How to hot-swap filament on Rostock Max?

User-Generated tips and tricks for the Rostock Max, Orion, H1.1, or H1 Printers
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hcdbey
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How to hot-swap filament on Rostock Max?

Post by hcdbey »

Is it possible to change a depleted reel of filament for a fresh reel when the printer is in the process of printing a part?
Khayrisill
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Re: How to hot-swap filament on Rostock Max?

Post by Khayrisill »

Technically yes, IF your actual reel of filament is not empty yet.
But this requires a lot of dexterity. And the technique depends on which version of Rostock you have (V3.2 Duet or V1 V2 V3 non Duet). Which is more doable with the DUET.

Basically you want to pause the print, clear the head and swap filament without affecting the effector position. Then bring back the head and resume print.

It's finicky and you need a bit of luck.
DDXdesign
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Re: How to hot-swap filament on Rostock Max?

Post by DDXdesign »

I have successfully done this on a different Bowden machine by catching it just *before* the roll ran out.

I cut the end square (not angled) just before the extruder, swapped the roll and cut the new end square as well, and chased the end of the first with the second until it was through the extruder gears all the way.
The new will push the old pretty solidly if the ends are square, and the only thing you'll notice is that retractions won't really happen since the gears will be pulling back and pushing in the new segment, creating and then closing a gap between the two filament segments in the bowden tube. This did not cause a problem in the print I was working on; YMMV!

EDIT this could potentially also be used to effect a color change without having to set it up in the slicer.
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