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

37776 Comments

Anonymous

AndrewBEINS (not verified)

on

Fri, 06/20/2025 - 20:55

Deep below the surface of the ground in one of the driest parts of the country, there is a looming problem: The water is running out — but not the kind that fills lakes, streams and reservoirs.
[url=https://kra34c.cc]Кракен тор[/url]
The amount of groundwater that has been pumped out of the Colorado River Basin since 2003 is enough to fill Lake Mead, researchers report in a study published earlier this week. Most of that water was used to irrigate fields of alfalfa and vegetables grown in the desert Southwest.

No one knows exactly how much is left, but the study, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, shows an alarming rate of withdrawal of a vital water source for a region that could also see its supply of Colorado River water shrink.

“We’re using it faster and faster,” said Jay Famiglietti, an Arizona State University professor and the study’s senior author.

In the past two decades, groundwater basins – or large, underground aquifers – lost more than twice the amount of water that was taken out of major surface reservoirs, Famiglietti’s team found, like Mead and Lake Powell, which themselves have seen water levels crash.

The Arizona State University research team measured more than two decades of NASA satellite observations and used land modeling to trace how groundwater tables in the Colorado River basin were dwindling. The team focused mostly on Arizona, a state that is particularly vulnerable to future cutbacks on the Colorado River.
Groundwater makes up about 35% of the total water supply for Arizona, said Sarah Porter, director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University, who was not directly involved in the study.

The study found groundwater tables in the Lower Colorado River basin, and Arizona in particular, have declined significantly in the last decade. The problem is especially pronounced in Arizona’s rural areas, many of which don’t have groundwater regulations, and little backup supply from rivers. With wells in rural Arizona increasingly running dry, farmers and homeowners now drill thousands of feet into the ground to access water.

Scientists don’t know exactly how much groundwater is left in Arizona, Famiglietti added, but the signs are troubling.

“We have seen dry stream beds for decades,” he said. “That’s an indication that the connection between groundwater and rivers has been lost.”

Anonymous

Peterdig (not verified)

on

Fri, 06/20/2025 - 22:07

Deep below the surface of the ground in one of the driest parts of the country, there is a looming problem: The water is running out — but not the kind that fills lakes, streams and reservoirs.
[url=https://kra34c.cc]kraken darknet[/url]
The amount of groundwater that has been pumped out of the Colorado River Basin since 2003 is enough to fill Lake Mead, researchers report in a study published earlier this week. Most of that water was used to irrigate fields of alfalfa and vegetables grown in the desert Southwest.

No one knows exactly how much is left, but the study, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, shows an alarming rate of withdrawal of a vital water source for a region that could also see its supply of Colorado River water shrink.

“We’re using it faster and faster,” said Jay Famiglietti, an Arizona State University professor and the study’s senior author.

In the past two decades, groundwater basins – or large, underground aquifers – lost more than twice the amount of water that was taken out of major surface reservoirs, Famiglietti’s team found, like Mead and Lake Powell, which themselves have seen water levels crash.

The Arizona State University research team measured more than two decades of NASA satellite observations and used land modeling to trace how groundwater tables in the Colorado River basin were dwindling. The team focused mostly on Arizona, a state that is particularly vulnerable to future cutbacks on the Colorado River.
Groundwater makes up about 35% of the total water supply for Arizona, said Sarah Porter, director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University, who was not directly involved in the study.

The study found groundwater tables in the Lower Colorado River basin, and Arizona in particular, have declined significantly in the last decade. The problem is especially pronounced in Arizona’s rural areas, many of which don’t have groundwater regulations, and little backup supply from rivers. With wells in rural Arizona increasingly running dry, farmers and homeowners now drill thousands of feet into the ground to access water.

Scientists don’t know exactly how much groundwater is left in Arizona, Famiglietti added, but the signs are troubling.

“We have seen dry stream beds for decades,” he said. “That’s an indication that the connection between groundwater and rivers has been lost.”

