New Maker Box subscribers will often reach out to us to ask how the can use their samples without tangling. This article will provide some tips. Have some other suggestions? Feel free to message us to update this article with your ideas.
Welcome to the world of filament samples! It is a loose coil that is not held in place by anything, so it is very easy for it to tangle if an end overlaps a coil somewhere. Fortunately, with a little bit of care, you can manage this challenge.
First, find something to put your sample on. An empty spool laying around works just fine or you can be a bit fancier and print a spool holder. We have some ideas in this thingiverse collection. Or if you really prefer to just buy a solution, you can order a 2 part spool from us here.
If you're using a 2 part spool, you can just put the sample on the holder, remove twist ties and go.
If you're being cheap like me, you're probably just using an old empty spool. When I do this, I will remove the zip ties and then carefully, loop by loop, wrap it on to the spool. If you hit a tangle, then the easiest solution is to walk the tangle through the loose part of the sample. Remember, there are only about 40 loops on these samples, so walking a tangle out may be easier than you think.
Happy Printing!