Lowest Prices on Machined Extruder Parts -- Heater Barrels, Nozzles, Thermal Barriers (PTFE, PEEK, Hybrid)

Just to say I received my parts today, roughly a week or so after ordering them. Looking good

Thanks Brian.

Just a quick question, I have the barrel with a separate nozzle. If I wind my nichrome around the barrel above the nozzle I will have a rather long hot zone.... Has anyone actually wrapped the nichrome around the nozzle instead? I guess heating would take longer but would then be rather stable and add a further cm or more to the 'cold zone'.

This does kinda defeat the purpose of having a separate nozzle to allow quick changes of extruder hole diameter but one could then apply the nichrome to the separate nozzles...

Cheers

Brass is a pretty good conductor of heat, so even with the heater at the bottom, the top of the barrel should still be way above the melt temperature, so cannot be described as a "cold zone".

The transition between hot and cold takes place in the insulator, which has thermal conductivity more than 100 times less than brass.

---

[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

Attaching the thermistor to the nozzle itself is probably also a good idea, which I found out after I had finished wiring up.

i wrapped 2 or 3 coils around the nozzle as well as the barrel, ill post picture when i have a chance, i found it worked a lot better after i did so


AgeingHippy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Just to say I received my parts today, roughly a
> week or so after ordering them. Looking good
>
>
> Thanks Brian.
>
> Just a quick question, I have the barrel with a
> separate nozzle. If I wind my nichrome around the
> barrel above the nozzle I will have a rather long
> hot zone.... Has anyone actually wrapped the
> nichrome around the nozzle instead? I guess
> heating would take longer but would then be rather
> stable and add a further cm or more to the 'cold
> zone'.
>
> This does kinda defeat the purpose of having a
> separate nozzle to allow quick changes of extruder
> hole diameter but one could then apply the
> nichrome to the separate nozzles...
>
> Cheers

---

My Reprap Project "Work In Progress" Walkthrough: [echovoice.com]

Ageing Hippy,

Those with the real-world experience have replied, above, so I really can't add anything else.

Regards,

Brian

Hello Brian!

I'm still in the searching phase but if you don't mind I'd like to ask you a couple of questions about your parts!

Here in the wiki the heater barrel seems to be 32mm long.
In the picture you attached previously here the N-RR2 looks about that length, but the HB-MB2 looks quite long and with the nozzle will be quite big. What is really the actual sizes of those two heater barrels? Will the longer length create any problems with the whole extruder?

Also, what the difference if I have a barrier with the N-RR2 (which has the nozzle at the end) instead of a barrier with HB-MB2 and with the N-MB1 as a nozzle?

Looking forward for your answer!


Cheers from Greece!

John

Hello,

The combination nozzle is 34mm and the heater barrel is 50mm. (The specification, for the combination nozzle is really 32mm. However, I added 2mm because I turn 2mm down to 4.5mm on the end...and that is not in the specification. I just did it so that the end of the combination nozzle overlaps the incomplete threads in the thermal barrier.)

It is my understanding that by using just the combination nozzle, on a Makerbot, the extruder assembly may be too short. (Maybe somebody, who has a Makerbot, can confirm this.) On the Mendel, either method will work.

Having a separate heater barrel and nozzle will give you a more modular system. You can use different sized nozzles, with the same heater barrel, and you can take everything apart if you would need to clean it out for some reason.

The combination nozzle, on the other hand, has less brass to heat up and some people have reported occasional leakage between the heater barrel and the nozzle. (My nozzles have a flat sealing surface on the inside to try to prevent this.)

