I think I’m pretty much done with buying Bambu refill spools. I’ve had nothing but problems with them and yes, I know how to fit them properly into the spool holder and not to remove the plastic tabs until its fitted, etc.
This happens quite a bit, where the spool is just pulling from one of the sides and it just gets unwound. This wasnt on a multi-color print either, just black.
yea, thats exactly whats happening, its wound so tight on the edges, stuck underneath.
I used several refill spools in the last 2 months without any problem but the last one is a real pain. In the last 24 hours I had 3 time the same problem as you can see in the picture 2 posts ago… always the same problem. As this was no issue with the last refills I assume this is either a problem while spooling or - even more likely - the 4 straps that secure the filament for shipment are not installed correctly.
Either way its a real pain and I am looking forward to finish this spool soon (should be in less than 24h).
I am having a similar problem. For months I have not had an issue with refills from BBL and recently I have had four refills (All PLA Matt) that have caused the above jamming problems. The latest roll of filament is a good 5-6mm (~1/4 inch) narrower that the spool and so the filament keeps getting trapped down one side. I have had to cut off filament into 4M lengths and feed these through individually.
The reason I bought the X1C was that I could get everything from one supplier and have, as near as possible, a plug and play experience. I am not interested in tuning in new filaments or re-spooling badly wound rolls. I just need the printed product for the work I am doing. The quality control really needs more work to keep a happy customer base.
Same issue here, so I’ve taken to simply respooling the refills. I came to this conclusion last night, so I’ve not received any new refills yet, but instead of placing the cardboard on a spool, respool from the cardboard.
A second issue I’ve also had lately, the cardboard doesn’t fit the spool without a great amount of force (and not to get it seated, to get it started, so it’s not an issue with me missing the cutout).
Yes! It’s so much tighter on the spools! I’m having nothing but issues with any purchases from May 1st on of this year.
Yes. I bought some filament in June, and now I’m also having problems with refill. I wish there was more quality control over filaments. I couldn’t find the filament end and i found the filament end and tried using it and now my new refill spool is not usable. They really should tag the filament end either by a sticker or tying it down with tape so its easy to find. Looking for the filament end is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Is it me or does that seem like its a common issue with refill spools?
Welcome to the forum.
As a reference point, I’ve installed over a hundred refill spools and haven’t ever had any problems finding the end.
I’ve also had great luck with refills but do have some observations.
EDIT - yeah, if you don’t press the refills down it causes problems but if you don’t wind the refills with adequate tension it causes this issue too.
Bambu - you need better filament quality control. Tape, loose refill winding, switching out filaments without warning for other filament with different colors and is brittle.
Wanted to see if it was just me getting these refill issues. Hasn’t been a problem until the last couple months. To me, the spools just seem to be very sloppy in their winding now. They used to look much more neatly wound, perhaps a different supplier or winding machine. Very frustrating on an overnight print.
Yep. My post above was a bad one. I didn’t know about the sloppy winding effect until I got a refill of PLA yellow wound that way. Very loose.
You can squish it down until the cows come home and it does not matter. I’m deleting the other post. This isn’t user error.
What I did was unwind about 1/3 of the spool onto the floor (haven’t built a filament rewinder yet) and then wound it back on by hand which took about 2 hours with all the tangles.
But I apologize. Until I dealt with my own loose refill I didn’t know about this failure mode.
Bambu - RFID filament spools and refills should not be having these tape, winding, and filament quality issues. You really need to convince whoever is in charge of your filament they need to concentrate on quality for a while.
I thought similar, Jon, but got a refill of Bambu yellow PLA yesterday that was as @HOFFMAN_Werkes described - very loosely wound. I could find the end but had no confidence it hadn’t over/under looped, etc. so had to rewind the outer third or so of the spool.
I suspect this is a “new” issue with filament. With the refills not wound firmly, it felt almost like holding water. The filament slides over itself really easy and there’s not really a way to know if there will be tangles or not. You’ll know it when you see it, though. What they saw was real.
My refill was one I bought this last spring.
I feel like they use to put a slight bend in the end, to help keep it secured and easy to find. I noticed that hasn’t been happening. I’ve been finding it harder to locate the end because of this. I think it makes it more prone to slipping under another stand too, if you’re not careful, when fishing the end out.
I do refills on any filament they sell that I can. Frankly getting sick of swapping refills. Hahahaha, ahh… my wrist and hands and fingers. I work the filament down every time to prevent jams or anything else. I’ve had a few jams previously, but not since I’ve started my routine for refills where I work it, even if it doesn’t feel like it needs to be worked, I work it into the spool.
I’ve got a number of mushy rolls that made me wonder. You can feel it down to the core. When a roll is tightly wound, it’s like pressing into concrete. When it’s mushy, it’s like pressing into a pillow. I haven’t noticed any real consistency there, which is slightly annoying, and why I always work the refills, no matter what I think of the wind. I’m not a fan of inconsistencies in products like this.
I recently had one roll though that had the most perfect wind I’ve ever seen on a refill, or from Bambu for that matter.
I’m just sharing some experiences from someone that does a lot of refills. It’s been mostly smooth running for me, but I can see some areas of improvement, especially that those areas are prone to cause more issues, like the ones discussed in this thread.
Why is there such inconsistency between winds? Why is there an inconsistency with the width of the rolls? What’s preventing us from creating a more uniform and tight wind?
I guess it makes me wonder a bit about the manufactures of Bambu’s filament too. How many factories does Bambu contract with, and how different are things from one to the next? How closely does Bambu monitor or care about quality control?
That single roll of perfectly wound refill has convinced me it can be done well, done right. I think Bambu needs to push it’s manufacturing partners though, to be more consistent in the product, especially between factories.
I would like to see Bambu take the filament side more serious and challenge Prusa’s filament quality. I think it’s within their capabilities to start pushing down those roads.
I have had several that appear too thick to get into the spools and some so thin that the filament falls down the gap between it and the reusable spool that it gets jammed.
I rarely get a choice between with or without a spool as the poor stock levels in the U.K. force my choice each time.
I don’t get them often. Almost never a crossover though.
Did just have issues getting the spool closed with ABS grey that just arrived last week. So far it’s been fine though.
Thankfully I haven’t got any yet that were too thick. They’ve mostly been too thin.
Hmmmm. Wait… why am I not using reusable spools that screw together?? I avoid printing things like that, but I suddenly find myself very interested.
I did reach out to support on this issue, they wanted photographs, videos, cad drawings and an MRI of the situation. I explained that I didn’t take pictures and a picture wouldn’t really show anything I hadn’t described. They offered to replace the filament if I would send them photos ( they like photos, guess) and fill out a long questionnaire. I explained that I wasn’t seeking free filament, I was trying to assist them in reporting a serious QC problem. After the fourth back and forth message, I gave up. Suggested that they pull some refill spools from stock and LOOK at them. Try to install them, try to print with them. Also told them I wouldn’t try to help anymore, too frustrating. It seems like they were more concerned that I was trying to get something for free than interested in improvement of user experience. I dunno, maybe it was a bot. LOL
