Filament Splicer

Project cancelled, click here to read why
The idea for Filament Splicer was born about a month after our Ultimaker 3D Printer was build. As cool as 3D Printing is, printing in one color is boring.

Users of normal, single head FFF/FDM printers are stuck with single color unless they join filament pieces together to produce one multi-colored string. It is not very complicated but process is quite awkward and you will get fed up very quickly.

If you want to have proper, stable filament join you need to have right temperature on the tip of plastic when you connect pieces together. This is hard to achieve when you use some arbitrary heat source. You either underheat or overheat and burn the plastic. Using print head of your printer is best 'ad-hoc' solution but it leaves quite a mess on it, you cannot print when you splice and plastic which is in the head slowly gets burned while you take time to splice your string.

Then, of course there is issue with forming of the joint, carpet knife and fingers where our favorite tools for that job but it took quite a long time to form each joint.

We have had our share of failed prints due to broken joints / stuck filament and finally decided to create a device which will help to splice filament. Initial idea was to create fully automated unit: you place filament ends on copper block, close it, push the button and viola - you have your joint. That was the theory.... In practice this is impossible because PLA and ABS expand during heat-up and contract during cool down, this results in either no joint at all or bubble-filled mess.

Many headache filled days [Even best PLA is really nasty stuff when you breath it in for a while] later we dropped the idea and went for 'open' model with precisely manufactured grooves which help to quickly heat up, connect and form joints.

Thermal insulation was another challenge, we wanted to allow up to 260c temperature but nothing could properly insulate enclosure from hot copper block for prolonged period of time. Ceramic fiber thermal tape can take that heat but one needs a lot of it and then there is itching... Chinese tape is horrible and even best branded, made in USA [ThermoTec] tape is not flawless. We eventually gave up on ceramic fibre and went with PFTA [Teflon] plates. Since PFTA can be outright poisonous at high temperatures, we decided to use high quality - made in Europe material - this way we are sure that maximum temperature of 235c is well within safety limit.

Availability

Filament splicer can be pre-ordered via our campaign on Indiegogo, it is available as a DIY kit or fully assembled unit.

 

Assembled
Assembled
Kit
Kit

 

Open Source

Filament splicer blueprints are released under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License and can be downloaded from Thingiverse and Youmagine.

Tags: 
projects
filament splicer

54274 Comments

Anonymous

gabnit (not verified)

on

Thu, 09/25/2025 - 01:08

Обслуживание и ремонт ПТО в компании [url=https://remont-pto.ru/]СоюзЭнерго[/url].
[url=https://remont-pto.ru/]ремонт КПП погрузчиика[/url]
[url=Ремонт рохли и гидравлической тележки]ремонт складской техники[/url]
[url=https://remont-pto.ru/remont-pogruzchikov/dizelnykh]ремонт дизельных погрузчиков[/url]

Anonymous

ElizabethRer (not verified)

on

Thu, 09/25/2025 - 01:13

Полностью разделяю Ваше мнение. В этом что-то есть и я думаю, что это отличная идея.
К 2010-м годам гк «Нижегородский масложировой комбинат» объединяла 14 предприятий, [url=https://duhifragonar.ru/]https://duhifragonar.ru[/url] находящихся в многочисленных точках рф.

Anonymous

MatthewArova (not verified)

on

Thu, 09/25/2025 - 01:15

Ищешь знакомства в Ростове-на-Дону? Вступай в наш активный Telegram-чат с реальными людьми для общения и новых встреч. <a href=https://t.me/Devochkirostovabot>Знакомства Ростов</a> В чате дружелюбная атмосфера, много участников, возможность найти друзей или романтику, интересные темы и обсуждения. Присоединяйся и начинай знакомиться прямо сейчас!

Anonymous

MatthewArova (not verified)

on

Thu, 09/25/2025 - 01:21

Ищешь знакомства в Ростове-на-Дону? Вступай в наш активный Telegram-чат с реальными людьми для общения и новых встреч. <a href=https://t.me/Devochkirostovabot>https://t.me/Devochkirostovabot</a> В чате дружелюбная атмосфера, много участников, возможность найти друзей или романтику, интересные темы и обсуждения. Присоединяйся и начинай знакомиться прямо сейчас!

Anonymous

MichaelPhofe (not verified)

on

Thu, 09/25/2025 - 02:25

Алкоголь ночью с доставкой на дом в Москве. Работаем 24/7, когда обычные магазины закрыты. Широкий ассортимент: пиво, сидр, вино, шампанское, крепкие напитки: <a href=https://alcohub9.ru/>доставка алкоголя ночью москва круглосуточно</a>. Быстрая доставка в пределах МКАД за 30-60 минут

Anonymous

Bubinga_cgsn (not verified)

on

Thu, 09/25/2025 - 03:03

Bubinga Binary Options: Unlocking Financial Potential

Bubinga Binary Options give traders a modern way to participate in global markets with speed, clarity, and flexibility. Easy-to-use tools make it possible to explore opportunities while managing risks wisely. Whether you are just starting or already experienced, you can learn and grow with Bubinga by visiting [url=https://iccard.jp/]https://iccard.jp/[/url], gaining insights that support smarter decisions and long-term success in trading.

Anonymous

zestylizard7apold (not verified)

on

Thu, 09/25/2025 - 03:16

Sou viciado no role de OshCasino, parece uma erupcao de diversao. As opcoes de jogo no cassino sao ricas e incendiarias, com jogos de cassino perfeitos pra criptomoedas. Os agentes do cassino sao rapidos como um estalo, respondendo mais rapido que um relampago. Os pagamentos do cassino sao lisos e blindados, mesmo assim mais recompensas no cassino seriam um diferencial vulcanico. Resumindo, OshCasino e um cassino online que e uma erupcao de diversao para os viciados em emocoes de cassino! De lambuja a interface do cassino e fluida e cheia de energia ardente, da um toque de calor brabo ao cassino.
<a href=https://www.sbkgroup.lk/matematica-e-emocao-o-nucleo-do-oshcasino/>osh app</a>|

Anonymous

sparklynewt6apold (not verified)

on

Thu, 09/25/2025 - 03:16

Ich finde absolut uberwaltigend Platin Casino, es ist ein Online-Casino, das wie ein Edelstein strahlt. Der Katalog des Casinos ist eine Schatzkammer voller Spa?, mit Live-Casino-Sessions, die wie ein Diamant leuchten. Der Casino-Support ist rund um die Uhr verfugbar, antwortet blitzschnell wie ein geschliffener Diamant. Casino-Transaktionen sind simpel wie ein Edelstein, ab und zu wurde ich mir mehr Casino-Promos wunschen, die wie Gold glanzen. Zusammengefasst ist Platin Casino ein Online-Casino, das wie ein Schatz strahlt fur Abenteurer im Casino! Extra das Casino-Design ist ein optischer Schatz, den Spielspa? im Casino in den Himmel hebt.
<a href=https://washingtonbreeze.com/alles-uber-chancen-im-platincasino/>platin casino deutsche lizenz</a>|

Pages

Add your comment

More information about text formats

Plain text

  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.