4.1.1 Loading filament on Polar3D printer

Refer to Figure B.1 and especially to Figure 4.1.

1.

Take the spool of filament and hook it onto the spool holder.

2.

Find the end of the string of filament.

3.

If the end of the string of filament is blobby or thin (something to check if this spool has been previously used, so that the filament end got a bit melted previously) or kinked (e.g., from being pinched in the spool holder), consider snipping the end off – perhaps snip an inch or two off – so that you have a “clean” end to feed into the printer. (See Figure 2.2.)

4.

Feed the filament through the filament guide (the hole at the top of the Polar3D printer). (Having the filament properly guided keeps the filament from flopping wildly from the spool to the print head.)

5.

Stick the end of the filament into the feed hole at the top of the print head. The “feel” of this takes a bit of getting used to: when sticking the filament into the feed, you must push past some initial resistance: you must push the filament in far enough to engage with the filament drive gear inside the print head. At about 1 inch in, the filament will have reached the filament drive gear and you will feel the resistance – push the filament past that. (Note that if this printer has previously had filament in it – and note that new Polar3D printers have a sample print performed at the factory! – and that filament was not completely removed but rather left a blob solidified in the filament drive gear, then you may find that you cannot get your new filament to engage with the filament drive gear until you heat up the extruder to re-melt the bit of filament still caught in the filament drive gear.)

6.

If you want to check whether the filament is all the way in, raise the temperature of the printer to 185°C,¹ and slowly hand feed the filament through. Seeing a string of molten plastic get extruded tells you you’re ready to print!