE: What to do with samples and short ends?
Plastic bag and use it for first layer calibration or super tiny test prints.
See my GitHub and printables.com for some 3d stuff that you may like.
RE: What to do with samples and short ends?
I tried a small plastic bag and all I can say is DO NOT TRY THIS. It was an absolute nightmare; Prusa PVB sample immediately kinked and tangled. Took more work than it was worth to fix. I would love to know what I did wrong, if anyone can post a photo of the "correct" way to use a plastic bag for this...
RE: What to do with samples and short ends?
I’ve run into the same problem with small samples and leftover spools. One thing that helps is winding the short ends onto a reusable empty spool or even a 3D-printed mini-spool just for scraps. Some people also use zip ties or velcro straps to keep the loose coils under control. It’s not perfect, but it definitely makes storage easier and avoids wasting usable filament.
RE: What to do with samples and short ends?
this problem faces us all, multi material printing in particular can result in a lot of scraps. I have a Palette2S Pro, and that butt welds filament into a multicoloured string, which is formed ahead of the printing process, so if you have a print failure, you also end up with a potentially multicoloured string of scrap... During the Covid Lockdown, I had too much time on my hands, and I printed a spaceship with scraps, because my friend intended to paint it afterwards...
however, after it was printed, it was never painted...
MMU2, MMU3 and Palette all have a 'spool join type ' option, palette also had the option to simply feed and splice roll ends into a re usable single strand before starting a print, something which MMU cannot do... unfortunately re spooling the spliced filament can be difficult due to the natural curvature of old filament.
other people reprocess scrap filament into sheets of multicoloured plastic in ovens and use the resulting plastic for art work.
other people shred filament ends and scrap parts to re extrude into new filament, both on a user level and on a business level
Prusa offer recycled filament at lower cost.
Prusa also advertise recycling opportunities on their Prusa World site https://world.prusa3d.com/
3DQF, in England, offer Colour Fade rolls and reworked rolls for prints where colour is unimportant,
I believe Filamentive also rework waste into filament
there are a number of manufacturers offering small scale filament extruders and there are a number of DIY extruder designs and kits available.
regards Joan
regards Joan
I try to make safe suggestions,You should understand the context and ensure you are happy that they are safe before attempting to apply my suggestions, what you do, is YOUR responsibility.Location Halifax UK
RE: What to do with samples and short ends?
Print small spools.
This. I have printed a couple of Dingoboy71's Small 2-piece Filament Spool from Thingiverse for filament samples, which have worked well for me, and there is Department_Nine's Compact Loose Filament Spool, also from Thingiverse; both are reduced-size spools for holding partials and samples.
RE: What to do with samples and short ends?
I throw them in the bin with skirts, supports, brims and failed prints. We have a makerspace in our town which can shred and melt them into new filament ( color will be a surprise )
Loving the learning curve!
RE: What to do with samples and short ends?
Exactly, this is what I have used for over 1 year.
Important join PLA to PLA, IE compatible plastics, ABS also works well.
also joining filaments from different suppliers . You can end up with prints
like Joseph's coat of many colours. LOL but saves on cost of buying new and the environment appreciates it.