PTFE tubes are typically delivered coiled up. And because they are quite stiff, they always want to spring back to their original curvy shape, making them harder to route properly.
Is there a way to straighten them out?
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$\begingroup$ I've considered using a heat gun, but I'd like to be sure I can do it without damaging the tube. Has someone tried this before? (If you have, go ahead and create an answer, rather than replying with a comment.) $\endgroup$– mhelvensCommented Jan 13, 2017 at 19:31
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$\begingroup$ I just live with the bent-ness. If they are in the extruder, the tube straightens them. If they are a guide for the plastic then the filament straightens them as much as matters.. If you are having issues you might have too thick of a tube. Heatgun likely wont help due to the super high melting point. $\endgroup$– MakerModderCommented Jan 13, 2017 at 21:47
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$\begingroup$ @StarWind: I guess I don't like how they bend. In my setup, they sometimes get caught behind something while the printer is working. So I would like to exercise some control over that. One way would be to use a drag chain, but that seems overkill. $\endgroup$– mhelvensCommented Jan 13, 2017 at 22:14
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$\begingroup$ I hated the tubes! I ended up ditching them and mounting my filament directly above the printer to avoid using the tubes. $\endgroup$– tbm0115Commented Jan 18, 2017 at 16:38
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1$\begingroup$ @tbm0115: But there are practical advantages to using the tubes, like [1] You can feed your filament from an almost entirely sealed container to keep out moisture, and [2] the moving print-head won't experience sudden forces pulling on the spool from various directions (causing artefacts in the print and tangles on the spool). $\endgroup$– mhelvensCommented Jan 19, 2017 at 18:37
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3 Answers
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I just plugged the ends of tube and soaked it in real warm water for 5 minutes then stretched it out on a table. That helped then the hard part I spooling it up against the arch and soaked it again. This seem to work the best.
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You could use a hairdryer to introduce a spot-bend where you need it.
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$\begingroup$ Hi and welcome to SE.3DP. SE is a Q&A website. Could you expand upon your answer a little as it is a bit terse? Also, I've made it more of a statement, rather than a question. $\endgroup$– Greenonline ♦Commented Apr 30, 2019 at 17:58
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A colleague of me puts spring steel wires in the tubes and leaves the tubes on the central heating for a certain amount of time (probably hotter than 60 °C).
