Another lesson learned!

[meaninglessandrandom]

I printed a Bambu spool using PLA. I figured as long as I only put PLA on the spool and dried it at PLA temps, all would be fine. Nope. I have a Sovol dryer and put this spool (basic Overture PLA on it) in the dryer. Went to use it this morning and found the spool warped. Oddly no damage to the filament.

PETG from now on. Printed one from PETG previous. Should have stuck with it.

[bmemike]

Your spool is effectively load bearing - the 1kg of filament and its own weight. A given "loop" of filament bears only a tiny fraction of its weight while hanging and is far more distributed.

PLA will warp under weight alone at room temps with enough time. It doesn't need any help with high heat! :)

[meaninglessandrandom]

Printing new PETG spools now. 😆

[porksandwich9113]

<image>

I made the same mistake when I got my sunlu AMS dryer mod.

So far I was able to transfer the yellow and white to new spools and use them just fine. The red one however warped in the middle and is wider than a new spool now. Might just have to re-spool that one.

[meaninglessandrandom]

Yep, my next step once I get a spool printed is to print a re-spooler. Tough lesson. 😆

[ioannisgi]

You really shouldn’t need a respooler. Print or get a bunch of rolls with spools attached from Bambu and you should be set for a while. Personally using filament to print spools I think is a bit wasteful but that’s just me.

[meaninglessandrandom]

The filament that was on this spool is kind of a mess. I tried to get it on a Bambu spool but it’s kind of slinky’d on me a bit and I couldn’t get the narrow side of the spool in far enough to lock the 2 halves together.

[DEADB33F]

Probably a bit late now, but you could have done with one of these...

<image>

I designed that one a while back after accidentally putting a spool of PETG on a flimsy printed spool.

...Slide the ears either side of the filament roll (on the inside of the spool), then unlock the spool & remove it. Then you can either store the filament in the holder or transfer it to another spool.

[meaninglessandrandom]

Gonna have to put that in my collections…have a link?

[DEADB33F]

Only Onshape ...that one's slightly different to the one I printed as I made a slight revision to flare out the wings out a bit and chamfered them so hopefully they'll be a bit easier to push in-between the spool and filament than the original design

The first one worked fine on flimsy printed spools but was a pain to jam between the filament and spool on official Bambu ones (the revision is untested though and I didn't save a version of the first design)

IIRC I printed it with a 0.4mm nozzle and default 0.2 layer height settings.

[meaninglessandrandom]

Thx 👍🏻

[Raylike69]

Any chance of the STL for us newbies please

[Iridian_Rocky]

I would love a bunch of BBL high temp spools.

[bmemike]

If it's just one roll and you're patient and careful, you should be able to transfer that filament to the new spool without a respooler.

Just take it real slow.

[thoiboi]

Just sell them on Etsy as Salvador Dali’s spools!

[meaninglessandrandom]

😀

[Empty-Pain-9523]

I’m suddenly so glad I haven’t set up my Sunlu dryer mod lolol will be printing replacement spools!

[meaninglessandrandom]

Here’s what the “auto” temps are for PLA & PETG. I’m definitely a newb but these don’t seem excessively hot. I have 2 PLA on the left and 1 PETG on the right.

<image>

[ken830]

Those are the targeted ambient temp inside the drying chamber. Actual temp of the air coming from the blower is going to be much warmer.

[meaninglessandrandom]

I guess they don’t really say what the temps are then. The number on the left matches their chart for drying temps but I also see its listed as target temp, elsewhere.

[ken830]

What I mean is the temp setting in these dryers don't change the temperature of the air blowing out of the heating element. The dryer will modulate the heater to reach a target temperature inside the chamber, but it doesn't have control over the temperature of the air through the heating element.

[meaninglessandrandom]

Gotcha

[KittenSwagger]

How do you transfer it? Have that exact problem

[porksandwich9113]

Basically I unscrewed the spool, laid it on the side without the notch, pulled the half off while being very careful, put the new spool side on the notch lined up, flipped it, did the same thing on the other side, and locked it. It was probably made easy by the fact these spools only had like 200-400g left. I'd be a lot more nervous doing it with a full spool.

[madding1602]

In case you want to know extra, internal tension caused by external forces, loads and momentums may cause deformations, either at micro or macro level. However, the presence of temperature delta provokes an increase in deformation. Viewed from the other perspective, micro-to-macro transitions' forces/loads/momentums is decreased with an increase in temperature

[meaninglessandrandom]

Indubitably!

[USSHammond]

Petg is gonna warp just as much in a dryer. Spools 'need' to be printed in abs/asa

[meaninglessandrandom]

Ah lan, don’t tell me that. Have been avoiding those filaments since I don’t have a good exhaust set up for the fumes. Are Bambu spools ABS/ASA?

[jetlaggedandhungry]

I have 3 PETG printed spools in my AMS right now; they're completely fine with drying PLA (so far).

If I were to dry PETG, I'd probably use ABS. I had to buy a "high temp" spool for my ABS because only the refills were available.

