He explains that the companies he buys the spools from don’t provide the length of the filament on each spool. Meanwhile, his CAD design program tells him how many millimeters are needed for a print, but not how much it will weigh.
But this video is about the metal sizing die Kevin built to run the filament through to filter out any bumps or lumps that could jam his Cerberus 3D Gigante 3D printer. He knows his 3D printer will not take filament larger than 1/8″ in diameter, so he simply drilled an 1/8″ hole in the metal sizing die.
Kevin then would run the filament from the spool through the sizing die, through his 100-year-old length counter, and over to the takeup reel.
The other day, Kevin walked past the workbench caught his coat on the sizing die, and tore his jacket. He decided it was time for a new design.
He got rid of the metal sizing die and 3D printed a “plug” that fits right into the intake hole of the length counter. The plug, or new sizing die, has an 1/8″ hole in the center, which helps guide the filament directly into the center of the machine.
For his original version, Kevin measured the diameter and inside depth of the intake hole in the length-counter and used his CAD program to design the new sizing die.
When he tried his first plug, Kevin discovered the intake hole is tapered, probably to help guide the rope or whatever they originally measured with it into the machine. His first version, which has straight sides, didn’t want to fit snugly into the intake hole.
Kevin gets on the computer and uses his CAD program to change the draft angle to taper the new sizing die. He saves the new design, sends it to his slicing program, then his host program, and finally to his Cerberus 3D 250 3D printer.
The printer creates a new sizing die in about 27minutes.
Kevin tries out the new die – the filament fits through the hole perfectly, and the die slips right into the intake hole. He guides some filament through it and the length counter.
Now he has it working, Kevin will unscrew the length-counter, moved it down his workbench, unscrew and move the feed reel down, and make everything a little more compact and tidy.
Kevin is ready to go back to work, but you might want to stick around one more moment and see how flawless this operation really is ….