How To Change Filament Mid Print Ender 3

If you lot're using a 3D printer that can only print one filament at a time and wondering how you'll become about changing the filament, then you're in the right identify. Unfortunately, irresolute filament dorsum and along can come with many bug, including filament getting stuck, difficulty replacing the filament, and bad print later replacement.

Here'southward how to modify the filament during 3D printing in 6 steps:

1. Turn your 3D printer on.
2. Choose the right temperature setting.
3. Remove the old filament.
4. Clip off the end of the filament.
5. Install the new filament.
6. Purge the nozzle.

Irresolute the filament on a 3D printer like Ender iii is pretty straightforward. Nevertheless, you need to learn how to practise it properly and efficiently, specially if the filament has snapped midway or you demand to switch filaments. Read on to acquire more.

1. Plow Your 3D Printer On

Unless you were mid-printing and only needed to switch filaments, you lot should first ability on your printer before changing the filament.

A 3D printer like the Ender 3 comes with a small-scale LCD screen to meet the carte du jour and settings. Y'all'll know it's on once the screen lights up and you tin can meet the carte.

2. Choose the Right Temperature Setting

From the carte du jour on the screen, get to control settings, choose Temperature, so heat Nozzle. Employ the LCD knob to set the nozzle temperature to 200°F (93.three°C) for PLA filament or the recommended Temperature for whatever other blazon of filament. Ideally, you desire a temperature that tin quickly melt the filament inside the extruder and make it easy to come up out.

You can tell the extruder is heating up on the LCD screen because the temperature increases.

Make sure the heatbed doesn't rut up too. You only want the nozzle to heat upward at this point because yous are non printing. Thankfully, the controls for the two are separate unless you confuse them.

three. Remove the Old Filament

One time the nozzle reaches the right temperature, it'due south fourth dimension to remove the electric current filament from the extruder.

Tightly clasp the lever and let it push the filament out. The extruder is designed to hold onto the filament, so you have to pull the filament from the nozzle gently.

Be careful as you lot practise this because both the filament and the nozzle are very hot at this point. If you're experiencing any resistance when you pull the filament, don't force it out. Pulling too hard can damage the nozzle and the entire mechanism, forcing you to buy some other 1.

4. Clip Off the Terminate of the Filament

Push the filament through the extruder'south hot stop until melted filament oozes out from the nozzle. This ensures piece of cake extraction of the filament.

Afterwards that, push downwards the coupling to release the hot filament from the hot terminate and gently unplug information technology. If the temperature setting was right, this procedure shouldn't give you whatever bug.

Clip off the hulk-similar finish of your filament, so it has a sharp end. So, unclamp the filament and slowly wind it back onto the spool holder.

Secure the loose ends of the filament through the pigsty of the spool holder or simply demark information technology with a filament prune or tape. This ensures that the filament remains in stellar condition if you desire to use information technology in the future.

Once that's washed, put aside the current spool.

5. Install the New Filament

Now that you've removed the old filament, you have a clear style to load a new one.

Take your new filament out and cut a sharp angle at the end to make it easier to enter the extruder. Ideally, you should utilise scissors to cut a 45° angle.

Again, you accept to preheat the hot cease based on the temperature guidelines of your new filament.

Feed the filament into the extruder. Please annotation that the filament won't be straight since it's coming from a circular spool. You have to bend a pocket-size section (10cm or iii.94in volition exist plenty) at the cease of the strand to get in straight.

To feed the strand, squeeze the extruder arm lever and identify the filament between the idler pulley and the toothed extruder gear.

With the lever nonetheless pressed, push the filament through using your hand gently. Alternatively, y'all can apply the extruder knob and rotate it counterclockwise to describe in the filament.

Push the filament until you lot starting time to feel a firm resistance, which conspicuously indicates that it has reached the nozzle.

You'll too notice you lot have done it because the filament will start oozing out of the nozzle.

Secure the coupling to ensure the filament doesn't become out by accident.

half-dozen. Purge the Nozzle

Congratulations, your new filter is now inside the nozzle. Simply before you lot beginning using it, yous accept to purge the old filament out of the nozzle to ensure your print model is perfect.

Please note that equally you alter from a college temperature material similar PETG to a lower temperature textile like PLA, you should set the nozzle temperature to a high value until you are done purging.

To purge manually, y'all simply need to force downwardly well-nigh 3-4cm (1.eighteen-1.57in) of filament through the hot finish, and it'll affluent out the old filament. Flexible materials can take longer than that, but 5cm (one.97in) is always sufficient. You can so cut off the excess filament from the nozzle with some tweezers and showtime anew.

Nevertheless, some 3D printers similar the Ender 3 printers take features in their software to help make purging as easy and as quick as possible. Here are the steps for this procedure:

1. Bear on the LCD knob to open the settings carte and and then scroll to Move Centrality > 1mm (0.04in) > Extruder.
2. Gyre again to motility the extruder axis 15 to 20mm (0.59 to 0.79in). The extruder will feed the material through the nozzle and purge the old filament.
3. You can do this more than once to ensure the one-time filament is completely out of the nozzle.
4. The nozzle is 100% purged when you come across the new color or filament menses out of the nozzle.
5. Cooldown the hot end.

