I only use single-use spools and toss them. I prefer plastic spool
I only use single use spools and toss them. I prefer paper spool
I prefer to use un-spooled filament that I mount onto another spool that twists apart for easy of use.
I prefer to use un-spooled filament that that I wind onto another spool. (please post your favorite source below)
I prefer to use cardboard spools that I tear apart the cardboard and then transfer to a plastic take twist apart preferred spool or either rewind onto a plastic spool. (please share you methods below)
All of the above. I’m not as picky.
None of the above (please post your individual use-case below).
Most of my printing utilizes a custom bulk-spool solution(greater than 1KG) so my use case is not listed above.(please share a pic of your solution and/or link)
0voters
I’m confining this poll to PLA mainly to keep the number of choices to a manageable number. If someone want’s to add a second poll, although I haven’t tested it myself, I believe the forum software supports more than one poll in a single thread, so have at it if you want to also poll for some other filament.
I’ve gotten a couple of carboard spools and I just don’t like the dust they leave behind while at the same time, the spool is often damaged when it arrives and I have bend it into shape.
I’m currently using Jayo off of Amazon. While not the best filament I’ve come across, at under $11, it’s something I can’t ignore and once you tune the filament profile, it prints acceptably. But please note, I’m on the side of the the 3d printing hobbyist that prints mostly functional parts so I would rather prioritize dimensional accuracy over pretty surfaces, although if I could just hit that magical trifecta of Price, Beauty and dimensional accuracy with a plastic spool… when that would be utopia in my book.
Now having said that, please share any stories you may have of ripping off the cardboard and respooling the entire spool onto a plastic spool, either a salvage from another maker or a spool you printed. Links are always preferred.
I’d like to see if we can get some ideas started here of what worked well and maybe not so well but worked well enough.
I use polymaker products only. So first i dry all rolls for six hours. Then they go into a sealing bin with desiccant. Then when needed in the AMS I tear off the sides and use the bambu lab split spool. Then i insert a round desiccant holder. Then back in the AMS. Plus it holds the split spools together while in service.
Myself, I tried using those printed spool rings on the cardboard spools, but I’ve had three experiences where the filament slides down between the main spool of filament and the cardboard side thus jamming the filament. I’ve lost three prints, two of them 6 hour prints lost… Bottom line, I now shuck the cardboard sides and use appropriate spool ring adapters on my Bambu spools or printed versions of the reusable spool.
Tip, I use narrow shrink wrap to wrap the filament instead of tape, works great for me. A lot quicker too.
My prefered brands of filament are Bambu when available and I have remaining discounts on my membership. I also use Polymaker, and am now testing Elegoo and Sunlu brands. So far I’ve been most impressed with Sunlu, plus I don’t have to deal with shucking spools. But the green in me leans towards Elegoo right now. I haven’t tried Jayo yet but will.
Another factor I consider is the max volumetric speeds I can achieve, again Sunlu wins on this front. Though the Elegoo High Speed is as good so availability and price is another factor.
I’m like you, functionality is my major purpose with my printer. Looks aren’t high but I do try my best. Speed it the biggest priority for me, when I’m designing my parts I hate waiting hours for test prints between design iterations.
Well, since I feel somewhat responsible for bringing Jayo up. It should be noted that one area that they fall down on is Max Flow Rate. My tuning shows a max of 14-15 which brings it down into the range of PETG performance. So be cautioned.
I use Overture almost exclusively. I have 19 spools of Overture currently and have 855 hours on the printer since January. I tried the printed edge things at first because everyone said cardboard bad. They were a big fail. I had a couple or three spools the post office did a number one, those were swapped to printed spools but that was many months ago. Since then, it’s straight from the box into the AMS. No drying or other prep. I do have to sometimes fuss with a nearly empty spool due to the lack of weight. Bambu filament goes straight into the dryer, nearly every spool has been so wet it saturates the desiccant in the AMS within hours.
I used to use Sunlu, ESun, and Eryone earlier this year. They came on cardboard spools. At that time, I didn’t know about winders or reusable spools (like the Bambu ones, that twist and open).
Since then I only ordered reusable spools and/or refills (I am building my spool selection so am investing in reusable right now). I still get the occasional cardboard one.
I live in a place where I only have easy (cheap) access to eSun filaments, and since they’ve switched to cardboard spools I’ve had endless problems running them through the AMS.
Started with the easy fix by wrapping the edges with electrical tape and printing clip-on edges but I still get AMS motor overload errors because especially at the end of a roll it is too light and either rides up on the front roller or swerves in the AMS, and the printed clip-on edges makes the rolls too large to fit in the AMS - you can still run these by swinging the AMS latches closed while the lid is open and sit the lid on these for a little bit extra room.
Decided to convert my AMS to the Hydra Pro AMS and also printed the PTFE feeder buttons to see if the extra height in the box and PTFE would make a difference but alas, problems persist.
Decided to print some reusable take-apart spools but the problem I’m having now is that the internal diameter of the cardboard spool seems to vary - some fit on the Bambu Labs spools, others are much smaller. I printed a 75mm spool for a 76mm ID roll, but even that was too much of a difference as the cardboard spool rotates around the plastic spool and not the rollers which causes issues when the AMS is using the motorised rollers for retractions which just spins the spool inside the cardboard tube and errors out the print. Can insert a 0.4-0.5mm spacer between the cardboard roll and the spool but that’s some hefty faff when it comes to swapping out a fresh roll.
I’m now designing my own spools as the spools I’ve found on offer are not adjustable (without Fusion 360) because I really want them to be precise fits to the eSun rolls and I’m really hoping they don’t change their sizes again soon.
I do find that some Overture spools will ride up when they get low. I do one of two things. I either toss a couple of C cells (or a single D) in the center of the spool or I put a printed desiccant holder full of desiccant in the center of the spool to give the spool some weight. This almost always fixes it.
I would have gone with “I prefer to use un-spooled filament that I mount onto another spool that twists apart for easy of use.” but reality of filament refills availability won’t let me.
So be cautioned.