3 ms·

You can actually print the moving part in place using dissolvable supports (sometimes possible without a second extruder, using strategically placed removable s

• CobrastanJorji 5y ago
  Oh, that's a really interesting idea. I had thought the slider used a spring of some sort, but apparently it's just freely sliding and the keyway pushes it. You might be able to do that! I haven't worked with dissolvable support material before; that sounds neat. I wonder if it'd be hard to clean out of such a small space? Either way, they still upped the requirements from "anybody with a Prusa" to "multi-material printer, one of which is dissolvable," which is probably good enough for Medeco to believably claim to buyers that their system is "resistant" to 3D printing.
  • regularfry 5y ago
    This is still in "anyone with a prusa" range, I think. Firstly you can do multi-material on a single extruder head by either changing filament as it prints (which is annoying, but for a high enough target not a problem), or pre-printing a two-material filament; second, Prusa themselves do a multi-filament mod for the Mk3 which can do soluble filaments; third, you might not need a second filament at all: I reckon you could print-in-place a two-part key with a captive pin. You could design in a leaf spring if it needs it. The resolution looks challenging, but you've got to bear in mind that 0.4mm is only the standard nozzle diameter, not the smallest available: 0.1mm nozzles are around and capable of some really fine detail. It's only a matter of time, and probably less than you'd think.
    • regularfry 5y ago
      Oh yeah, and we're also safely in "anyone with a resin printer" territory if that wasn't enough.