[jlnading]

Very nice work EL. Looks very similar to the hotends I build, except I use Peek as a heat separator for the wades extruder and make my own block element along with the nozzle and barrel. Your design uses the least amount of parts, means less machining and cost. Way to go dude.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_F2...0is1Q&index=11

[EL34]

Thanks,
A threaded rod seemed like a very simple solution.
I decided to drill out a Stainless Steel bolt because stainless has super low thermal transfer rate compared to many other metals.
Inside the hole in the SS bolt is a PFTE sleeve and it is glued in place with some high temp adhesive.

But, drilling out the stainless bolts is a major pain.

That little cup took 1 hour 40 minutes to complete and the heat never followed the bolt up to the upper section
Everything stayed at an acceptable temp.

Found this chart that shows thermal conductivity of a bunch of metals
Thermal Properties of Metals, Conductivity, Thermal Expansion, Specific Heat - Engineers Edge

Silver is highest at 247
Copper is 231
Aluminum is 136
brass is 69
SS is 8

[jlnading]

Very nice design EL, I know what you mean about drilling the SS, I make the hobbed bolt out of SS. I also make a brass nozzle, out of solid stock, drill one end with a .5 mm bit and the other with a #7 bit then tap to 1/4" x 20. Lot of work but it sure does work. Good to know about the heat dissipation of SS. Thanks for the link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0aZ...R0is1Q&index=4

[EL34]

I made my brass nozzles also.

I made an aluminum nozzle also

All were drilled with a 1/64th inch bit which is .39mm

There was no way any of my drill preses or lathe could grasp a bit that small
But I found out that my dremel tool had a chuck that would grasp the bits

[jlnading]

Same problem I had, so I made a little arbor to fit the .5 mm bit then just chuck it up in a 3/8" battery drill.

[robe_uk]

look for pcb drill bits, 1/8'' shank with tiny drill bit.

[keebler303]

look for pcb drill bits, 1/8'' shank with tiny drill bit.

I'm not sure if they still have them but Harbor Freight used to sell packs of 10 random sizes of these drill bits. You can sort of see what sizes are in there before you buy.

Matt

[vger]

Yes Harbor Freight still carries those bits... It's a mix in the boxes, and not all boxes are the same. Some of them are really tiny, like .010". Work great in Dremel tool. Sizes are marked on the colored collar. Take a close look at the tip of some of the larger sizes as they may be mill bits.

[EL34]

Not interested in PCB mixed size bits

I am able to use 1/64th inch bits no problem in a dremel tool with a 3 jaw chuck
I can buy a whole pack of 1/64th inch bits at Mcmaster for a fraction of the price of one PCB bit

[billcat]

Looking forward to more progress.....!

I am grateful of your generous effort to provide your findings, document your work, and explain things in a straightforward fashion. Enough to warrant my first post on cnc zone. Nice to have clear pictures and video, I don't seem to find that too often.

I would like to attempt a router to 3d printer conversion myself shortly, but I have lots of questions.......to the point of still being on the fence about the whole matter.

I have a hobby lathe I can toy with, but I have found that I am not much of a machinist. I attempted to make a nozzle today....snapped a few small drill bits, etc, but maybe it will work. I turned down an old copper solder tip then pressed it into 6061 alum then turned some more. Smallest drill bit I had was .028" (keyword....had), can't imagine using a 1/64"!

[NSR_CIVIC]

The key to small bits is super slow feed in and very small pecks best way is sadly by hand with a pin vice although that does not make a very strait hole but you can feel the bit binding before it snaps. Also keep some rapid-tap or similar cutting fluid on hand. It helps move the chips out of the way.

Kevin.
Nsr customs.

[EL34]

Looking forward to more progress.....!

I am grateful of your generous effort to provide your findings, document your work, and explain things in a straightforward fashion. Enough to warrant my first post on cnc zone. Nice to have clear pictures and video, I don't seem to find that too often.

I would like to attempt a router to 3d printer conversion myself shortly, but I have lots of questions.......to the point of still being on the fence about the whole matter.

I have a hobby lathe I can toy with, but I have found that I am not much of a machinist. I attempted to make a nozzle today....snapped a few small drill bits, etc, but maybe it will work. I turned down an old copper solder tip then pressed it into 6061 alum then turned some more. Smallest drill bit I had was .028" (keyword....had), can't imagine using a 1/64"!

Hi,
I update this page with my projects. You can see more info on my 3d printer and extruder here
EL4's CNC projects Main page

This post has info on my build
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/genera...ter_build.html

I am not using my router, I built a stand alone 3D printer
The router was just used as a first test of an extruder
I have improved my print quality greatly since the first test I did on my CNC machine

My CNC router is way slow compared to my DIY super light weight 3D printer
The print times are 5 times or more faster because the moving parts are very light weight
I can print at very fast speeds

Here's a pic of an object I printed
The two outside pices are after another extruder nozzle upgrade using a makerbot style extruder tip
They are much smoother than the middle one
Attachment 184330

[billcat]

Thanks for the links, at a quick glance it looks like I will enjoy spending some time there. Again, very well documented.

I just began researching extruders about 3 days ago, but your homebrew looks like just the ticket......simple and functional. And those available commercially seem awfully pricey for what you get, maybe I am not looking in the right place.

I still have much to learn about the cam software, have not even seriously looked into it yet. But I am fairly comfortable with mach3, seems to make more sense as a means to an end, than going the arduino route, which I have no experience with whatsoever.

The key to small bits is super slow feed in and very small pecks best way is sadly by hand with a pin vice although that does not make a very strait hole but you can feel the bit binding before it snaps. Also keep some rapid-tap or similar cutting fluid on hand. It helps move the chips out of the way.

Kevin.
Nsr customs.

Thanks for the suggestions. I tried by hand with a pin vise, but was making no progress, so I chucked the pin vise in the lathe tailstock. I then attempted slow feed and small pecks, but snapped bits nonetheless. Perhaps the cheap china drill bits were to blame. Or the alloy of the copper. I noticed it kind of just wanted to mush up when turning the outside, even with sharp carbide bits and aluminum cutting fluid. I guess it really makes little sense to make your own nozzle, when they are quite inexpensive to purchase online.

[EL34]

Don'y use my acorn nut idea
It is not pointy enough and it drags the plastic around instead of depositing it nice and clean

I show the new makerbot type tip in my build post
Much better design