901

Re: Filament Extruder - Convert pellets to filament

Zarni wrote:

Bob, how long has it just taken you to put that together?
I've been reading this all for a month or more and haven't got to the garage yet, it looks like you've just jumped right on it.
I feel so lazy now. :-( Congrats on the progress though.

Currently waiting for a call back about ABS pellets in the UK. It is surprisingly hard to find.
So far I can get a ton of black pellets for £1320 delivered which isn't too bad if I wanted a ton of the stuff! Not sure I could print that much.

Anyone from the UK know of a place to get pellets?

Hi Zarni,

I am currently trying to build a custom filament extruder in the UK.

ABS Pellets in the UK are a nightmare to find.

There is a company called Polymer house that sell them in the UK (I can't post links yet but might be able to DM them?).

The minimum order is 25kg (thought there website says 1000kg), I am thinking or ordering 25kg of Kumho 750SW Natural which the quoted my £3.50/kg and would be happy to split it if you want to?

Tom

902

Re: Filament Extruder - Convert pellets to filament

Schieggster wrote:
DePartedPrinter wrote:
Zarni wrote:

So far I can get a ton of black pellets for £1320 delivered which isn't too bad if I wanted a ton of the stuff! Not sure I could print that much.

That's a lot of plastic...

Maybe he want's to build a plastic beach... or have plastic ball fights, while plastic falls from the sky.

*dreams* Oh to have a plastic mansion on coast, to watch the plastic sun go down over the plastic hills :-)

Shame it is all in black :-(

903

Re: Filament Extruder - Convert pellets to filament

Zarni wrote:
Schieggster wrote:
DePartedPrinter wrote:

That's a lot of plastic...

Maybe he want's to build a plastic beach... or have plastic ball fights, while plastic falls from the sky.

*dreams* Oh to have a plastic mansion on coast, to watch the plastic sun go down over the plastic hills :-)

Shame it is all in black :-(

Better bust out the spray paint

904

Re: Filament Extruder - Convert pellets to filament

Zarni wrote:
Schieggster wrote:
DePartedPrinter wrote:

That's a lot of plastic...

Maybe he want's to build a plastic beach... or have plastic ball fights, while plastic falls from the sky.

*dreams* Oh to have a plastic mansion on coast, to watch the plastic sun go down over the plastic hills :-)

Shame it is all in black :-(

Welcome to the dark side wink

905

Re: Filament Extruder - Convert pellets to filament

A better picture of the fully assembled version (left) and kit version (right):

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1786359/IMG_7945.JPG

906

Re: Filament Extruder - Convert pellets to filament

Ohhhh... twins smile

907

Re: Filament Extruder - Convert pellets to filament

But only the same on the inside they look like brother and sister.  One looks all sweet and finished and the other well the dirt does wash off after a while.  BUT both appear to do the job just fine.

Bob Teeter

908

Re: Filament Extruder - Convert pellets to filament

Those people who already paid Kickstarter pledges for the Filabot are going to be pissed.  But then it's been a year since they paid their money so it might not hurt as much to pay for one that isn't vaporware.  It would be awesome if you can be ready to start shipping at the end of the fundraising.  I wonder if you would eventually be able to get Kickstarter based loans in advance of funding, the way you can get an advance on your tax refund.   Show the current pledge as a guarantee of future payment and get a head start on ordering materials.

Is the case going to be pre-assembled only?  I would love to show one of those off at Deezmaker, it would be all over Google+ after.  I like the black box aspect- pellets in, filament out.

909

Re: Filament Extruder - Convert pellets to filament

I wonder if the new enclosure helps with the noise...

SD2 with E3D, SD Press, Form 1+
Filastruder
NYLON (taulman): http://www.soliforum.com/topic/466/nylon/

910 (edited by Dennis 2013-03-08 03:52:25)

Re: Filament Extruder - Convert pellets to filament

IanJohnson wrote:

I wonder if you would eventually be able to get Kickstarter based loans in advance of funding, the way you can get an advance on your tax refund.   Show the current pledge as a guarantee of future payment and get a head start on ordering materials.

I would not start spending the money until it is in your hands.  I have seen KS pull the plug on a project near the end on some technicality.  They could do it for making an off comment -- like criticizing Filabot project.  Or, because some company claiming the project violates some IP.  The campaign is when you interact with the supporters, get feedback, possibly make some design adjustments, get a sense of how many you will need to be ordering, contacting the potential suppliers about numbers and deliveries... etc.  Lots of work to do during the campaign to get all the ducks in a row.  Lots of labor without spending much.  There are some pretty hefty charges against the funds raised -- KS, Amazon, taxes...

911

Re: Filament Extruder - Convert pellets to filament

IanJohnson wrote:

It would be awesome if you can be ready to start shipping at the end of the fundraising.

This should be quite doable, assuming the orders are not in triple digit quantities.

IanJohnson wrote:

Is the case going to be pre-assembled only?  I would love to show one of those off at Deezmaker, it would be all over Google+ after.  I like the black box aspect- pellets in, filament out.

That is up to OS Printing. I'd like to see them sell it separately. It will work with all the parts from the kit - it replaces the base and the two 1"x4" uprights. There's still a little tweaking to do on the enclosure, but it's made really well. I was impressed with the fit and finish.

912

Re: Filament Extruder - Convert pellets to filament

DePartedPrinter wrote:

I wonder if the new enclosure helps with the noise...

Probably not in stock form. Probably yes if you lined it with b-quiet or dynamat.

913

Re: Filament Extruder - Convert pellets to filament

Is the shaft of the current motor shorter than the original?  Would the enclosure be unlikely to work with my motor?

