Filament Management System

prusaprinters

<p>This is a full system that I designed to work with my MMU2s inside of an Ikea LACK Enclosure.</p> <p><strong>Features:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Dry Boxes </li> <li>Filament Buffer</li> <li>Easy Load/Unload</li> <li>Easy swap out single spool</li> <li>Clean PTFE tube path from buffer to MMU</li> <li>Spools are near the buffer</li> <li>Heat from the enclosure drys filament</li> <li>Reliable Operation</li> </ul> <p><strong>System Explained</strong></p> <figure class="media"> <oembed url="https://www.youtube.com/embed/f4RhJJPazQU"></oembed> </figure> <h3>Print instructions</h3><p><strong>Where are the printable files?</strong></p> <p>Rather than have one print page with a dozen print files and 20 pages of instructions. Each of the printable files have their own print page with instructions.</p> <p><strong>Here is what you will need:</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.prusaprinters.org/prints/22008-double-stack-ikea-lack-enclosure-v2-works-w-mmu2s">Double Stack Ikea LACK Enclosure</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.prusaprinters.org/prints/30809-hanging-buffer-mount">Hanging Buffer Mount PC4-M6 Version</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.prusaprinters.org/prints/31323-hanging-buffer-mount-pc4-m10-version">Hanging Buffer Mount PC4-M10 Version</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.prusaprinters.org/prints/28933-hanging-mount-for-rubbermaid-21-cup-drybox">Hanging Mount for Rubbermaid 21 cup Drybox</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.prusaprinters.org/prints/29450-hanging-side-mount-for-rubbermaid-21-cup-drybox">Hanging Side Mount for Rubbermaid 21 cup Drybox</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.prusaprinters.org/prints/28932-spool-skate-for-rubbermaid-21-cup-drybox">Spool Skate for Rubbermaid 21 cup Drybox</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.prusaprinters.org/prints/28925-desiccant-dome">Drybox Desiccant Dome</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.prusaprinters.org/prints/28956-pc4-m10-cap">PC4 - M10 Cap</a></li> </ul> <p><strong>History of this design</strong></p> <p>I built my first <a href="https://www.prusaprinters.org/prints/22007-double-stack-ikea-lack-enclosure-v1-works-w-mmu2s">double stack ikea LACK enclosure</a> about February of 2019. For the next 14 months I experimented with several Filament management systems. They each had pros and cons.</p> <p><strong>Spool holders and buffer that came with the MMU2(s):</strong><br/> Worked well enough but they took up a TON of room (Like an entire dinning room table of space). The spools needed to be placed behind the printer and in line to prevent MMU jams. The buffer was a pain in the butt to load filament into. The filament was exposed to open air and would get water saturated and degrade. I lost a lot of filament.</p> <p><strong>Hanging Universal Rewinders</strong><br/> The <a href="https://www.prusaprinters.org/prints/3674-long-arm-hanging-universal-spool-re-winder">hanging universal rewinders</a> were a cool idea. I could fit four easily inside the enclosure and the fifth wasn't too much of a squeeze. When they worked they were really cool. Sadly they don't work well over time. The plastic springs wear out or break. The spools stop rewinding and filament gets tangled. Print jobs are messed up and plastic is wasted. It took about two minutes to load a new spool onto the rewinder which caused me to leave spools in place even when the print job was over. Then moisture would slowly get into the enclosure and saturate the spools. Over a rainy weekend I ruined several spools that were sitting in the enclosure.</p> <p><strong>Hanging buffer shelf</strong><br/> The <a href="https://www.prusaprinters.org/prints/21965-hanging-spool-buffer-shelf-discontinued">hanging buffer shelf</a> was my own design. It worked. It was more reliable than the rewinders and easier/fasrer to load. But moisture would still get in and make PLA brittle. When brittle PLA would break it would jam up the buffers.</p> <p><strong>Spool Cuffs</strong><br/> I tried making <a href="https://www.prusaprinters.org/prints/21964-spool-cuff-for-mmu2-buffer-replacement-discontinue">spool cuffs</a> that would allow the filament to buffer around the spool. That didn't work. It was super fast to load filament. But the filament could get tied into a knot or it could push the cuff off the spool.</p> <p><strong>Gravity Rewinder Drybox</strong><br/> So I did some research and found the gravity rewinders. I liked the idea but I wanted them to be enclosed into a drybox. So I designed my <a href="https://www.prusaprinters.org/prints/25858-gravity-rewinder-drybox">gravity rewinder drybox</a>. These were pretty cool. They kept the filament dry all the way to the MMU. I could fit four inside and the fifth one was easily mounted to the side of the enclosure. It wasn't difficult to load or get setup. But about one in 20 rewinds there would be a problem. Either the filament would pull back too far and the MMU wouldn't be able to reach it anymore, or the rewinder would fail and the filament would get tangled. On rare occasion with heavy spools the axle would fall out and the spool would get stuck inside the drybox.</p> <p><strong>Drybox with buffers</strong><br/> I never posted the files online but I experimented with a few designs where each drybox had a small filament buffer inside of it. I could not come up with a design that worked reliably every time.</p> <p><strong>Hanging Buffer Mount</strong><br/> Finally I came back to the buffer that shipped with the MMU2(s). I wanted to make it easier to use and take up less space. The MMU works best when the PTFE tubes feeding into it are straight as possible and come up from the lower rear of the printer. So I designed my <a href="https://www.prusaprinters.org/prints/30809-hanging-buffer-mount">Hanging Buffer Mount</a> to allow the tubes to approach the MMU as close to that angle as possible. This design keeps most of the spool dry all the time so I don't ruin entire spools. It is fast and easy to load. The dryboxes can be used as long term storage. Best of all as a system it is extremely reliable. The passive buffer doesn't get tangled or fail to work. It even works with TPU.</p> <p><img alt="Demo" src="https://cdn.thingiverse.com/assets/f7/24/8e/7f/30/card_preview_IMG_20200429_142221-ANIMATION.gif"/></p> <p><strong>Please comment or DM me</strong><br/> I am open to feedback or questions.</p>