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Re: Old school bed heater? - 1 year ago
Yeah, the PC type. "PC heater" did help me find them. They typically are called "flexible polymide heaters" or just polymide heaters. Thanksby Bill Clark - General
Old school bed heater? - 1 year ago
What were those heater types called we used to use before the silicone bed heaters became all the rage? Flat strip resistance material embedded in kapton i believe.by Bill Clark - General
Re: A Very Different Extruder - 3 years ago
Sorry if it was already mentioned but as opposed to adding some type of grit to the surface perhaps roughening them with a grinding or abrasive wheel while the bearing is spinning may provide adequate surface texture.by Bill Clark - Tech-Talk
Re: help moving from a custom to a commercial printer - 3 years ago
I dont think any will be totally painless but Prusa's seem pretty good from my observations. We have several at work and I have recommended them to a couple people and they appear happy printing PLA and PETG.by Bill Clark - General
Re: powder coat pei - 3 years ago
Where youre at you could probably just set it out in the sun this summer and it would melt lol. In addition to Dragonfires idea once it was molten you could lay a weighted plate (or another bed) on top with spacers at each corner that are the desired thickness. Going to be some trial and error no matter what. Combing or ironing with the nozzle, in theory would get you a perfectly flat surface reby Bill Clark - General
Re: University RepRap project (inputs wanted)! - 3 years ago
If you're building from steel with rigidity in mind (actually be able to machine something other than plastic without resonance) source ball screws and linear motion guides (at least on x and y) from ebay. This will save time in construction. They can be had for 5-10% of normal cost and will help ensure success and a higher quality part. Theres a seller in S Korea that deals in surplus and has exby Bill Clark - General
Re: Deut3 Cerberus with Hermera Hot end & supervolcano upgrade - 3 years ago
I would say keep it as simple as possible first. You can always go back and make tool changers after its running. If you keep adding complexity the project will drag. Ask me how I know.by Bill Clark - General
Re: Deut3 Cerberus with Hermera Hot end & supervolcano upgrade - 3 years ago
It's pretty self explanatory. Wouldn't mind showing more but there are specific reasons why I cantby Bill Clark - General
Re: Deut3 Cerberus with Hermera Hot end & supervolcano upgrade - 3 years ago
I use a thin metal shield about 100 mm square between the heater block and the bottom of the extruder (right were the heat break is) which ties into silicone impregnated fiberglass fabric that completely isolates the heat of the chamber/hotend from the extruder. You could do the same less the silicone fiberglass. just leave an air gap between the shield and the extruder and blow some air towardsby Bill Clark - General
Re: Deut3 Cerberus with Hermera Hot end & supervolcano upgrade - 3 years ago
Direct drive all day long. The only advantage with a bowden is getting rid of the moving mass of a direct drive motor for better performance at higher speeds. High performance plastics dont like higher speeds. Correct me if I'm wrong but it appears the extruder stays stationary in the machine you are building so it would be a disadvantage to use a bowden. How hot is the chamber supposed to get oby Bill Clark - General
Re: Deut3 Cerberus with Hermera Hot end & supervolcano upgrade - 3 years ago
I'm not aware of anyone who has printed PBI but my guess is it's the mother of all nightmare filaments to print. On top of that its insanely expensive. Probably have to make your own filament but it is injection molded so theoretically it can be pushed out of a printer nozzle. I know Stratasys doesn't require annealing after printing PEI and the part finishes the same color as if it was annealedby Bill Clark - General
Re: Deut3 Cerberus with Hermera Hot end & supervolcano upgrade - 3 years ago
Cool. Typically high microstepping wont provide any benefits in accuracy or in how quite the steppers are. 128x will gobble up your available step rate taxing the processor. The materials you want to print dont like fast print speeds but you do want fast non printing moves. A good rule of thumb is to mechanically gear your system to an acceptable resolution using a full step then use the least amby Bill Clark - General
Re: Deut3 Cerberus with Hermera Hot end & supervolcano upgrade - 3 years ago
Are you going to try to print PBI? That's the only polymer i can think of that needs more than 420c. Or maybe Vespel?by Bill Clark - General
Re: Oh boy! We can all put heaters in our printers now! - 3 years ago
More importantly we can legally get our mechanics and electronics away from the heat. A lot of machines under construction at the moment I'll bet (including #2 for me) Unfortunately the heated chamber is not their only magic bullet. The extrusion control on the software side is where the real magic is as far as I'm concerned and you cant see it cuz they encrypt their gcode. The Fortus has a 70mmby Bill Clark - General
Re: What is practical limit of layer shifting at all? - 3 years ago
