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

62094 Comments

Anonymous

ImperialCrownJ7apold (not verified)

on

Fri, 10/10/2025 - 02:09

J’apprecie l’environnement de Casinia Casino, il offre une experience imperiale. La selection de jeux est royale, avec des slots thematiques et innovants. Plus un Bonus Crab pour demarrer. L’assistance est efficace et courtoise, garantissant un support de qualite. Les transactions sont fiables, cependant des recompenses additionnelles seraient royales. En resume, Casinia Casino est un incontournable pour les joueurs pour les passionnes de jeux modernes ! Notons aussi le design est moderne et fluide, amplifie le plaisir de jouer. Un autre atout majeur les evenements communautaires engageants, assure des transactions fiables.
<a href=https://casiniacasinologin.fr/>Essayer ceci</a>|

Anonymous

CrazySpinQ4apold (not verified)

on

Fri, 10/10/2025 - 02:09

J’ai un coup de foudre pour Locowin Casino, il offre une experience unique. La selection de jeux est phenomenale, offrant des sessions live dynamiques. Pour un demarrage en force. Le service est disponible 24/7, toujours pret a aider. Les retraits sont ultra-rapides, neanmoins des bonus plus varies seraient bienvenus. En bref, Locowin Casino offre une experience memorable pour les joueurs en quete d’excitation ! Cerise sur le gateau le design est moderne et fluide, facilite une immersion totale. Un autre atout majeur le programme VIP avec des niveaux exclusifs, offre des recompenses continues.
<a href=https://locowincasinologin.fr/>Cliquer pour apprendre</a>|

Anonymous

CrazySpinQ4apold (not verified)

on

Fri, 10/10/2025 - 02:20

Je suis epate par Locowin Casino, ca transporte dans un monde captivant. Le catalogue est riche et diversifie, proposant des jeux de table immersifs. Le bonus de bienvenue est attractif. Le suivi client est irreprochable, joignable a toute heure. Les transactions sont fiables et rapides, de temps en temps quelques tours gratuits en plus seraient cool. En resume, Locowin Casino est un incontournable pour les joueurs pour ceux qui aiment parier en crypto ! Cerise sur le gateau le site est rapide et attrayant, ajoute une touche de confort. Particulierement interessant le programme VIP avec des niveaux exclusifs, propose des avantages personnalises.
<a href=https://locowincasinologin.fr/>Lire maintenant</a>|

Anonymous

ImperialCrownJ7apold (not verified)

on

Fri, 10/10/2025 - 02:20

Je suis fascine par Casinia Casino, ca transporte dans un palais enchanteur. Le catalogue est opulent et diversifie, avec des slots thematiques et innovants. Renforcant votre capital initial. L’assistance est efficace et courtoise, garantissant un support de qualite. Les gains arrivent sans delai, cependant des offres plus genereuses ajouteraient du prestige. Dans l’ensemble, Casinia Casino garantit du fun a chaque instant pour les amateurs de sensations fortes ! Notons aussi le design est moderne et fluide, donne envie de prolonger l’experience. Un plus non negligeable les paiements securises en crypto, propose des avantages personnalises.
<a href=https://casiniacasinologin.fr/>Aller Г  la page</a>|

Anonymous

Tammylew (not verified)

on

Fri, 10/10/2025 - 02:47

Абсолютно с Вами согласен. Мне кажется это очень хорошая идея. Полностью с Вами соглашусь.
Bununla birlikd?, bonuslar ad?t?n xususi s?rtl?rd? s?rgil?nir , [url=https://misslady.it/hello-world/]https://misslady.it/hello-world/[/url] buna gor? vacib s?rtl?ri diqq?tl? oxuyun ?vv?l t?tbiq. To giris ?sas Veb sayt mostbet, siz olmal?d?r ?vv?lc? mostbet url-ni musb?t Internet brauzeriniz? daxil edin.

Anonymous

Davidbluct (not verified)

on

Fri, 10/10/2025 - 04:33

are neurontin and gabapentin the same drug <a href=" http://www.hk-pub.com/forum/dedo_siteindex.php?q=</form><a+href=//intima... ">gabapentin 400 mg pret</a> and can you buy fluoxetine <a href=" http://ussher.org.uk/user/ogiapkhcfi/?um_action=edit ">gabapentin forums</a>
http://db.cbservices.org/cbs.nsf/forward?openform&http://intimapharmafra... is expired gabapentin safe and https://vanpages.ca/profile/dyibpyxqwb/ maximum dosage of gabapentin
[url=http://izmail-tour.com/engine/redirect.php?url=http://intimapharmafrance... storage temperature[/url] mylan gabapentin 100mg or [url=http://wamoja.com/community/profile/zdrlfpvilf/]can you mix gabapentin and suboxone[/url] can you get fluoxetine

Anonymous

DanielBrego (not verified)

on

Fri, 10/10/2025 - 06:54

tadalafil 20mg uk <a href=" https://www.printwhatyoulike.com/get_page?topic=59750.100&url=https://ev... ">buy tadalafil uk</a> and tadalafil 100mg best price <a href=" https://www.liveviolet.net/user/ecslqiknuu/videos ">tadalafil online united states</a>
https://www.bingosearch.com/cgi-bin/websearch/search.pl?Terms=https://ev... tadalafil for sale from india and http://ussher.org.uk/user/iidpxrdmnh/?um_action=edit tadalafil cost india
[url=https://www.play.net/bounce/redirect.asp?URL=http://pharmaexpressfrance.... tadalafil 20mg[/url] tadalafil price uk and [url=https://www.wearebusiness.org/user/mfcysynhrm/?um_action=edit]generic tadalafil no prescription[/url] tadalafil tablets

Anonymous

BigsharkSox (not verified)

on

Fri, 10/10/2025 - 07:24

Hello, everyone! My name is Julia. My team and I support early-stage startups. If you are looking for resources to launch or scale your project, tell us about your idea. We are open to considering interesting proposals.

[url=https://wa.me/+66960574873] Text me on Whatsapp for quick communication[/url]

Anonymous

LuckyCallerJ7apold (not verified)

on

Fri, 10/10/2025 - 07:27

J’ai une passion debordante pour Bingoal Casino, ca procure un thrill incomparable. La diversite des titres est stupefiante, incluant des paris sportifs palpitants. Le bonus d’accueil est seduisant. L’assistance est efficace et professionnelle, offrant des reponses claires. Les gains arrivent sans retard, de temps a autre quelques tours gratuits supplementaires seraient bienvenus. En bref, Bingoal Casino offre une experience inoubliable pour ceux qui aiment parier en crypto ! Ajoutons que le design est moderne et fluide, amplifie le plaisir de jouer. A souligner les tournois reguliers pour la competition, assure des transactions fiables.
<a href=https://bingoalcasinobonus.fr/>Emmenez-moi lГ -bas</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.