Hot swap filaments mid print.

Dervick

Is this possible from Cura? I tried to insert a new filament function on the printer screen while print was paused and when I resumed print on PC it pushed out all the loaded filament and printed "air". Should I have paused and resumed using the printer screen only?

Samuel Pinches

Welcome Derrick! It sounds like you're almost there - I think the problem is you many not have considered the coordinate of the E axis - the filament position. As you loaded your new filament in, you were incrementing the filament movement forwards. Then, when you said "resume", the printer tries to go back to the filament coordinate position it was at before - and so it ejects the filament you had inserted. You need to ensure that either you don't use the motor to load/eject the filament, or that you use a gcode to set the same filament position after, as it was before the change of filament.

Dervick

Thanks Samuel. I paused the print on the LCD and simply activated the filament change process mid print, it oozed out a slight blob but was able to catch it w\ flush cutters. I also made sure to pause it while it was in infill so the blob/color change would not be noticeable   

Richy_T

It would be cool to come up with a way to do it while stuff is feeding. I know there is that device that can do it but perhaps something a bit on the cheaper end.