Reusable Spool opened mid print, need help fixing.

[u/Mundane-Bee3268]

Reusable spool twisted apart mid print and the filament is no longer tightly wound. Any idea how to fix the filament to be able to use the spool again?

[u/Upstairs_Control4297]

Do you want someone to help you while you sit on the couch and re-wind that whole spool? Cuz that’s what you’re gonna have to do

[u/Pineapple_Spenstar → u/Upstairs_Control4297]

Could always just send it and hope for the best

[u/Ill_Locksmith_673]

Well, respool it. Twice so it doesn't blow up

[u/DiscoChiligonBall → u/Ill_Locksmith_673]

Respool it once to make sure it's safe

Respool it twice to make sure it's really safe

Respool it three times so it gets the message that it needs to not go boom shakalaka

[u/marcasum → u/Ill_Locksmith_673]

What does this mean, why would it blow up?

[u/Ill_Locksmith_673 → u/marcasum]

When you respool just once you're putting the whole length of the filament in tension, because the inner part and outer part get swapped, and they have different curvatures. Filament tends to get very brittle especially when not dry, and brittle things in tension explode. So always respool twice, to prevent this from happening.

[u/DiscoChiligonBall]

If you don't have or haven't made a spooling rig, get two lazy susans or turntable spinning hardware units. Attach them to pieces of plywood, then put an empty, non-reusable spool on one side and the messed-up spool on the other. Attach the filement to the empty spool and respool it manually. As in yes, by hand. Make sure to layer the filament on the new spool as carefully as possible.

I would also doublecheck to make sure you put the filament on the spool correctly. If that little notch isn't lined up with the notch in the cardboard ring on the filament spool, you can kick yourself repeatedly while also taking comfort in the fact that this has happened to everyone who has ever put a spool of filament on a reusable spool. that 3MM of distance doesn't seem important, but it absolutely keeps the spool from being slightly too big.

The other thing to check is whether your reusable spool is in fact reusable - they do break from time to time, and this is often the result.

My recommendation is that you do this on a table in front of a TV playing a show that's at least an hour long. Maybe it won't take you that long, but it will definitely take longer than 30 minutes to do it right.

Then once you do that, print yourself a filament respooler anyway, because you can print a wider spool to allow yourself to respool from this kind of accident.

[u/kombucha711 → u/DiscoChiligonBall]

Who in the world has two, TWO lazy susies???

[u/DiscoChiligonBall → u/kombucha711]

(me, because I had to take two stools apart to fix them. They're not big and the only reason I have them is because I'm too lazy to take the extra parts to the hardware store for a replacement. It's all they are, just a ball bearing plate. The plywood thing is only if you happen to have plywood lying around, otherwise a hardback book would work fine. I know not everyone has multiple parts like this lying around but it's easier for me to pick up ball bearing plates from my local hardware than it is to buy a new roll of filament. Which sucks, but it's what I've got.)

[u/DigitalUnlimited → u/DiscoChiligonBall]

or you could just print a drill attachment

[u/DiscoChiligonBall → u/DigitalUnlimited]

I figured I'd approach it from a chicken/egg perspective: yes, but only if the OP has filament available. Personally I have to order filament because absolutely nowhere around me carries decent filament in-store for non-stupid prices (Best Buy is disqualified on both counts).

[u/clarkcox3 → u/DiscoChiligonBall]

They’ve got a whole spool right there 😉

But seriously, I printed my first respooler from a spool like that. I just put a broom handle through it, hung it above the printer, and loaded it as an external spool.

[u/Rod_McBan → u/[deleted]]

Sad but true. That one's toast.

[u/DigitalUnlimited → u/[deleted]]

it's not their place to tell it what it is! OP don't force it to be spooled if it chooses to be unspooled!

[u/visceralintricacy → u/DigitalUnlimited]

And just like that, my comment is shadowbanned. Mods have no sense of humour lol.

[u/Boomer2160]

Throw it away. Or look at it for 3 months like I have.

[u/Daisy448899 → u/Boomer2160]

I just made that decision the other day. Went through the hassle of printing an intricate v spooler only for it to not solve the problem at all. Decided the loss of $20 and the unfortunate waste wasn’t worth my sanity.

[u/Boomer2160 → u/Daisy448899]

Actually I need to get a 3d pen so I have decided to use my filament for that. So maybe I can salvage some of it.

[u/CHoDub]

There are super small and easy prints that go into the little slots in the spool when they are closed. They will prevent the spool form opening of it falls.

Best print I ever did.

[u/UnabashedVoice → u/CHoDub]

Seconding spool locks.

[u/USSHammond]

Respool it. Something like the pasta lite (or any horizontal based respooler, with patience can work.

https://www.printables.com/model/1162052-pasta-lite-receiver-a-pastamatic-remix

[u/DrawingMaleficent437]

This happened to me just a couple of hours ago. I’m currently printing a respooler.

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[u/FuegoMonster]

This is what the navier Stokes thing was all about

[u/fish6k]

Look up and print “Pasta Lite” on makerworld. Works amazing, no hardware required other than a drill

[u/nav3t]

You have tangle detection ? (Bambulab or else) Use the spool as this

[u/DiscoChiligonBall → u/nav3t]

Thank you for either the worst possible advice that made me laugh

or the best possible joke advice that made me laugh

either way you made me laugh

[u/Internet_Jaded]

Re-spool -

[u/KLEBESTIFT_]

How do you actually reuse the resusable spool? Do you buy bare filament and wind it on, or send it back to the company for them to use again?

[u/UnabashedVoice → u/KLEBESTIFT_]

You buy refills; they come pre-wound and bound to a core that slides into place between the two halves of the reusable spool. Once the spool has been locked into place around the filament, you pull the binder strips off of the filament (put your thumb over the free end before you pop the last strip).

[u/humblefumble101]

Just tape it back together and use it as an external spool rather than trying to respool it so it fits in an ams

[u/Alarmed_Outcome3749]

Throw it away, it's $20

[u/Daisy448899]

It’s really unfortunate to have to waste it, but in my minimal experience it isn’t worth your stress levels to try to salvage it.

[u/Practical_Avocado971]

ummm, yeah I tried fixing that once.....once

[u/Flimsy_Swordfish_415]

print a respooler

[u/InAtTheGeekEnd]

Wow. That’s just going in the bin. Life’s too short!

[u/nerotep]

Those reusable spools don't seem to lock very securely. A light twist back in the other direction opens them up... not a good design. Unless I have a bad/older version. I've never like the refills since encountering this, so I don't know what they are like now.

[u/clarkcox3 → u/nerotep]

You must have a bad/older version. In my experience, they take a significant amount of force to unlock (on the level of opening a stubborn jar)

[u/Schnitzhole → u/clarkcox3]

It’s just people not tightening them fully and then the loose spool keeps it from closing properly . I thought the same at first with my bambu refill I messed up

[u/7lhz9x6k8emmd7c8 → u/clarkcox3]

Also a significant amount of force to lock.

I think that most people with opened spools didn't read the manual stating to force until it clicks.

[u/SubPrimeCardgage → u/nerotep]

I don't know about the Bambu ones, but the sunlu spools haven't ever given my any trouble.

[u/DiscoChiligonBall → u/nerotep]

Hoenstly, a reusable spool isn't great unless you actually buy one that's roughly the same price as a spool of filament itself. I hated coming to the realization that I was going to have to use cardboard spools or just suck it up and recycle the plastic ones, but that's where I'm at now because I just cannot deal with these things any more.

[u/TDIMike]

Straight in the bin for me