Cheap filament dust filter

[Stefan Mohr]

I've seen a lot of elaborate setups for filtering filament before it gets pulled into an extruder and thought you guys might be interested in my low tech solution.

You just need some foam backer rod ("caulking support rod", "weatherstripping rod", etc): http://www.homedepot.ca/product/backer-rod-foam-insulator/941517

Chop off a small piece - an inch is plenty. Cut a slit in it laterally, then slide it onto your filament. Done.

As the extruder pulls the filament down, the foam will eventually come to rest against the extruder but won't get pulled in. Meanwhile the filament gets pulled through and the foam picks off the debris. This has worked great for me for a year now, and prior to this I used to get reasonably frequent jams due to all the dust and cat hair in my printer environment. The hole starts to expand after a roll or two of filament, but they're easy to replace considering how cheap the material is.

I can't take any credit for this - my dad told me about this trick from when he was a welder.

[Rob Hall]

Its funny I have employed a few wire feed welder tricks for the same reason felt pads from a dremel work good too

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[Dan Steele]

I used to use a piece of sponge with a zap-strap around it to keep it pinching the filament..I was surprised how much dust it caught...while it did clean off the dust I mostly don't use it any more because I'm not convinced it makes any difference in print results.  My theory is if it's small enough to float around in the air and cling to the filament it's small enough to get pushed through the nozzle tip by the melted plastic...

Dan.