"Cleaner" filaments

[SouthSideofdaSky]

I have seen a few people on here mention eSun's cleaner filament: http://www.esun3d.net/cpxx.aspx?id=192&TypeId=26

There isn't a whole lot of information on that page. How does this stuff work exactly? I see it is sold in little rods instead of a reel. Do you just feed one rod through and it somehow picks up all the excess PLA/ABS/etc. and extrudes it out of the nozzle?

Are there any other similar products out there?

[insta]

That's pretty much what it does. The filament has a very wide range of "soft" temperatures (like it turns molten at 170C but keeps the same viscosity up through 250C), so it can be used to purge between plastics. Sold in sticks makes sense, since you only purge a foot or so of plastic to call it good. When I got my roll from intservo, I cut it down the side and made my own sticks.

[Bratag]

Insta,

Just got a roll of this myself, am about to switch filaments so was planning on using it for the first time. I have cut a few 10 inch sticks in preparation. Would you say that is a reasonable length? Additionally it was a little light on what temp I should extrude the cleaner at - I imagine 225 is a reasonable guess but would value your experience on this.

[insta]

Feed it through 5C hotter than the last filament you used operates at (don't exceed the max temp of the V3b). After about 6" of filament through the nozzle (input not output), change the nozzle temperature to what your new filament uses and purge until you have new filament coming out. If you're changing from PLA -> PLA, or ABS -> ABS, the temperature won't change. Incidentally this stuff is great at removing black pigment from the nozzle.

The only problem I had was the diameter was wildly inconsistent and it jams frequently, another reason I use sticks (so I can snip off the offending inch).

[jimc]

bryan i had the same issue. the stuff works great but i am to a point now in my little roll where its too fat to even stick it in the filament drive.

[insta]

bryan i had the same issue. the stuff works great but i am to a point now in my little roll where its too fat to even stick it in the filament drive.

Yep just cut off about 2" and resume. William said the 3mm stuff was way more consistent, but that doesn't help me any. He did send me another roll though, so I've ceased complaining, just warning people about it (while still suggesting the stuff, it does help).

[Bratag]

I hope the consistency with size issue is limited to their cleaning filament. I just bought their bronze and white pla

[jimc]

i think so. i havent seen any variance in their stuff. been through 8 spools of petg, 2 abs and 1 pla and its was all dead on the money. i only had a sample of the bronze which was really nice. color wise it was a little bright and more like brass so i had to antique it a little. i only had a 20ft piece but there was no variance in that.

[insta]

I hope the consistency with size issue is limited to their cleaning filament. I just bought their bronze and white pla

William said specifically the cleaner filament causes eSUN extrusion problems during manufacturing because of its wide temperature range and flat viscosity.

[SouthSideofdaSky]

Thanks for the info and instruction. I'll have to try it out, especially when switching between PLA and ABS or from black to white.