Materials
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Description | Current or candidate materials for use in a RepRap
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License | unknown
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Here is a list of parts and the materials used (or not used) on a RepRap Mendel. The goal here is to brainstorm new materials that are better, cheaper, easier to work, or easier to acquire, as well as to explain why particular materials succeed or fail. This page can also be used to judge the most successful materials used by the community. eventually maybe we can add some code so that we can vote for particular materials. In the meantime, just edit this page to add info or examples for both failures and successes
Goals for this page:
a)List all materials used and the reason for use
b) List failed materials with reason/theory of failure
c)List untested but promising materials and explain their potential.
Contents
Metals
Steel
Used to form the frame of Mendel, as well as for bearings and bolts/nuts/washers
Galvanized
cheaper than stainlessStainless
No corrosionCarbon Steel
Copper
Aluminum
Low mass: when used in moving parts smaller motors can possibly be used. not as strong as steel though, so may flex if not sized properlyBrass
Used for nozzle of extruder. Not sure why brass is used; maybe it doesn't expand much when heated?,quote from Team Open Air[1]:
The reason that people started off with copper and brass is because they are EXCELLENT conductors of heat, and we want the heat from the nichrome wire wrapped around the nozzle to be conducted inside to the plastic to melt it. However, with a thin, long cylinder it is very easy for the heat to move inward, even with an insulating material for the nozzle. But the copper and brass also carry it sideways a LONG ways, requiring a long rod of PTFE or other high temp plastic to isolate the heat of the nozzle from the stepper motor and any electronics.