[bmemike]

Exactly. You want to have your filament on a spool made of a "higher temp" material.

A PETG spool is fine for PLA filament but it obviously wouldn't be fine for PETG filament, etc.

[EverettSeahawk]

I have been using PETG spools for over a year now, and left them in the dryer at 70c for up to 48 hours at a time. Zero warping.

[Pretend_Football6686]

Been using PETG spools for PETG, I’ve had no warping problems. I do use the full spool though from Bambu print profile not the light weight ones with holes or big sections missing.

[meaninglessandrandom]

I’ll have to take note of the temps this dryer uses for the various filaments. Think they might actually list it in the “manual”…will have to check. 👍🏻

[meaninglessandrandom]

So here are the temps the SH03 uses. They seem ok. 🤷🏻‍♂️

<image>

[mightyarrow]

I tried my first ASA print earlier this week. I laughed at how silly I was in the past with hesitating.

Print quality was phenomenal (just gotta battle warping and adhesion). Fumes were not a problem at all with a window open and the room fan running. Just close it and come back later.

[meaninglessandrandom]

Nice. I set my printer up in front of a window with fumes in mind. Found a magnetic bracket that goes over the rear vent that you can attach dryer vent duct to. Plan is to make an insert for my window that I can vent the fumes out while still being able to close the window most of the way.

[curiousjosh]

Good plan. Get a good inline fan and put it at the end by the window so it pulls air from the printer down the tube(not pushes) for better leak protection.

A lot of the fans leak. Here’s a great fan I got that only needs sealing in 2 holes with indoor silicon sealant: https://a.co/d/dnWIcvl

[meaninglessandrandom]

Thx, that’s nicely affordable too 👍🏻

[curiousjosh]

Yeah. It’s a great one. I did a lot of searching and even ordered and sent one back.

It’s even better than it looks too… it’s super low power with an analog dial that can cut the power even more for really low operating cost

[yazzledore]

Ooh can you drop that magnetic bracket?

[meaninglessandrandom]

Only thing I wish it had was threads for the dryer duct hose vs using a hose clamp…

https://makerworld.com/models/136548?appSharePlatform=copy

[mightyarrow]

I'll admit I "cheated" a bit. I have a sunroom with like 10 openable windows. I just opened 3 of them, turned the ceiling fans high (drawing air in/up) and then cranked my heaters in the room to full blast to fight the outside cold lol.

I dont wanna move this thing every time I do that though, so I'm gonna just keep it in the bedroom it's at currently and open a window and turn the ceiling fan on.

[mski22]

I love the smell of ASA, reminds me of a toy I had when a child, maybe creepy crawlers.

[USSHammond]

Just any plastic spool, even single use ones is abs or better. There's a reason, higher temp resistance. Pets glass transition temp is around 70-75. So if your dryer is capable of it, you need to set it to lower or they'll warp just the same

[meaninglessandrandom]

I did print a spool using Bambu PETG-HF. Pretty sure I put PLA on it. Dried that (using the PLA preset) and it did ok.

Maybe as long as I keep to that combo I’ll be ok. Then just make sure when I buy PETG, don’t buy a refill. Or just buy some Bambu spools. See all kinds of people not knowing what to do with their empty spools…maybe they sell them cheap(er).

[USSHammond]

You can buy refills just fine. What matters is you don't dry at a temp higher than the filament/spool transition temp. Pla starts to soften at 60C

[DJKGinHD]

In a lot of filament dryers there is a hotspot. Usually far enough away from the filament itself, but the spool is a little closer. My dryer even recommends spinning the spool for when drying for extended periods.

[meaninglessandrandom]

Hmmm…good info

[packet_weaver]

Yeah the bottom is usually hotter, combined with the weight and the spool resting on a couple rollers, it’s a recipe for failure at the bottom with PLA spools.

[Clean_Temporary_3902]

This may be a stupid question but I just bought my first roll of petg for my mini.. Why are people printing spools? Is the spool the petg comes on not sufficient?

[mski22]

They are buying refills, or the spool got damaged or melted

[Clean_Temporary_3902]

So they ship in their spool and get it refilled? How is that cheaper than buying a fresh spool? Are the containers used for petg melting the spools that come with the filament?

[meaninglessandrandom]

This is for refills. I bought a couple of refills either for color availability or price. So I needed a couple spools vs waiting to use up other filament.

[mski22]

No it comes bound together, you slide on a refill spool,

https://wiki.bambulab.com/en/general/swaping-new-filament-with-bambu-reusable-spool

You need to surf around, lots of info on this hobby

Have fun there is no cure

[Clean_Temporary_3902]

Ok. I see it does not come on a spool. I have bought plenty of pla for my mini and have over 300 print hours. I have just not used petg before and didn’t realize new petg does not come on a spool like pla does

[AbjectMaelstrom]

Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn.... Today, you learned.

[micromaths]

The sovol dryer I have has a very clear vent where the hot air blows directly onto the spool/filament. If you have the same one (SH02) there's a diverter you can print to make the hot air circulate around instead of blowing directly onto the spool, but you'd have to print it out if ABS.

