How to Feed Filament Into Ender 3

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Besides many test devices, Martin now has his fourth own 3D printer running and prints as a hobby for friends, family and himself. He is happy to share his experience with each new article.

Disclosure: Links marked with * are Affiliate Links. I earn from qualifying purchases if you decide to make a purchase through these links – at no additional cost for you!

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Changing filaments in 3D printing is one of the activities that is less fun and perceived as annoying. This is understandable for several reasons, but changing the material on the Ender 3 does not necessarily have to involve time-consuming and tedious fiddling.

In our guide, we would like to give you step-by-step instructions that will make changing and loading filaments with the Ender 3 much easier. In addition, we offer you some valuable tips from experienced users, who use one or the other trick when changing materials.

Table of Contents:

• 1 Step-By-Step Instructions
  • 1.1 Step 1: Remove Old Filament
  • 1.2 Step 2: Install New Filament
  • 1.3 Step 3: Flush the Nozzle
• 2 Filament Sensor
• 3 Removing Stubborn Filament
  • 3.1 The Plop Method
  • 3.2 The Coldpull Method
• 4 Sharpen and Straighten New Filament
• 5 Filament Welding

Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1: Remove Old Filament

If you change the material on your Ender 3, you must first remove the currently loaded material.

• Heat the nozzle to the melting temperature of the respective material. You will find the exact temperature on the filament spool.
  • Turn on your Ender 3.
  • Now click on the control button to open the menu.
  • Scroll to the control settings and select them.
  • Click on the Temperature button and select the Nozzle setting.
• Now you have to prove your patience, as you have to wait until the hotend has heated up to the desired temperature.
• When the hotend is heated up accordingly, press the lever of the extruder to release the handle on the filament. Pull out the remaining material.
• Afterward, you can remove the filament spool.
• Now is an excellent time to thread the end of the material into one of the holes located at the edge of the filament spool. Threading into the hole ensures that the filament is stored neatly during storage and remains in place for the next use.

As soon as you remove the old filament, the hotend of Ender 3 is ready to accept new material.

Step 2: Install New Filament

Since the nozzle is free again after removing the old filament, you can load the new material.

• Cut the filament at a sharp angle at the end. The sharply cut angle makes it easier to feed the new filament into the extruder of the Ender 3 3D printer.
• Carefully insert the new filament into your extruder. Should the material come off the circular filament coil, it is extremely difficult to feed it into the extruder. Therefore you should carefully bend the end of the new material. Be sure to straighten a filament section of about two inches.
• Push the new filament into the extruder until you feel resistance. This firm resistance indicates that the filament has now reached the nozzle. If the nozzle is still hot, you will also extrude some filament by pushing it – but that is already the next step.

Step 3: Flush the Nozzle

After you have inserted the new filament up to the nozzle, you have to feed the material through the nozzle by means of an extruder. Before you can continue working with the new material, you have to remove the old filament in the nozzle.

If you first made 3D prints with a material that has a higher print temperature range than the new material, you have to set the nozzle temperature to the higher value. The temperature has to be maintained until the flushing process is completely finished.

The smart Ender 3 comes with innovative software with several functions that allow you to remove the old material.

• Click on the control button. Now the settings menu opens.
• Move to axis. Click on one millimeter.
• Now click on Nozzle and you can adjust the setting in a range between 15 and 20.
• Now the extruder of the 3D printer Ender 3 starts to feed the material through the nozzle. This flushes out the old filament and the new material can be added.
• One rinse cycle is not always sufficient. Therefore you should repeat this process several times so that the old filament can be completely detached from the nozzle.
• The nozzle is rinsed as soon as the new material is heated and flows out of the nozzle.

The Ender 3 is a smart 3D printer that makes it easy to change filaments as well as rinse the nozzle.

Even if you have performed all the steps as described above, you should not forget to check the settings!

Filament Sensor

A filament sensor* is used when you fear that the material will not be sufficient for the object to be printed.

If you're sure you can handle your filament for 3D printing, you can simply put the sensor aside. In this case, make sure that there is only a short piece of material in the filament sensor so that your Ender 3 works normally.

You can make certain settings for filament sensors that come in handy when changing filaments.

When the filament sensor is triggered, the print head moves to the side and pauses at that point. In the course of this the hotend is not heated either.

When the filament runs out, you can make adjustments. First, select the Heat Hotend setting, then click Unload, Load or Continue.

This procedure is quite convenient because you do not have to change the filament immediately. You have the option of pumping through sufficient amounts of the new material on the side before continuing 3D printing with the new filament.

Removing Stubborn Filament

The Plop Method

The plop represents a removal of the material with a sudden jerk movement. This trick can be helpful when changing filaments.

To do this, you first preheat the hotend by 5 to 10 °C above the actual printing temperature of the old filament. Once this temperature is reached, you release the tension on the extruder. To do this, you hold the extruder down.

Now you can press the material through the nozzle until a nice filament thread is formed.

As soon as the material shows a nice flow, you rip the filament jerkily upwards and thus pull out the rest. This jerky movement creates a suction. This suction frees both the nozzle and the throat from the remaining filament.

When you perform this procedure, you will hear a distinct popping sound. This plop confirms that you have performed the procedure correctly and you do not need to worry that the nozzle is still clogged.

The Coldpull Method

This process, also known as Atomic Pull, is suitable for removing filament residues from clogged hotends or nozzles.

When you use a cold pull, you use a filament ink that has a high contrast to the ink you just printed with.

It is most recommended to use nylon* for the cold pull.

Heat the nozzle briefly. If you are using PLA, you should aim for a temperature of about 80 degrees Celsius, while nylon requires a temperature of 110 degrees Celsius.

Let the nozzle cool down and pull the nozzle out of the hotend with a jerk.

This method is ideal for removing deposits of filaments. It may happen that you have to perform the cold pull several times to remove all deposits.

For more information and methods to clean your nozzle, click here: Cleaning a 3D Printer Nozzle | All Methods Step by Step

Sharpen and Straighten New Filament

Numerous users report that they sharpen the end before inserting the new filament. You can use any cable cutter for this. Cut the end of the new material at a 45-degree angle.

Afterward, it is advisable to smooth the filament end. The end of the filament, which you smooth and straighten with your fingers, should not be longer than five centimeters. If you are using PLA, the heat from your hands will be sufficient. If you are using other filaments, adding some heat may help to speed up the straightening process. For example, you can use a hairdryer to warm the filament.

Filament Welding

Some users weld the old and new filament spool together.

Welding can be done with the help of a lighter. Heat both ends and then press them together. As the heated ends are hot, there is a risk of burning your fingers when welding.

This method is not easy and not always promising. The main difficulty is to keep the welding spot particularly thin. In addition, the old filament can escape from the nozzle, drip onto the object and removing the excess material can prove difficult.

If you choose the welding method, you should be aware that you will have to shape the welding seam. The weld is not a seamless transition and therefore it is necessary that you shape it with your fingers.

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Source: https://the3dprinterbee.com/ender-3-load-change-filament/

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