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switching spools mid print

Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2018 9:08 pm
by gajtguy
Probably a basic question (which I love getting in my working day), but is there a 'process' for switching a spool of material mid print? Or is this not possible and never to be mentioned again.. LOL

If it matters, I have the RoStock Max V2 and typically print in ABS.

Thanks

Re: switching spools mid print

Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2018 12:08 am
by Xenocrates
I've definitely done it, and more than once. The easy, and kinda crap route is to just cut the end of the old one cleanly, then feed another one in after it. The slightly less crap option is to wait for a section of infill or something else less critical, and pull the old length, then replace it. If you have a working pause script (Either in the controller, or print host), then you can pause it, and swap them easily enough. I've switched colors, refilled filament, and on one notable occasion, managed to walk up to a printer right before it ran out, and managed to rescue the print. There is sometimes a seam, but it's usually not bad unless you switch colors/materials.

Re: switching spools mid print

Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2018 10:54 pm
by gajtguy
Ah, thank you very much for various things to try.