First print from own filament

A quick update about my filament creating experiments. In my last attempt to extrude filament I tried specific combinations of settings and wrote down results.

For now it seems that it is best to have the front-temperature be around 170 and the temperature at the back be lower, like 160. The faster the screw turns the warmer the plastic gets. When it's too hot it curls up and becomes a mess.

I was able to create filament that was somewhat consistent in width.

And as you can see from the image at the top, I was able to even print something. The next four prints failed, so it's too thin to really work with for now. I theory I could create a filament profile in software that fixes some of these problems, but I'd rather focus on creating better filament.

I also had a bit of a blob in the filament. I figured it would be a good experience to see how my printer would handle that. I quickly learned to never to that experiment again. The extruder jammed, and I spent hours fixing the problem.

The current setup uses a 'fall to the floor' technique. This feels like I have little control over some key parts. I'd like to create the feedback loop between filament width and speed of pulling the filament.

So I think I'm going to try to make something like this FilaBot Airpath (video from "Dr D-Flow" showing it in action). A bunch of fans in a row, and try to pull the filament horizontally.

So we'll see how that goes.

I also found a local 3D printing company that could hand me their 3D print waste and buy back filament from me. Obviously I first have to be able to create printable filament.