Macy, you have to wait for the device to heat up to the desired temp before doing the filament bond. Having the filament in there while it's heating up probably caused the filament to soften more than necessary causing the kinked ends. And while it's in the device, you have to push each end of the filaments being joined towards the device to ensure a good bond. Not too much pressure, just enough to make sure things join properly.
I’m so glad I came across your channel. You do a great job walking us thru your process . Most importantly I you keep it real and honest I’m positive the vendor appreciates your honest feedback, they may not like it but in the end it will help make the product better ❤
Put your filament in after it heats up. It’s in to long if it’s in there from o to temp. Also you don’t need to cut the ptfe tubes just slide them off.
You're supposed to turn it on and let it reach temperature and then insert the filament. After you close the clamp, push the filaments gently together to make better splice. It will beep when it's ok to the the filament out. Keep it powered on if you have more than one splices to make. Also you can use the connector tube multiple times, just slide it on the filament to the next splice point.
Interesting take on the use of the filament connector device. I could only think of putting my old scraps together to make a roll of filament for prototyping. For that use case however I much prefer the 'continue on other slot when empty' feature of the AMS.
When i 1st started my 3D printing journey about 6 months ago i ordered allot of sample filament, so i have loads to join together to use on silly little fidget toys for my daughters as they love them. I pre-ordered one of these to try.
Worth being aware, the filament swap of the AMS fails horribly when the filament has gone through the ams but still in the ptfe tubing - as it can’t be retracted. That’s around 1 meter of of filament wasted - and it creates a big problem with the affected print
MACY!!!!!!!!! I've seen that splicer advertised and some other YTers review it, but never looked at it that closely. It doesn't work like I thought. We have a tool at work for joining round rubber material into belts. Too hard to explain how it works here, but I thought that's what this was going to do....similar idea, just different (and the need for the little splicing tubes). Any way, it was fun watching you struggle trying to figure it out. You are absolutely adorable. LOL
It's basically what the Palette 3 Pro does, except the Palette does it automatically and easily, and it does it while you print. It does cost a lot more, though.
cut yor ends to 45° and push together slightly when the filament heats up, make sure the 2 radii are going the same way. With roll ends, cut the first 5" off as it absorbs moisture into the end and becomes brittle.
Yeah I also used bambu PLA which might have needed a lower temp in general. Other filaments didn’t have as much of an issue with it melting like that. Oh well haha I still made it work
I don't really understand the comparison to the AMS (Or in my case, AMS lite). The bambu printer with ams has a beautiful runout sensor and will switch seamlessly to a new like-filament if runout occurs (or wait for you to change if you don't hand an AMS). But of course, while nice, this is not the AMS main feature. This filament welder certainly doesn't replace an AMS. But I could see its purpose for those users who don't have a runout sensor.
I hadn't considered using this tool for design (more of connecting scraps of the same color). It's an interesting approach but yeah, dealing with coiling filament bouncing around seems awful.
I purchased one for a completely different reason. The AMS struggles with spools that barely have any filament left. I accumulate many small spools and instead of relying on the AMS to feed them correctly, I plan on combining the partials. (Usually the same color)
I believe the reason the AMS has trouble with this is because of the weight of the spool with almost nothing left on it. There are 3D printable containers you can put in the middle of the spool to increace the weight of the almost empy spool to avoid this. No need to splice. Then you can just use the AMS to swap to the next spool as intended.
I think that would be impossible as the rear holder can't pull the filament back out (or auto feed it in) for the changes. But, you CAN use more than 4 colors w/ the AMS if the print will allow you....for example if you have separate layers of color (easiest way) or there is just a long time between color changes (takes a lot of baby sitting). I guess you asked for a 'device'....which I suppose could be possible to feed/retract. I slightly misread the original question. LOL
Seems like it would require a lot of effort for 1 more spool. Better off with a second AMS IMO, and that’s already available for a reasonable enough price.
You continue to make awesome content. At first I was like "What are you doing!?!??!" turning off the flushing when you split the model you printed with the AMS, but then I saw it print and the comment you made about making a gradient then made sense. That was very clever even if the printing pattern didn't work the way you wanted it to. I have seen a few reviews of this SUNLU dohicky, but yours was by far the most fun and most creative. Thank you!
seems like you're following a single use case which is for multi color gradients... I purchased it so I didn't have half used spools that I know don't have enough filament or just have a little left in the spool.
Looks like you mis-understood the purpose of this device. It so you can join up filament that you know won’t be enough to print an item with and will allow you to minimise waste and even create multi coloured filament and even allow you to join different types of filament together (if your brave enough)
Different manufacturer makes of filament use different profiles, that's why you can calibrate the filament profile to the filament. Where I see a problem is, when using the Filament Connector you are stuck with just one profile, that may not be suitable for all the different manufacturer makes of filaments you have connected together. You do not have this problem with the AMS.
Do you use commonly available fonts for your nameplates or do you create your own? Also, if you’re not going to use the Sunlu Filament Connector, maybe offer a giveaway once you reach some milestone, like 15k subs. Keep up the good work.
