Extruder Design

Hi!! I am Mukul ..

I am designing(just about to start) a Extruder head Design for a 3 axis control machine. I am new to Reprap and Rapid prototyping ... but not entirely a beginner in designing..

I would like some help in my endeavor... hope i am clear enough for a reply

1. wat would b the suitable platform to design.. i hope i can take a look at already made stl's and modify them instead of beginning from scratch ? how ab2 ProE .. but I am open to suggestions..
2. what style would be best(feasible and efficient) - the reprap present style - i mean using a fibre as material .. or granular ...
3. are regular sized granules avialble,,, I read on reprap somewhere they cost less... if yes wat are the standard sizes + tolerance..
4. I found that there have been a lot of problems with granular procedure... can u please shed light on those once(or gimme a link)


i have some more doubts .. soon will post themm...

I think that generally speaking filament extruders are easier to design because you can have a reasonable expectation of what sort of stuff is being fed in, and processing it can be a continuous (and nicely linear) operation.

However, there is community demand for a granule/scrap material/powder-based extruder that can be used in conjunction with some kind of reducer (grinder, melter, etc.) to recycle used parts into new objects.

If you just want to know what size you can buy standard granules in, you'll have to ask someone who's been around longer than me or done more research than me. The RepRap project has been using filament as the standard feedstock for a few years now because it can be made from granules pretty cheaply by a professional plastic supply shop.

Current extruder design available from [reprap.org]. Also, Adrian has made a prototype granule extruder you can find at [reprap.org] that you may want to look at before starting.

Whatever path you take, good luck, and be sure to write it up!

Kyle Corbitt Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> If you just want to know what size you can buy
> standard granules in, you'll have to ask someone
> who's been around longer than me or done more
> research than me.

I can only speak about the granules that Solvay supplied for PCL. They were about 3 mm in diameter.

yeah thanks for suggestions ..

i will soon post my approach ... for consideration