Respooling Cube 3 Cartridge

[Smokingenius]

Greetings,

Was wondering if there was a step by step guide out there for respooling the Cube 3 cartridges. I finally got mine running after I got some help from TommyDee in getting a power supply. I have seen some videos from Fungetech3D on YouTube about he cartridge mods, which got me started, and then I found the B2B cartridge mods, which I plan on doing. I currently have an ABS and PLA spool from the previous owner for free with the printer, but their ex kind of hacked them up a little. I need to respool them with their current filament so I can get it dialed in before I print the 2B2 upgrades.

Regards.

[TommyDee]

You can always feed the cartridges from outside the machine. A pole through a box can serve as a holder.

As to respooling, it is mostly a technique of getting the cartridge apart. Manipulating the bits inside to they don't get damaged. And since your spools are already wound, no biggy, but when you do need to put the filament back on the spool, there is a little tool on thingiverse for that. I also have little tools that you 12 of to separate the shall-halves of the spool itself.

I suck at videos but i will say that you start the removing of the cover from the bottom end and work your way around both sides. When it hangs up, release the two latches on the inner diameter (below the filament driver) with a small screwdriver that has a sharpened edge (sandpaper).

Hope that helps

[Smokingenius]

So the hacked up spool I have had a bunch of extra boden tubing in it, which I think was incorrect. I was able to get the broken bits taken out of the tube, re-feed it to the nozzle, and the printer primed it. However the extruder on both sides sounds a bit loud, is that normal on these units? It doesn't sound like its using TMC steppers at all, suprising for the cost these were at, as mine runs very loud, I'd say 2x to 3x louder than the Dremel and the other one at work (model escapes my mind at the moment). In any case after removing the incorrectly placed extra tubing I got it reassembled and such with no problem.

As for the extruder mechanism, something fell out of it. Looked like half of a magnet. I will see if I can get a picture up here for you to look at.

[TommyDee]

The extra tubing is a take-up tube. Only needed for the cartridge in it's normal function. The half-moon thing is part of what holds the cartridge fast as the magnetic field of the stepper holds the cartridge as well as the latches.

I don't use purge. The drivers strips on the filament and 'clicks'. This digs a bite out of the filament potentially not allowing it to advance later. Use the test print for purging. Much more reliable.

[Smokingenius]

Ah, well it was damaged, so I removed it. Looks like I got to tear it back apart and take apart the extruder and get that metal piece reinstalled. The cartridge was walking off while printing and now I know why.

[TommyDee]

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2931422

[celalsur]

As a technician for dealer of these less than stellar machines I am actually watching this with a lot of interest. Please update soon. Lol. I am at the point of tearing down these machines and turning them into Frankenstein. As soon as 3ds fixes one thing another goes down. Right now I feel as though their filament is aged and inferior.

[shenthi]

Oh, really? Thanks for sharing it. It maybe helps me now. Stickman Boost

[dougk12]

The filament you are talking is aged more than 7 years past the OEM recommended use so yes... if you're trying to continue to use it, you're going to frustrate yourself. OEM ABS = fine. OEM PLA = should be tossed.

Simply trying to re-use the OEM cartridges over and over again will introduce a new problem. The meager internal feed tube (2.8x2mm = .4mm walls!) stretches considerably before the initial 400 grams of filament is spent so attempting to use long term isn't a good strategy. You need a real open source solution like B2B or others that leverage 4x2mm feed tube.