I create my own fonts. I’ll start with a normal font and then make changes to it until I like the way it looks. And that’s a great idea for the filament connector! I’ll see if I can plan a giveaway for 20k subs :)
it seems like a nice product and its not to expensive, but as long as they don't sell the little tubes separately and that they want you to buy a completely new unit to get more is completely insane business practice in my opinion, and yes i know you can order extra with the unit, but still, at some point you are gonna run out, and then you are gonna have to buy a new unit to get more, really hope they change that in the future
I would use this to capture old leftover filament onto new rolls. Seems like a tool to minimize waste.
Looks very similar to a fiber optic cable fuser. Love your content, by the way! Keep making!
Macy, you have to wait for the device to heat up to the desired temp before doing the filament bond. Having the filament in there while it's heating up probably caused the filament to soften more than necessary causing the kinked ends. And while it's in the device, you have to push each end of the filaments being joined towards the device to ensure a good bond. Not too much pressure, just enough to make sure things join properly.
Pushing both ends inward while at the same time pushing down on the lever seems a bit unwieldy 😖
I’m so glad I came across your channel. You do a great job walking us thru your process . Most importantly I you keep it real and honest I’m positive the vendor appreciates your honest feedback, they may not like it but in the end it will help make the product better ❤
Thank you so much :) Trying my best to keep things real for you guys!
Thanks for the information. It was a fun watch. I like that you filmed it straight from the box, so we at home could see the learning curve involved ❤
Put your filament in after it heats up. It’s in to long if it’s in there from o to temp. Also you don’t need to cut the ptfe tubes just slide them off.
I was going to say the same about sliding the ptfe off. I would cut it for extra long pieces but slide it off for short pieces to reuse
You're supposed to turn it on and let it reach temperature and then insert the filament. After you close the clamp, push the filaments gently together to make better splice. It will beep when it's ok to the the filament out. Keep it powered on if you have more than one splices to make. Also you can use the connector tube multiple times, just slide it on the filament to the next splice point.
Interesting take on the use of the filament connector device. I could only think of putting my old scraps together to make a roll of filament for prototyping. For that use case however I much prefer the 'continue on other slot when empty' feature of the AMS.
When i 1st started my 3D printing journey about 6 months ago i ordered allot of sample filament, so i have loads to join together to use on silly little fidget toys for my daughters as they love them. I pre-ordered one of these to try.
Nice to see the difference, thanks!
Thanks for the great video. Looks like a huge pain in the butt but was cool to see it all explained.
I LOVE UR VIDSSSSS YOUR AN INSPIRATIONNNN
Thank you so much! 😊 glad you’re here!
Absolutely! She gives me the motivation to try and get something of my own going!
@@macymakes3d please share with me which CAD software you use.
Not a bad tool for using scap filement. Im thinking the new frankenspool would be perfect with the AMS for use as support material.
please post more videos, we really like your channel. Thank you!
Thank you! More videos are being made don't worry :)
Worth being aware, the filament swap of the AMS fails horribly when the filament has gone through the ams but still in the ptfe tubing - as it can’t be retracted. That’s around 1 meter of of filament wasted - and it creates a big problem with the affected print
I see you are in NC. I thought I detected a fantastic accent. I live in Spain but I am from North Carolina and really enjoy listening to your videos.
MACY!!!!!!!!! I've seen that splicer advertised and some other YTers review it, but never looked at it that closely. It doesn't work like I thought. We have a tool at work for joining round rubber material into belts. Too hard to explain how it works here, but I thought that's what this was going to do....similar idea, just different (and the need for the little splicing tubes). Any way, it was fun watching you struggle trying to figure it out. You are absolutely adorable. LOL
Hahaha gotta show all the struggles :) thanks for watching!
your patience in your testing was amazing, a really interesting and useful. Thanks.
It's basically what the Palette 3 Pro does, except the Palette does it automatically and easily, and it does it while you print. It does cost a lot more, though.
cut yor ends to 45° and push together slightly when the filament heats up, make sure the 2 radii are going the same way.
With roll ends, cut the first 5" off as it absorbs moisture into the end and becomes brittle.
It’s kinda cool lol .. Great Job Macy 👍
Haha definitely didn’t hide my facial expressions there 😂 thanks for watching!
@@macymakes3d Just joined Patreon.. Can’t wait for for the first Hangout 🦾🦾
Thank you so much! 😊 see you in the chat!
A small cutting guide to get both sides with same angle would have been nice and not break the bank for Sunlu, maybe we can just print one.
I'm wondering if you're experiencing heat creep with the way it kinks at each end. Might be a result of keeping the filament in there as it warms up.
Yeah I also used bambu PLA which might have needed a lower temp in general. Other filaments didn’t have as much of an issue with it melting like that. Oh well haha I still made it work
It’s almost like once it beeps you should just turn the power off and leave it in there for a minute or 2 until it’s cooled a bit then remove it.
I don't really understand the comparison to the AMS (Or in my case, AMS lite). The bambu printer with ams has a beautiful runout sensor and will switch seamlessly to a new like-filament if runout occurs (or wait for you to change if you don't hand an AMS). But of course, while nice, this is not the AMS main feature.