Anonymous

DanielPam (not verified)

on

Fri, 06/20/2025 - 23:21

kaliumnitrat apotek <a href=" http://korean.travel.plus/space-uid-9183.html ">psa test apotek</a> or <a href=" https://cse.google.co.ao/url?q=https://raskapotek.com ">svovelkrem apotek</a>
https://cse.google.lv/url?sa=i&url=https://raskapotek.com pore strips apotek
[url=https://www.google.com.bh/url?q=https://raskapotek.com]lГёs mage apotek[/url] korona vaksine apotek and [url=https://bbs.hy2001.com/home.php?mod=space&uid=109043]hydrokinon apotek[/url] ledig stilling apotek

Anonymous

JamesAgemn (not verified)

on

Fri, 06/20/2025 - 23:27

Круглозвенные цепи — это не просто элемент механики, а настоящая находка для бизнеса! Они широко используются в различных отраслях: от сельского хозяйства до строительства, обеспечивая надежную передачу усилия и долговечность - [url=https://saumalkol.com/forum/%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B7%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B5-1/9444-...подшипники[/url]

Anonymous

JamesAgemn (not verified)

on

Fri, 06/20/2025 - 23:27

Круглозвенные цепи — это не просто элемент механики, а настоящая находка для бизнеса! Они широко используются в различных отраслях: от сельского хозяйства до строительства, обеспечивая надежную передачу усилия и долговечность - [url=https://saumalkol.com/forum/%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B7%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B5-1/9444-...подшипники[/url]

Anonymous

+7 (499) 638-25-37 (not verified)

on

Sat, 06/21/2025 - 00:10

Рулонные шторы с электроприводом, в интерьере.
Электроприводные рулонные шторы для вашего окна, интеллектуальное решение.
Рулонные шторы с электроприводом: удобство и стиль, в каталоге.
Современные рулонные шторы с электроприводом, отличный выбор.
Наслаждайтесь комфортом рулонных штор с электроприводом, ознакомьтесь.
Умные рулонные шторы для дома, создадут уют.
Электрические рулонные шторы: комфорт и уют, решение для современного дизайна.
Умные рулонные шторы – ваш новый помощник, откройте для себя.
Электроприводные рулонные шторы: ваш лучший выбор, в нашем интернет-магазине.
Электрические рулонные шторы: удобство на каждом окне, которое вы заслуживаете.
Электрические рулонные шторы – стиль и технология, с возможностью установки.
Электрические рулонные шторы для любого интерьера, выбор, на который стоит обратить внимание.
Умные рулонные шторы для современного дома, каждый день.
Электрические рулонные шторы для стиля и комфорта, закажите сейчас.
Умные рулонные шторы для вашего удобства, попробуйте и оцените.
Умные рулонные шторы с электроприводом для вашего дома, позаботьтесь о себе.
Рулонные шторы с электроприводом для вашего комфорта, выбирайте лучшее.
Преимущества рулонных штор с электроприводом, узнайте больше.
рулонные шторы с электроприводом [url=http://www.rulonnye-elektroprivod.ru]рулонные шторы с электроприводом[/url] .

Anonymous

Timothymaw (not verified)

on

Sat, 06/21/2025 - 00:45

<a href=https://dzen.ru/a/ZPZ324ORLBGu36oK>кайт школа в хургаде</a> : Кайт центр дети ветра: Это не просто место, где хранится оборудование, это – наш дом, наша база, наш эпицентр кайт-безумия! Здесь всегда рады новым лицам и готовы делиться опытом и хорошим настроением!

Anonymous

MichaelAlest (not verified)

on

Sat, 06/21/2025 - 00:50

{these may include|include|such} major casino games, {one of which includes| such as} blackjack, classic crypto games, {such as |like|like|hi-lo, #file_links["C:\Users\Admin\Desktop\file\gsa+en+Ivan86c3fu3cv5P2URLBB.txt",1,N] machines {and even|even|because even} exclusive {games|parties} with {live|real|real} dealers, {such as|like| blackjack salon privee.

Anonymous

Thomaswhody (not verified)

on

Sat, 06/21/2025 - 01:05

risparmio in farmacia <a href=" http://garmoniya.uglich.ru/user/zwhqokhbne/ ">10 ml in mg</a> or <a href=" https://www.google.com.ng/url?sa=t&url=http://efarmaciait.com ">fripass 100 mg prezzo amazon</a>
https://maps.google.com.cu/url?q=https://efarmaciait.com robilas cosa serve
[url=https://cse.google.tk/url?sa=t&url=https://efarmaciait.com]delecit compresse[/url] microser 8 mg a cosa serve and [url=http://georgiantheatre.ge/user/rcbymmmoya/]diflucan 200 serve ricetta[/url] luvion compresse

Anonymous

Ткацкий (not verified)

on

Sat, 06/21/2025 - 01:59

Почему профессиональный выбор — это важно
почему римские шторы в салоне лучше чем покупать готовые [url=https://rimskie-salon-vs-gotovye.ru/]почему римские шторы в салоне лучше чем покупать готовые[/url] .

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.