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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Posts
    3498

    Filament Extruder for my 3D printer- All DIY Stuff

    3D printing bugs bitten me few months back..I was waiting for decrease in price of ABS 1.75mm filament but still it has 30US dollar/ Kg.. So before investing on 3D printer electronics i first ordered parts for my DIY filament extruder... Following are some details...

    Few close up pictures:
    1- Nozzle hole diameter = 1.6mm, I think it will give me 1.7mm.
    2- used Car wiper motor
    3-One gear box laying around in backyard (1:60 ratio)
    4- Auger bit was purchased from China at 12US dollar
    5- Low cost Chinese PID temperature controller with K type thermocouple.
    6- Some insulation etc.

    Here is the dismantle version of the filament extruder. In the center you can see a bolted flange. The white gasket is thermal isolator between hotend and the augur bit cylinder.I tested the setup without the thermal isolator flange and it worked well, however, the heat traveled toward the auger bit and when i shutdown the unit it was difficult to restart the system as the melted ABS melted and jammed the bit.
    I dismantled and provided a thermal barrier between the hotend and the auger bit.
    I extruded the filament of size 1.75mm +-0.2mm. I just increased the hole diameter of the nozzle from 1.68mm to 1.7 mm and i shall soon check the end results ..
    Here is the link of the video of 1st trial test extruding 1.7mm ABS at 200 Celsius...
    https://www.dropbox.com/s/b8ultovzcw...20extruder.wmv
    http://free3dscans.blogspot.com/ http://my-woodcarving.blogspot.com/
    http://my-diysolarwind.blogspot.com/

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Posts
    2143
    You are one crafty guy!!!

    Let that extrude in to a bucket of water to quench it, and roll it up on a spool - you'll be good to go. It would be a bit better if you could extrude a bit larger and draw it down to 1.75 mm, but it should work the way you are going here. I am wondering about using the method you show there to make a plastic molding "press"... Inject in to a cavity instead of to the "string" you are making, and then inject that cavity in to a mold. I am surprised how small all the DIY molding machines I see are, and it seems you are on the way to making a very affordable option with a larger shot size.
    CAD, CAM, Scanning, Modelling, Machining and more. http://www.mcpii.com/3dservices.html

  3. #3
    Indeed, you're one crafty guy. How about if you have 3D printer nozzle diameter of 0.4 and 0.5 mm? Does it give you a better result? Or how about using 3.0 ABS filament like this one: Black ABS Filament with 3.0mm Diameter - 3D2PRINT rather than 1.75 ABS?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Posts
    98

    Re: Filament Extruder for my 3D printer- All DIY Stuff

    You have built a very neat machine that should not be too difficult to replicate if I only had a little more information.
    What is the diameter of your auger bit?
    What is the approximate wattage of the heater?
    How many centimeters per minute do you get?

    You stated that the price of the filament is approximately $30 a kilo in Pakistan but what is the price of the ABS pellets?
    Here in the USA the difference in price, the best I can figure out, is about 60% higher for the filament. So the incentive might not be as high for building a rather complicated machine.

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