Regards,

Brian





stam Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hello Brian!
>
> I'm still in the searching phase but if you don't
> mind I'd like to ask you a couple of questions
> about your parts!
>
> Here in the wiki the heater barrel seems to be
> 32mm long.
> In the picture you attached previously here the
> N-RR2 looks about that length, but the HB-MB2
> looks quite long and with the nozzle will be quite
> big. What is really the actual sizes of those two
> heater barrels? Will the longer length create any
> problems with the whole extruder?
>
> Also, what the difference if I have a barrier with
> the N-RR2 (which has the nozzle at the end)
> instead of a barrier with HB-MB2 and with the
> N-MB1 as a nozzle?
>
> Looking forward for your answer!
>
>
> Cheers from Greece!
>
> John

Hello,

I am now drilling out 0.50, 0.40, and 0.30mm nozzles slightly under-sized as per the previous postings. I did receive 0.35mm drill bits; but, they are not long enough to drill the nozzle orifice.

I'll look for other 0.35mm drill bits when I order the next time.

Regards,

Brian

Some updates...both good and bad.

I have now sold parts to customers in Israel, Sweden, and Greece.

The under-size 0.35mm drill bits have arrived and I will now be using them to drill out the 0.35mm orifice holes.

I had another complaint (with pictures!) about off-center holes. While experimenting, this evening, I discovered the reason for the off-center holes. It appears that a nozzle does not always center properly in a 3 jaw chuck. Given that there are 3 jaws and 6 flats on the hex, I would have thought that it would always center correctly. Most of the time it centers pretty close (around 0.004 from center) but sometimes it is way off. So, I have started dialing-in the nozzles, on a 4-jaw independent lathe chuck, in order to ensure that the nozzle orifice holes are centered. This fixes the problem in the short term. I need to find a long-term solution as 4-jaw independent lathe chucks, while as accurate as can be measured, are very time consuming to set up compared to a 3-jaw self centering chuck or a collet. Drilling out the nozzle orifice holes, on the Hardinge, is one possibility as that machine uses collets.

Regards,

Brian

Brian,

Good to see that you are continuing to try to improve your offering and taking note of issues when reported. if only all producers took things as seriously.

It's not as if you could even be coming closer to making a living out of these parts, yet you approach it in a very professional manner. Good work!

I've been reading all this with interest as I hope to make my own parts (having a lathe at my disposal), although I will not be selling any (too much hassle, too little time). For the amount of effort it takes I should actually just buy the parts, but I like the idea of making my own.

Craig

---

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[blogger.kritzinger.net]

How far off was the hole? It would need to be well off before it mattered.

---

[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

Hello,

I didn't take the time to extrapolate the distance the nozzle orifices were off-center. But, I would estimate that the orifice was somewhere around 0.35mm off-center. The 3-jaw chuck should keeping the nozzles within 0.004 or 0.1mm. What was happening is that the hex flats were sometimes cocked slighlty relative to the chuck jaws. While the hole was still straight, it was more off-center than expected.

nophead Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> How far off was the hole? It would need to be well
> off before it mattered.

I am curios if you could lathe the bolt from this thingiverse entry [www.thingiverse.com] and how much it would cost? I wouldn't need the other parts, only the bolt.

Caleb Jamison Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I am curios if you could lathe the bolt from this
> thingiverse entry
> [www.thingiverse.com] and how much
> it would cost? I wouldn't need the other parts,
> only the bolt.


E-mail sent.

Caleb Jamison Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I am curios if you could lathe the bolt from this
> thingiverse entry
> [www.thingiverse.com] and how much
> it would cost? I wouldn't need the other parts,
> only the bolt.


I'm also interested in this.

Hello,

Here is the content of the e-mail that I sent to Caleb Jamison:

Hello,

Since this is a "one-off" item, it will be a little more expensive. I'll cut it to size, drill it out, and turn down the outside for $15.00 if you can supply the m6 threaded rod or bolt. If I were to purchase threaded rod I would probably have to buy enough for at least 10.

Another option would be to do this in brass. I could make the part, in brass, for $11.00 as I have M6x1 brass threaded rod in stock. Brass would be cheaper as it is much easier on the tooling than steel.