I've been working on a new extruder design for 1 of my printers with 120c chamber hoping for more precise control. 30mm from dual drive to nozzle tip and water cooled with this CF/PEKK (260c max use temp) obsessing over print quality and accuracy. This stuff is a far cry from PLA when it comes to ease of printing but not bad for a bad ass polymer and with the light just right you can see the layeby Bill Clark - General
Re: What is practical limit of layer shifting at all? - 3 years ago
I have spent some time working on this issue and theorize and/or have proven there are several factors at play but to summarize it's not just an issue with the mechanics. The way the plastic is extruded and its effect on the outer perimeter are big contributers along with the printing environment. At my work we have high $ FDM machines that will print a nearly perfect vertical surface with Ultemby Bill Clark - General
Re: I think I found the material that Stratasys uses to insulate their printers - 3 years ago
Same material that is being printed although PEKK sticks real well to PEI. Not sure about PEEK but would assume the sameby Bill Clark - General
Re: I think I found the material that Stratasys uses to insulate their printers - 3 years ago
Sorry guys. I dont get over this way often. 14oz is what I have and is about .015" thick. he also has 32oz. I attached a picture of the design. I don't recall the dimensions but I have a note stating that its about 50mm tall when completely collapsed. I have been refurbishing my Haas VF-2 lately so I havent made any progress on the printer but I did make a simple cuff that attaches to the bottomby Bill Clark - General
Re: I think I found the material that Stratasys uses to insulate their printers - 4 years ago
Centryco could probably provide you with insulation properties but that's only part of the equation. The design will also suffer losses from leaks and bellow pumping action. IIRC baffle surface temp was around 60c for a 150c chamber.by Bill Clark - General
Re: I think I found the material that Stratasys uses to insulate their printers - 4 years ago
I'm sure. I put the calipers on them. The only reasoning I can see to make it thin is so it will behave (sagging/buckling) especially on the large x axis section.by Bill Clark - General
Flexible filament? - 4 years ago
I am refurbashing may old Haas VMC. The ball nut seals are brittle plastic 28 years old. I have modeled the seal and have made some from 910 but want a material that conforms a bit. It needs to hold up to motor oil and will be well lubricated. I have never had any interest in flexible filaments until now. What brand/material is good for an application like this? The seal is just a disc with the hby Bill Clark - General
Re: I think I found the material that Stratasys uses to insulate their printers - 4 years ago
No. Thats not what Stratasys uses. I'm building a rough copy of a Fortus 900 (only smaller volume). Fortunately we have 2 at work and I have been all over them. The accordion type baffles form a hexagon profile and are made from fiberglass cloth with silicone as the matrix, sewn with kevlar thread. Material is .008" thick. The company that makes them is Centryco , they are hand made and expensiby Bill Clark - General
Re: kapton tape glue - 4 years ago
I haven't tried it but one eBay seller claims glue stick will hold it downby Bill Clark - General
Re: Shafts lenght vs diameter 8mm x 500mm ? - 4 years ago
For the application I don't think the rotational inertia is significantly different between 8 and 10 mm. The stiffness may be though. If an example already exists with long 8 mm shafts and produces quality prints at the speed you want to print at then there is probably no reason to go bigger. With that said if there is something to be gained with larger diameter you'll never know unless you try.by Bill Clark - General
Re: Question for material Gurus - 4 years ago
I would not use filled nylons. The modulus may go up but impact resistance suffers. Taulman Alloy 910 is my go to. Prints very well. You can beat it with a hammer and it just laughs.by Bill Clark - General
Re: how long does it take your printer heated bed to heat up? - 4 years ago
Custom Cartesian Printer, 200x200, 110v 500w silicone heater with thin fiberglass/foil insulation stuck to borosilicate glass bed. 30-160c in just under 2 minutesby Bill Clark - General
Re: Vacuum hold-down for 3D build surface. - 4 years ago
The Stratasys Fortus 900 uses a build plate with grooves and vacuum. Thin Ultem and PC sheets are used when printing their respective materials. I did some r&d on a similar design for a new machine I am building and had determined for abs, in a heated chamber, at least 750 mb of vacuum would be needed producing .77 kg/cm2 of holding force. PLA should need less (dah)by Bill Clark - General
Re: E3D V6 with restricted Airflow - 4 years ago
QuoteKASA I am currently trying to modify my printer to use an E3D V6 Hotend but I have to work with limited space. My current mounting idea leaves only a few millimeters of clearance behind the air outlet behind the heatsink before the Extruder carriage. Here’s an Image: Is this enough to ensure enough cooling of the heatsink? What types of plastics will you be printing with?by Bill Clark - General
Re: Are delta printers still relavent - 5 years ago
Quoteveryevil My current thought is an anycubic kossel upgrades with a duet wifi Pretty sure the developer of the Duet does much of the development work on a Delta so I doubt you would have much issue getting that combo dialed inby Bill Clark - General