[Solved] Filament Sensor... Yes or No?  

RE: Filament Sensor... Yes or No?

Don't think about the automatic loading feature, don't think about the jam detection, but think about finishing up near-empty spools without hassle.

Granted, if printing with 1kg spools and only small objects every now and then, this situation doesn't happen that often. If printing larger stuff it will frequently happen. And when it does, without a filament sensor, you'll either have to start a new spool right away if the remainder on the current one doesn't quite suffice for your upcoming print, or be vigilant and manually pause the print just before the spool runs out to reload.

If going with the former, near-empty spools will start to pile up. And if you're unlucky with what you need printed, you might never even be able to use up those remainders. That's money AND space wasted. Going with the latter barely is an option as you can't really pinpoint the time it so precisely, hence you are going to waste a lot of time sitting in front of your printer waiting for the right moment.

I would not buy a printer without that. Enables me to use up all the filament, and gives peace of mind.

RE: Filament Sensor... Yes or No?

Its a good point.... In general, I never rely on the sensor when it comes to using the ends of my filament. I only start a job when I know I have enough, and I keep the last few meters of  rolls and then use them as/when I do small jobs....  I don't know why.. I guess I should just trust the sensor and print until I run out.. But I have kept it old school...

RE: Filament Sensor... Yes or No?

I ordered the sensor. I figured I would rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

I intend on doing some near capacity prints on the mini so I seen the value in it.

RE: Filament Sensor... Yes or No?

I decided to add the sensor to my order.. I had a voucher for £10 so it only cost me £4, so was a no brainer... For me, I will use the autoload feature more than anything.. But I do think I should start to use the sensor (on my MK3 and Mini) as it was intended and rely on it a bit more as suggested above...

Thanks all.

RE: Filament Sensor... Yes or No?

Posted by: @jweaver

I ordered my Mini the day it was announced to compliment my MK3. The price was appealing until you included the shipping and options.. I couldn't not have the Smooth and Textured bed, so to keep the cost down I decided against the Filament sensor. 

My rationale was because its something I don't really use on my Mk3.. I generally don't get jams and in 10s of Kilometers of Filament, I don't recal ever having a jam where the filament sensor helped.. I do use it for automatic loading and I do think I will miss that, but I am not sure its worth the extra cost.

It has dawned on me that I am paying £300+ on a printer, so why not an extra £20 or so on a sensor and this is a valid point, and I may add it to my order before it ships.. But I just wonder if anyone has any thoughts on this subject?

Well I had the same thoughts about the filament sensor. This is going to be my first printer so I am not really sure if I am going to need it or not at the moment. I did not include it in the order but as far as I understood it is going to be available later on as an upgrade no?

The thing I am more concerned about is getting an extra 0.25 nozzle since I got some detailed projects in mind.

Cheers.

RE: Filament Sensor... Yes or No?

@geoper2

They claim it is compatible with e3d nozzles, which leads me to believe you can throw 0.25 mm nozzle to the shopping basket with your MINI and change it once printer is set up. I got one already (nozzle, not MINI).

RE: Filament Sensor... Yes or No?

Based on my experience there are two real live use cases.

1. Filament ran out, printer stops and waits for you to change it
2. Filament broke because it's too brittle or for whatever reason. Printer stops and waits for you to resolve.

Both things are kind of helpful but they are happening rarely. You can live without it, handle it manually. So if money is an issue, then it's a good spot to save some.

RE: Filament Sensor... Yes or No?

Sensor ordered.

RE: Filament Sensor... Yes or No?

Just ordered my Mini on 20/12 for arrival April. Paid the extra for the sensor.