I don't think peltiers are currently practical, but I think they may have some merit in the future as combination heating/cooling units. If small, high power, heat resistant peltiers where available, they could be used to heat the nozzle with cooling of the barrel as a byproduct of sorts.by Svdharma - General
I just got a student edition of solidworks for free but I don't have a computer to run it yet. Right now all I have is a toughbook running Ubuntu. After I draw it I'll throw it out there and maybe we can get it to work.by Svdharma - Developers
I don't want to get too far off topic, but I have a decent mechanical design in mind that avoids some of the interference issues.by Svdharma - Developers
Awesome! I am learning python right now and also a little bit of C, so I might be able to get into this someday, but I really have not looked at slicer or the firmware yet so I don't know how complicated it is. Suppose you had multiples extruders with independant x and y axis movement, how hard do you think it would be to write algorythms to optimise the toolpaths of two extruder heads without inby Svdharma - Developers
QuoteandinIt's an interesting idea of adjusting the distance to print-bed for each extruder separately. I wonder if it's possible to do this automatically... This is what I have been trying to get at the whole time. Distance from bed = Z axis The hard part, as you pointed out, is modifying your CAM software to take advantage of it. @Dick, I really like how rigid your printer is, you clearlyby Svdharma - Developers
Some silver heat sink epoxy might be easier than swaging the heatsink. The other easy way to do it if you have boreing or reaming tools is to make the hole in the heatsink a little smaller than the diameter of the stainless tube then press them together while the heatsink is heated up up to expand the hole.by Svdharma - General
Is the drum rolling? Seems like it would work well for pultruding fiber impregnated filament.by Svdharma - Plastic Extruder Working Group
You might spend 50 or 100 bucks per extruder head but a lot of machines use multiple steppers and ballscrews on the Z axis anyway. If you are after a professional quality machine it's not a big investment.by Svdharma - Developers
Cutting via abrasive methods such as a tile saw should be easy. Another option would be borosilicate glass but it's sorta pricey compared to free for junked stove tops.by Svdharma - General
Get a sheet of copper foil and glue it too your glass. Use a silkscreen or toner transfer method to deposit resist, etch the copper using ferric acid, solder leads, then cover the copper with a layer or the same glue you used to attach it for protection. I'm thinking either high temp epoxy or silicone would work.by Svdharma - General
QuoteA2 QuoteSvdharma I am thinking about a machine with a surface plate for a base and an epoxy granite filled gantry Have you found a source for powdered granite? Powdered granite is sand. Practically speaking, you want a wide distribution of grain sizes between a coarse sand and gravel up to 1/5th the maximum thickness of the thinnest feature. Epoxy granite has several times the dampening caby Svdharma - General
An elegant way? Independant Z movement for each nozzle. That would also avoid the issue of dragging extra nozzles through the print.by Svdharma - Developers
CMMs don't really move fast enough from what I have seen. Also, building a gantry that can hold .0005 probably would not be too difficult compared to extruding with that accuracy. I am thinking about a machine with a surface plate for a base and an epoxy granite filled gantry though, which would be a multi use 3d printer, inkjet printer, router, laser cutter, Etc.by Svdharma - General
Well, edm gives you the option of making carbide tools. Also, if you can work out a decent printable electrode material, it would allow you to print complicated electrodes to be burned into injection molds etc. I think that would be more promising than repairing old molds with a 3d printer. I am assuming the molds are some exotic grade of very hard tool steel, which would be extremely difficult tby Svdharma - General
Awesome! Exactly what I have been looking for. Do you have access to a sinker EDM? I definitely haves some ideas you can use.by Svdharma - General
Can you post drawings for your Bowden extruder? Pics or it didn't happenby Svdharma - Developers
Actually, some of those blog posts where inspiration for this idea. I never saw the forum thread talking about ball valves though. I was actually thinking "a ball valve would really be a great way to stop ooze ", because it does not force any material out of the nozzle when it closes, then I realized that a ball valve could also make a great fiber shear if you designed it right. In fact, I thinkby Svdharma - Developers
Your linear motion system is very interesting. I imagine that with such long unsupported rails, the problem is more along the lines of matching the droop in the bed with the droop in the rails. It looks like you decided to go with teflon bearing blocks so I would infer that you are not using precision ground bearing rails. I would also guess that with such a large build platform you are using a bby Svdharma - Developers
I have a simple way to make a continuos fiber extruding hot end that cuts the fiber each time you stop the flow. Basically, you would just need the nozzle to be made out of hardened tool steel (carbide would be better but good luck with that). Inside the nozzle you basically have a stopcock where the rotating part of the valve is also made of hardened steel. Each time you close the valve, the fibby Svdharma - Developers
Heres a picture from wikipedia of a coordinate measuring machine with a z axis ram. I like this layout for a 3d printer for a number of reasons. It maximizes build space, provides for accurate (slop free) z axis movement, and if the machine is well aligned to start with it should prevent bed leveling problems. I also think it would make a nice layout for a multipurpose machine, IE a machine thatby Svdharma - General
I have some ideas about a new 3d printer design that I want to build, and I thought it would be good to discuss them here. I am pretty decent with CATIA and Solidworks but I have not been able to get my hands on a liscence yet so as soon as I do I will post some preliminary schematics. Also, I am on 24hr desk duty right now (I'm in the military) so please forgive me if I sound like a raving lunatby Svdharma - General