This filament welder certainly doesn't replace an AMS. But I could see its purpose for those users who don't have a runout sensor.
I hadn't considered using this tool for design (more of connecting scraps of the same color). It's an interesting approach but yeah, dealing with coiling filament bouncing around seems awful.
I purchased one for a completely different reason. The AMS struggles with spools that barely have any filament left. I accumulate many small spools and instead of relying on the AMS to feed them correctly, I plan on combining the partials. (Usually the same color)
I believe the reason the AMS has trouble with this is because of the weight of the spool with almost nothing left on it. There are 3D printable containers you can put in the middle of the spool to increace the weight of the almost empy spool to avoid this. No need to splice. Then you can just use the AMS to swap to the next spool as intended.
Lacey I see in an old video that you load generic filament on cardboard spools into your AMS. Don’t you have any problems with those spools?
I try to limit the number of color changes for my cardboard spools but I still use them regularly and haven't had any real issues yet.
Hey @Macy Makes please share with me which CAD software you use.
I use tinkercad mostly. I don't do a lot of modeling, mainly just turning SVGs into 3D so the simplicity of tinkercad works well for me.
When will someone come up with a device that lets you use the AMS and the back spool together so you can use 5 colours?
I think that would be impossible as the rear holder can't pull the filament back out (or auto feed it in) for the changes. But, you CAN use more than 4 colors w/ the AMS if the print will allow you....for example if you have separate layers of color (easiest way) or there is just a long time between color changes (takes a lot of baby sitting).
I guess you asked for a 'device'....which I suppose could be possible to feed/retract. I slightly misread the original question. LOL
Seems like it would require a lot of effort for 1 more spool. Better off with a second AMS IMO, and that’s already available for a reasonable enough price.
@@Dave_D. Hence "Come up with a device"
It would be exceptionally useful for AMS supported filament and non-supported filament to be used together without babysitting.
glad to see you are getting some recognition. Free stuff is always good to try. Keep up the great work.
On my ankermake m5c I can change filament on the fly (while printing) just by cutting old color and putting new one and pushing for several minutes.
Think the AMS has that ridiculous thing beat 😆.
oh dang it... you're using my outro catchphrase...
Haha "I'll see you in the next one"
@@macymakes3d nah it's fine, maybe I'll change mine in a while... Not sure though, been using it for two years now... You say it better ;)
Don't change it! My viewers might think of you when they hear it and yours might think of me. Win win for both of us :)
@@macymakes3d Ok Miss Macy, sounds like a good deal ! ;)
You continue to make awesome content.
At first I was like "What are you doing!?!??!" turning off the flushing when you split the model you printed with the AMS, but then I saw it print and the comment you made about making a gradient then made sense. That was very clever even if the printing pattern didn't work the way you wanted it to.
I have seen a few reviews of this SUNLU dohicky, but yours was by far the most fun and most creative. Thank you!
Wow thank you so much! The 0 purge didn't turn out exactly like I hoped but still a fun experiment.
I ordered this and its been 2 weeks has NOT even shipped yet be prepared to wait
seems like you're following a single use case which is for multi color gradients... I purchased it so I didn't have half used spools that I know don't have enough filament or just have a little left in the spool.
I pre-ordered one.. not shipping til sept.... :/
Looks like you mis-understood the purpose of this device. It so you can join up filament that you know won’t be enough to print an item with and will allow you to minimise waste and even create multi coloured filament and even allow you to join different types of filament together (if your brave enough)
I didn’t misunderstand the device. I just chose to use it in a different way. I have an AMS so using up scrap filament isn’t a need I have.
Different manufacturer makes of filament use different profiles, that's why you can calibrate the filament profile to the filament.
Where I see a problem is, when using the Filament Connector you are stuck with just one profile, that may not be suitable for all the different manufacturer makes of filaments you have connected together.
You do not have this problem with the AMS.
you can just slide the tube along and reuse it
Why would you need to do this?
Do you use commonly available fonts for your nameplates or do you create your own? Also, if you’re not going to use the Sunlu Filament Connector, maybe offer a giveaway once you reach some milestone, like 15k subs. Keep up the good work.
I create my own fonts. I’ll start with a normal font and then make changes to it until I like the way it looks. And that’s a great idea for the filament connector! I’ll see if I can plan a giveaway for 20k subs :)
@@macymakes3d Keep putting out your style of content and you’ll get there.
That cutter is a hunk of junk! I got my K2 plus coming to use my partal rolls
can't you just turn off purge tower and poop?
it seems like a nice product and its not to expensive, but as long as they don't sell the little tubes separately and that they want you to buy a completely new unit to get more is completely insane business practice in my opinion, and yes i know you can order extra with the unit, but still, at some point you are gonna run out, and then you are gonna have to buy a new unit to get more, really hope they change that in the future
I didn't know there wasn't a way to buy extra tubes, that's crazy. They'll have to change that or maybe someone else will make them or something.
@@macymakes3d yeah hoping for that to :)
FIRSTTTT