5 ms·

Based on the numbers for cost of pellets vs cost of filament, it seems reasonable for someone to simply integrate this and make a printer that takes pellets ins

by unwind 14y ago

Based on the numbers for cost of pellets vs cost of filament, it seems reasonable for someone to simply integrate this and make a printer that takes pellets instead of filament. The device shown doesn't look overly complicated, and I would guess/hope the "crucial core" parts cost even less than the competition's requirement since that was for the whole machine.

kefka 14y ago
You would require a Bowden extruder to build a pellet-filament engine. There's no way a Mendel I2 or similar models could handle the inertial load on the Y and Z axis. And the video shows rather slow extrusion speed. My printer tip velocity is about 2x faster. Dont get me wrong: reduction of filament costs by a factor of 10 is AMAZING.
DannoHung 14y ago
My guess is that it'd be a bit of a pain to switch between filament colors like this. Maybe when multi-head extruders become very common.
- kefka 14y ago
  Not really. Just run maybe 50g of new material. You'll end up with blended colors, and then solid color of new material. If you are really deadset on perfect color, you can take it apart and detail clean it. HOWEVER, this is also a way to make new colors not purchasable: you can mix quantities of each color in a bucket, and then put the mixture in the hopper. Out comes new color. This is how the injection molded plastics companies do their products. In the drawings/contract, exact mixture is specified.
  - bhickey 14y ago
    This is where the Dum Dums Myster Flavor comes from! http://mentalfloss.com/article/30823/what-mystery-flavor-dum-dums http://mentalfloss.com/article/30823/what-mystery-flavor-dum...
    - PebblesRox 14y ago
      What a fun fact, thanks for sharing! I found a video that shows the whole process: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUpGTvPrCG8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUpGTvPrCG8
    - Bjartr 14y ago
      I believe it's the same case with Airheads mystery flavor
ChuckMcM 14y ago
For a number of reasons this isn't as useful as you might hope, many have been mentioned (the mass on the extruder head being perhaps the most killer) That said it seems like it is fast enough that you could connect the filament coming out of it into a typical filament extruder head and use the slack available as a signal to turn on the filament maker or not. That would mean you would always have "fresh" filament to work with, and in moist environments that can improve repeat ability since PLA especially doesn't "age" well in humid environments.
msds 14y ago
I actually have access to such a printer - but it's massive and can't really print objects smaller than a few inches. We've tried scaling the extruder down, but it seems that pellet/flake extruders just don't have the control and homogeneity required for high-resolution printing at small scales. Here's some media coverage of our device: http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21565577-new-manufacturing-technique-could-help-poor-countries-well-rich-ones http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/2156557...

by unwind 14y ago

kefka 14y ago

You would require a Bowden extruder to build a pellet-filament engine. There's no way a Mendel I2 or similar models could handle the inertial load on the Y and Z axis. And the video shows rather slow extrusion speed. My printer tip velocity is about 2x faster. Dont get me wrong: reduction of filament costs by a factor of 10 is AMAZING.

DannoHung 14y ago

My guess is that it'd be a bit of a pain to switch between filament colors like this. Maybe when multi-head extruders become very common.

kefka 14y ago
Not really. Just run maybe 50g of new material. You'll end up with blended colors, and then solid color of new material. If you are really deadset on perfect color, you can take it apart and detail clean it. HOWEVER, this is also a way to make new colors not purchasable: you can mix quantities of each color in a bucket, and then put the mixture in the hopper. Out comes new color. This is how the injection molded plastics companies do their products. In the drawings/contract, exact mixture is specified.
- bhickey 14y ago
  This is where the Dum Dums Myster Flavor comes from! http://mentalfloss.com/article/30823/what-mystery-flavor-dum-dums http://mentalfloss.com/article/30823/what-mystery-flavor-dum...
  - PebblesRox 14y ago
    What a fun fact, thanks for sharing! I found a video that shows the whole process: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUpGTvPrCG8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUpGTvPrCG8
  - Bjartr 14y ago
    I believe it's the same case with Airheads mystery flavor

ChuckMcM 14y ago

For a number of reasons this isn't as useful as you might hope, many have been mentioned (the mass on the extruder head being perhaps the most killer) That said it seems like it is fast enough that you could connect the filament coming out of it into a typical filament extruder head and use the slack available as a signal to turn on the filament maker or not. That would mean you would always have "fresh" filament to work with, and in moist environments that can improve repeat ability since PLA especially doesn't "age" well in humid environments.

msds 14y ago

I actually have access to such a printer - but it's massive and can't really print objects smaller than a few inches. We've tried scaling the extruder down, but it seems that pellet/flake extruders just don't have the control and homogeneity required for high-resolution printing at small scales. Here's some media coverage of our device: http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21565577-new-manufacturing-technique-could-help-poor-countries-well-rich-ones http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/2156557...