Regards,

Brian

However, since you are the second person that inquired about this, is there enough interest for me to make a batch of parts? (5 or more) If so, I'll make up a batch of parts, out of steel, and sell them for $10.00 each.

Regards,

Brian




Ender Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Caleb Jamison Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I am curios if you could lathe the bolt from
> this
> > thingiverse entry
> > and how much
> > it would cost? I wouldn't need the other parts,
> > only the bolt.
>
>
> I'm also interested in this.

Hello,

I have just made another batch of nozzles and these look real nice. I modified my process and added two more operations. The result is that I now have the centers pre-drilled so that I can still make the nozzles "to order" without having to dial them in on the lathe. As a final operation, I have started facing-off the nozzle tips in order to clean up the tooling marks. The result is a centered orifice, drilled to your specification, that is slightly under-size to ensure that each nozzle is accurately sized.

Because of this, it is still feasible for me to sell the "Big Head" style nozzles for $6.00 each.

Regards,

Brian

Hello,

0.25mm drill bits are ordered and will be in tomorrow.

Regards,

Brian

How does the single piece tube/nozzle perform compared to the seperate threaded tube and nozzle ?

nophead Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> How far off was the hole? It would need to be well
> off before it mattered.


mine was very bad, ill see if i can take a video of it, but basically it not only extruded off center the hole appears to be cut at an angle even, it extrudes maybe 20-30 degrees to the side... ive had to order new extruder parts, hardware, nichrome, kapton tape and a new nozzle, still dying to print something!

I still can't see why that would matter unless the hole was so far out it broke through the side of the nozzle.

When extruding into free air the filament comes out a random angles anyway, often curling upwards. When building it is always closer to the bed than one filament diameter, so the angle it comes out at make no real difference.

---

[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

nophead Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I still can't see why that would matter unless the
> hole was so far out it broke through the side of
> the nozzle.
>
> When extruding into free air the filament comes
> out a random angles anyway, often curling upwards.
> When building it is always closer to the bed than
> one filament diameter, so the angle it comes out
> at make no real difference.

sorry i didn't make it clear, my real issue was more of a jamming issue, the barrel wasn't heating evenly through and the size of the thing really reduced my print area..possibly an issue on my end thats why i am going with another design and trying again... what your saying is true, off-center wont matter during printing because its off-center for the entire print

cluso99 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> How does the single piece tube/nozzle perform
> compared to the seperate threaded tube and nozzle
> ?


Hello,

While I really can't speak as to the performance, the main advantages of having a separate tube and nozzle are that you can change nozzle sizes and remove the nozzle to clean out the tube.

Regards,

Brian

PM Sent.

fairchild Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> nophead Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > How far off was the hole? It would need to be
> well
> > off before it mattered.
>
>
> mine was very bad, ill see if i can take a video
> of it, but basically it not only extruded off
> center the hole appears to be cut at an angle
> even, it extrudes maybe 20-30 degrees to the
> side... ive had to order new extruder parts,
> hardware, nichrome, kapton tape and a new nozzle,
> still dying to print something!

btt

btt

I'm a newbie on mendel and I need a complete extruder kit for my mendel.
I'm not sure of what I need and how to assemble it... can you please guide me ?

Best regards

José Matos

Hello and Welcome -

First Read the Wiki - WADE Extruder

Then try to get hold of the Parts on eBay - Extruder on eBay - Don't bid on this one, I'm going for it !


Or elsewhere ...

Or make one to do the same job (Repstrap) - Buy a good Heater Hot-End I got hold of this one, very nice - Hot End

Ordered parts not even a week ago, received them today, testing tomorrow.
Service above and beyond expectations, with prices to match.
Thanks!

--Edit:
Worked first try, totally painlessly. The Hybrid is the true king of PLA.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/22/2010 02:02AM by PhantomAGN.

Can you make the parts for this: [reprap.org] (PEEK block, PTFE insulator, brass nozzle)?
If so, how much would you charge?