what extruder speed is needed?

Hi,

I have a simple question. couldn't find an answer in this forum..

I made my own extruder, now I'm wondering if the spped will be sufficient. Due to the double gear I can run approx. 15mm/sec on a 0.5mm nozzle.
Will that be enough to print?
I couldn't test my extruder yet because my machine is not ready yet...
How fast can you guys extrude? Do I need a different gear/motor combination?

Cheers,
Macbeth

15 mm/s will be ok, it's a bit slow but won't be too bad. I print at 25 mm/s, limited simply by my bed being too heavy so if I run faster I skip steps. I run a 0.35 mm nozzle too, so with a 0.5 mm nozzle at 15 mm/s you'll be fine.

Thanks for your faaaaaast reply.
Then I'll go with my extruder for now!

Btw, would it be better to start with a 0.35 nozzle? What would you recommend?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2011 01:19PM by Macbeth.

I just installed Pololu stepper controllers and now I can print at 40 mm/s and the Mendel doesn't make a lot of noises and the head moves a lot smoother. I'll see how much faster I can push it.

Macbeth Wrote:
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> Btw, would it be better to start with a 0.35
> nozzle? What would you recommend?

I started with a 0.5 mm nozzle, but switched to a 0.35 mm pretty quickly. I print with PLA exclusively though, I'm not sure how easy it is to print with ABS with smaller nozzles, as it is more viscous. If you plan on going with PLA, which I highly recommend, I would suggest a 0.35 mm nozzle. Not sure what would be best for ABS though.