<p>I have a Lulzbot Taz 6, which takes 2.85 mm filament.  A few months ago I ran into a filament (<a href="https://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/com/B07HX9DY9F" rel="nofollow noreferrer" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Spidermaker Matte PLA</a>) which produced some really nice prints.  After experimenting with the white, I went looking for more and discovered that they have apparently discontinued all 2.85 filament.</p>
<p>I discovered <a href="https://www.lulzbot.com/learn/tutorials/tips-and-tricks-printing-175mm-filament" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this page on the Lulzbot site</a> which says it is possible to print using 1.75 filament, and I decided to try this out.  The settings used:</p>
<ul>
<li>Diameter - 1.75 mm</li>
<li>Retraction speed 3 mm/s (instead of 10)</li>
<li>print speed 30 mm/s (instead of 60)</li>
</ul>
<p>This fails, but it is tantalizingly close.  At first, I could get only a couple layers before the filament stopped extruding.  I tried increasing the temperature by 10 °C (to 215 °C), and this seemed to help, but I would still see it stop extruding after 10-20 layers.  It feels tantalizingly close to working, and I'm wondering what else I might try.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-21T05:40:51.667Z
Lowering the retraction speed makes no sense. If anything you should greatly increase it.
R.. GitHub STOP HELPING ICE
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-21T06:01:41.123Z
Can you see what’s causing the filament to stop extruding?
Frog
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-21T12:38:01.867Z
My tip would be to not do this... There are other premium filament manufacturers that still produce 2.85 mm filament, rather than fighting an issue caused by incorrect filament diameter you should buy some more correct diameter filament.
0scar
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-21T15:24:55.217Z
I'm already surprised that an extruder (not hot-end) for 2.85 mm filament gets enough grip on a thin 1.75 mm filament.
FarO
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-21T16:38:23.070Z
@frog It's not clogging or blockage.  I can manually extrude after canceling the print.  I guess FarO's comment may have something to do with it.  Maybe it's slipping.  I wouldn't have tried this at all if the manufacturer's site didn't say it would work.
Gort the Robot
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-22T05:43:17.920Z
I’d certainly agree that’s the most likely place to look.  I wonder if it would be possible to modify the feeder to improve this, perhaps increase spring the pressure or close up the gap somehow - it’s hard to say how exactly without seeing the extruded close-up
Frog
<filament><lulzbot>
What tips are there for using 1.75 filament with a machine designed for 2.85 mm?
Gort the Robot
# What tips are there for using 1.75 filament with a machine designed for 2.85 mm?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-12-21)

I have a Lulzbot Taz 6, which takes 2.85 mm filament. A few months ago I ran into a filament ([Spidermaker Matte PLA](https://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/com/B07HX9DY9F)) which produced some really nice prints. After experimenting with the white, I went looking for more and discovered that they have apparently discontinued all 2.85 filament.

I discovered [this page on the Lulzbot site](https://www.lulzbot.com/learn/tutorials/tips-and-tricks-printing-175mm-filament) which says it is possible to print using 1.75 filament, and I decided to try this out. The settings used:

* Diameter - 1.75 mm
* Retraction speed 3 mm/s (instead of 10)
* print speed 30 mm/s (instead of 60)

This fails, but it is tantalizingly close. At first, I could get only a couple layers before the filament stopped extruding. I tried increasing the temperature by 10 °C (to 215 °C), and this seemed to help, but I would still see it stop extruding after 10-20 layers. It feels tantalizingly close to working, and I'm wondering what else I might try.

**Tags:** filament, lulzbot
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Lowering the retraction speed makes no sense. If anything you should greatly increase it.  
> **username_2**: Can you see what’s causing the filament to stop extruding?  
> **username_3**: My tip would be to not do this... There are other premium filament manufacturers that still produce 2.85 mm filament, rather than fighting an issue caused by incorrect filament diameter you should buy some more correct diameter filament.  
> **username_4**: I'm already surprised that an extruder (not hot-end) for 2.85 mm filament gets enough grip on a thin 1.75 mm filament.  
> **username_0**: @frog It's not clogging or blockage.  I can manually extrude after canceling the print.  I guess FarO's comment may have something to do with it.  Maybe it's slipping.  I wouldn't have tried this at all if the manufacturer's site didn't say it would work.  
> **username_2**: I’d certainly agree that’s the most likely place to look.  I wonder if it would be possible to modify the feeder to improve this, perhaps increase spring the pressure or close up the gap somehow - it’s hard to say how exactly without seeing the extruded close-up  

---

## 0 answers