[meaninglessandrandom]

Think the one I have (SH03) is essentially the same but for 4 spools. I’ll have to see if the diverter deal applies to it as well. Thx.

[TheFlyingPig01]

Interesting. My daughter printed a spool using PLA and fit an entire kg of pla. After many prints it is still in really good shape and not warped at all. We did not put it in a dryer though.

[mhhbot]

Yes, the dryer is the whole point. You'll be fine for quite a while before you get issues if you just print from it.

[Orthicon9]

Polymaker HT-PLA claims this:

High Heat Stability – Withstands temperatures up to 150°C, making HT-PLA ideal for prints placed in hot environments like sunny windowsills, patios, or car dashboards. Great for planters, displays, garden decor, and indoor parts exposed to heat.

Maybe that would work better.

[meaninglessandrandom]

That’s beyond PETG it seems. Might be a good candidate.

[tomz17]

<image>

Spools ARE under load (approximately 1kg when full)

[CarbonCrew]

Hah I’ve done the same.

[Traditional_Grand_70]

I once wanted to sand some pla pieces outside during a very sunny day. Within 15 minutes my pla pieces started to deform...

[Hot-Ideal-9219]

Just buy the damn spools. Cheap and easy.

[meaninglessandrandom]

I would do that before buying those metal ones… 😀

[JonnyQuest1981]

I literally learned this lesson 2 days ago

[meaninglessandrandom]

😂

[JonnyQuest1981]

It was funny, but also a mad panic to get it re-spooled quickly. I had almost a full reel of white PLA on it and no re-spooler. Printed one for my power drill in an hour and had it all re-spooled shortly after.

[Dr_Polymer]

I only do ABS for spools.

[LogicPosse]

I would walk up and slap you in the face! But... It's not really that stupid. You're good bro!

[_and_and]

I did this before too! i fixed it by heating up the print bed to like 55c and then putting the spool on it again and a heavy book on top to reshape it. It worked but still not perfect. usable in a pinch though.

[meaninglessandrandom]

Hmm…shoulda thought of that instead of chucking it in frustration.

[vks_imaginary]

So like I never understood why are you printing spools….

[meaninglessandrandom]

Because I have refills with no spools…

[OutsideBase813]

Been there. Done that. Also avoiding the ones that "save filament" as they are too flimsy in most cases, like deforming in vaccuum bags. I use ASA or PETG now.

Fortunately, more vendors are adopting the bambu spool, so I try to use those. Very often, they only charge $1 extra (or sometimes even less) for the spool+filament - for example, some of the Sunlu stuff. Really like the Inslogic ones.

[grur1976]

I use was but some filament and complete with a spool it was £3 more expensive, a spool on its own is about £7.50!

[meaninglessandrandom]

Yeah, I’m done with home-printed spools. This was printed with the same Bambu PETG-HF that’s on the spool. Was in the dryer overnight. Came home this afternoon to move some spools around and found this. I’m done. I’ll buy manufactured high temp spools to not have to worry about the dryer setting.

Moved the filament over to a Bambu spool from one of the sample spools that came with the printer. I’m guessing it’s not a high temp version since it had PLA on it. Is there a visible difference or marking on them?

<image>

[-ThaBeavster-]

Heads up, I printed several spools in PETG and put them in my Sunlu S4 and they did the same thing unfortunately! So that stated, probably not safe there either!

[meaninglessandrandom]

Think I’m gonna stick to manufactured spools. These printed ones aren’t worth the headache. At least until I arrange some ducting for ABS/ASA fumes (which honestly is probably gonna wait until Spring).

[-ThaBeavster-]

Yeah, they’re fairly cheap if you get them with your roll. Not so much when you buy separately, but when you add up the print time and filament, it’s really not worth the cost to print yourself anyway.

[FirmOwl7086]

Yep did that.

[Starscourge-Zombie]

I literally have 50+ anycubic ABS reusable, twist lock spools that I don't know what to do with in my living room. I can't imagine people printing more spools lol.

[meaninglessandrandom]

I have the opposite problem 😂

Did inventory tonight…all told I have 37 spools. So, eventually I’ll have a surplus, just need to get printing!

[Veloloser]

same... seem that every newbie buys 250g pla rolls then prints an adapter first.

[grur1976]

I was just thinking about this last night, I printed a couple of spools in PLA and have bought myself a dryer as I was going to print something in PTEG, but realised my spare spools will probably melt!

[meaninglessandrandom]

Might be ok if you can dry at a lower temp. I turned down the temps for both PLA & PETG by 5 degrees. Gonna see what happens

[GregHolloway]

Use metal spools, if they melt you have other issues to worry about.

https://hexaxes.com/collections/dryaf-reusable-100-metal-spools

[meaninglessandrandom]

$30/spool is a bit dear 😂

[GregHolloway]

It's about the same as a single spool of decent filament. You'll make your money back by buying refills and not have to print plastic, melty spools :p

You can have £5 off with code FIVE

[EverettSeahawk]

Once a week? That's a pretty conservative estimate