Filament Buddy. The helpful filament feed rate measuring tool.

thingiverse

So, you've been printing for a while with your shiny 3d printer, and you start to think to yourself, "I wonder if I can make this work better." A few Google searches later, and you've found yourself all sorts of guides and helpful tools like DaveD's profileinator http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5310 . Woe be unto you, they all ask you to measure the filament pulled in over time. How on earth are you supposed to measure that curvy, unwieldy filament properly? Well! Fret no more! The filament buddy is here to help! Simply mark the filament all the way around with a permanent marker then start extruding, when you see the filament hit the top of the patented (US Imaginary Patent Office: #31337) centimeter long "extrusion measurement reference window", hit start on your timing device. When it hits the bottom, hit stop. There you go! One metric cm of extrusion measured precisely over time. http://davedurant.wordpress.com/2010/10/18/configuring-skeinforge-the-4-or-5-big-settings/ Instructions It might need our proprietary RubberBand (TM) technology to stay on the top of the extruder. In case of oddly shaped extruders we recommended our partner firm, UniverseTech's, technology, TheHand (TM). Files: Derp 4mm/2.75mm, this one is probably the most useful, kinda silly to print something that's super hard to print so you can tune your printer to print something that's super hard to print. Amirite? Large tolerance, no overhangs. 3mm with website, I heard this somewhere, but this version works way better. 1.75mm with website. Seriously, something about the majestic combination of Dammit, Coetzee, and .com just makes everything work better. 3mm without website, almost guaranteed to set your house on fire. I am not responsible. 1.75mm without website, I heard this once killed a man in cold blood. You want to let that kind of criminal in your home? hmm?