How To Modify Filament Mid-Print on a 3D Printer

There are a myriad of reasons why you may desire to change the filament midway. For example, the filament you were using may exist running out, or you want to switch to a unlike textile or color.

Whatever the reason is, changing the filament mid-impress is a simple procedure that can continue seamlessly if you know what you are doing.

There are two ways you can do this:

Manual Switching

Changing the filament manually is easy, but in that location are some preparations you need to brand offset. For example, yous may want to employ the G-code script to display the electric current filament layer on your printer's screen. This will brand it piece of cake to monitor your printer and come across if it's ready for the switch.

1. If yous're using the Ender 3 printer, for example, open the printer and click "Extensions."
2. Select "Mail Processing" from the drop-downward menu.
3. Click "Change K-Code" and wait for a box to pop up.
4. Select "Add a script."
5. Cull the "Display Filename and Layer on LCD."
6. Ensure the "Initial Layer Number" is 0.

The second part is preparing when to switch the filament. Follow these steps:

1. Choose your slicer settings or profile on your Ender iii.
2. Piece the model and click "Preview."
3. Activate "Layer View" for the view type option.
4. Move the layer slider on the right side to detect where you want to switch filaments.
5. Identify the layer number and write it down somewhere.

And now to the switching office.

When your printer displays the layer numbers and knows when to alter the filament, it'southward time to first printing.

A crucial betoken as yous do all this is checking the nozzle temperature. Remember that if y'all're changing filaments of different materials, you must set the nozzle temperature to the higher of the two materials during purging.

Go on an eye on the process to see when you're getting to the layer you desire to make the switch at. One time you get there, follow this process to switch the filament:

1. Intermission the printer. Since you were already printing, yous only demand to hit pause so the printer tin can cease for a while and allow you to switch filaments. Be careful not to press Cease, as this will stop all printing, and y'all'll have to redo everything. One time yous hit Interruption, the z-axis of the 3D printer raises a little bit, allowing you to move it aside to the domicile position where y'all tin can swap out filaments.
2. Reheat. Set the bed and nozzle temperature to the values you were using unless the material you're switching to requires a higher print temperature. The heated nozzle will make it easy to remove the old filament, while the heated bed ensures the print doesn't lose adhesion to the plate.
3. Slowly remove the filament from the extruder and load the new filament, as nosotros've already discussed above. You must also push a niggling filament out to purge the erstwhile one.
4. In one case the side by side layer is extruded without any traces of the sometime filament, you lot can continue press.

Yard-Code Assisted Switching

The G-Lawmaking-assisted method is a more automatic selection if you don't have a lot of time on your hands. You lot have to add the Filament Change G-Code command to your slicer to start.

1. Go to Extensions on your printer.
2. Select Post Processing from the driblet-downward bill of fare.
3. Click Modify 1000-CODE, and a box will show up.
4. Select Add a Script.
5. Chose the Filament Alter selection
6. From there, go change the filament switch G-code sequence settings on the pop-up screen and pick the layer you want. If you desire multiple filament switches in one model, you tin add more than one filament change command with this process.

The filament alter script you but activated is a helpful assistant that makes it easier to change the filament. If you did it right, the printer volition pause at the exact layer height y'all specified, retract the filament and remove as much equally it tin can and so move the print head to another location.

Hither, the nozzle will stop heating, just the bed will retain its Temperature to ensure adhesion. When you lot're prepare to switch, click the printer'south control knob, and the nozzle will heat up again.

After that, follow the steps to insert a new filament, purge the extruder, and resume press.

The reward of the Yard-Lawmaking-assisted method is that you don't have to remove the filament or pause the press manually. This makes information technology less likely that you'll mess upward and ensures a smooth process.

Using any other 3D printer besides the Creality Ender iii may not be furnished with the M600 command office that enables the above script. However, y'all'll nevertheless exist able to switch the filaments manually, as shown above.

How To Mitigate Challenges of Changing Filament Mid-Print

The mere fact that y'all can switch filaments mid-print is awesome, simply information technology comes with a handful of challenges.

For case, you tin can accidentally affect the impress head and motility it slightly while removing or inserting the filament. There volition be a slight offset between the kickoff impress and the second one when this happens, which isn't pretty.

The print caput can too exist shifted upwards or downwards, making the issue different.

To avert these printhead movements, make sure you don't motion or fifty-fifty touch the print head or whatever other printer component when inserting and removing filaments.

The Temperature of the hotbed or the nozzle going downwardly while you are switching is also another issue that could cause problems. A common cold bed volition cause your impress to warp or completely detach from the glass bed.

To avoid this trouble, make the switch equally fast as you tin can without bumping the print head. It's also of import to increment the nozzle temperature by 5°C when changing from i material to another.

Final Thoughts

There you have information technology. Y'all have successfully changed filaments in your 3D printing.

If yous did information technology mid-impress, you tin can continue with the project at paw and see information technology to the end. If y'all're getting set to start a new project, good luck with the new creation, and we hope it's a beautiful i.

Lastly, don't forget to check that the settings for the new filament are correct before hit print over again.

Source: https://printingit3d.com/how-to-change-filament-during-3d-printing-6-steps/

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