Spool3D News

An extruder that starts clicking, ticking or skipping is usually telling you one thing: it is having trouble moving filament. That does not automatically mean the extruder is bad. The drive system is trying to push filament toward the nozzle, but something downstream is creating more resistance than it can overcome. Depending on the printer, the sound may be the stepper motor skipping, the drive gears slipping on the filament, or the filament being repeatedly grabbed and released. The useful qu …

When a first layer stops sticking, the usual reaction is to start changing everything at once: nozzle temperature, bed temperature, Z offset, flow, speed, glue, slicer profiles. That normally makes the problem harder to find. A first-layer problem is usually much easier to diagnose if you work through it in the right order. Start with the things that fail most often, make one change at a time, and only move into hardware troubleshooting after the basics have been ruled out. Here are the seven …

We’ve all been there. You spend twenty minutes meticulously leveling your bed, you’ve got your Z-offset dialed in to the micron, and your mesh looks like a flat lake. You hit print, walk away, and come back an hour later to find the nozzle dragging across the plate or the corners of your ASA part pulling up like a stale Pringle. If you’re running a printer with a thick aluminum bed or an enclosed chamber—especially the newer high-speed machines like the Bambu Lab, Crealit …

When evaluating 3D printers or upgrading your hotend, it’s common to focus on the maximum print temperature. While temperature is a necessary specification—especially for engineering plastics—it's not the best indicator of real-world printing performance. The more critical metric is maximum volumetric flow rate. What Is Maximum Volumetric Flow? Maximum volumetric flow rate (often listed as mm³/s) refers to the highest rate at which a hotend can reliably melt and extrude fi …

If you're looking for a new hobby that can enhance your creativity and provide a sense of fulfillment, then 3D printing might just be the perfect fit for you. With 3D printing technology becoming more accessible and affordable than ever before, it's never been easier to dive into this fascinating world. Not only is 3D printing an enjoyable activity, but it also has a range of benefits that can positively impact your life. In the next few blog posts, we'll explore the top benefits of starting a 3 …