914

Re: Filament Extruder - Convert pellets to filament

IanJohnson wrote:

Is the shaft of the current motor shorter than the original?  Would the enclosure be unlikely to work with my motor?

The enclosure was actually designed with your motor in mind. It has not been redesigned for the new motor yet, which does have a shorter shaft.

915

Re: Filament Extruder - Convert pellets to filament

Try to get the parts needed to build a filament extruder. Unfortunately in the local area these components are not found. During this time I developed and tested the electronics to control two temperatures, and the electric motor by a PWM channel. I intend to replace the PID controller with a single electronic board that control the temperature in 2 zones with 2 thermistors and the electric motor by PWM. Electronic boards cost is around $ 20 depending on the number of boards made.

916

Re: Filament Extruder - Convert pellets to filament

Hi Tim or anyone else who can help!

I'm getting a little confused about how the various couplings mount on the auger shaft,

Anyone got a pic of the order of the bearings and washers etc?

In the kit I have there are only 2 flanges and no spring, should there be a spring?

Cheers,

Rob

917

Re: Filament Extruder - Convert pellets to filament

Dear  Filament Friends!
I was into building a extruder as well. I spend some time and built two different kind of extruders and did a lot of experimentations with different materials. Now I need to put more focus on studies at my university and I dont have the time anymore to keep on going with it. I like your work here and the idea of sharing ideas with eachother and I want to share my achievements with you as well. I cant stand the idea of dumping all the stuff I organized!

Due to the fact that I live in Germany it was easy (or: easier than it may is in the USA) for me to get different kind of materials from local suppliers to test with. At least it was tricky to get some PLA pellets, but finally I got 3 different sorts to test with.

This is what I want to get rid of:

modellbau-buers.de/trash/roller.html

In Detail:

1x Bag of NatureWorks 3251 PLA
1x Bag of NatureWorks 4042D PLA
2x Bags of Terez Naturegran PV6930 (PLA Compound, Datasheet can be E-Mailed)
2x Bags of Terez ABS 5010 A (High MFI blend. Datasheet: terhell.de/techd/pdf/dt/999900000365.PDF)
3x Sorts of ABS Masterbatches (yellow, purple and GOLD. Made by Finke-Color)

8x CNC-Manufactured brass rollers with U-groove for 1,75 and 3mm filament. Bore is 6mm. Comes with a small screw to fit properly.
2x Gears to fit with the rollers.
2x 6mm ball-bearings

1x Bottle of CLUB MATE. This delicious non-alcoholic drink can be found in hackerspaces and maker places all over the world.

If someone is interested in this stuff please contact me via private message.

Yours

Alexander

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918

Re: Filament Extruder - Convert pellets to filament

R.J.A.Allen wrote:

Hi Tim or anyone else who can help!

I'm getting a little confused about how the various couplings mount on the auger shaft,

Anyone got a pic of the order of the bearings and washers etc?

In the kit I have there are only 2 flanges and no spring, should there be a spring?

Cheers,

Rob

no spring in mine...

if my order is correct it's:

left to right (the motor  is on the right side)

black metal spacer (with a screw on the side) , flange, bearing,flange, black abs spacer

919

Re: Filament Extruder - Convert pellets to filament

R.J.A.Allen wrote:

Hi Tim or anyone else who can help!

I'm getting a little confused about how the various couplings mount on the auger shaft,

Anyone got a pic of the order of the bearings and washers etc?

In the kit I have there are only 2 flanges and no spring, should there be a spring?

Cheers,

Rob

No spring in yours, the spring was only for troubleshooting and determining thrust load. Only two flanges is correct, also.

920 (edited by elmoret 2013-03-08 16:48:59)

Re: Filament Extruder - Convert pellets to filament

ysb wrote:

no spring in mine...

if my order is correct it's:

left to right (the motor  is on the right side)

black metal spacer (with a screw on the side) , flange, bearing,flange, black abs spacer

Wow, nope! Here's the right order:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1786359/Photo%20Mar%2006%2C%2011%2047%2000%20AM.jpg
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1786359/Photo%20Mar%2006%2C%203%2022%2027%20PM.jpg

921 (edited by ysb 2013-03-08 18:48:28)

Re: Filament Extruder - Convert pellets to filament

elmoret wrote:
ysb wrote:

no spring in mine...

if my order is correct it's:

left to right (the motor  is on the right side)

black metal spacer (with a screw on the side) , flange, bearing,flange, black abs spacer

Wow, nope! Here's the right order:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1786359/Photo%20Mar%2006%2C%2011%2047%2000%20AM.jpg



heuuuu... that exactly what i said.... the black metal spacer with a screw on the side (yours is metal color, mine is black), flange, bearing, second flange, and the black abs spacer from left to right... where is your problem ?

perhap what i have call "flange, bearing, flange" is only "bearing in 3 parts" ??


EDIT : ok.. i found the error... what i call flange is in fact "washer" (sorry.. english not my native language..etc..etc..) so it's

black metal spacer (with a screw on the side) , washer, bearing,washer, black abs spacer

922 (edited by elmoret 2013-03-08 19:27:43)

Re: Filament Extruder - Convert pellets to filament

Got some PLA in, putting it through the Filastruder today:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1786359/Photo%20Mar%2008%2C%201%2037%2026%20PM.jpg
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1786359/Screen%20Shot%202013-03-08%20at%201.39.14%20PM.png

The ABS->PLA transition seems to have gone  smoothly. Ran it at 190C until I was confident the ABS had been flushed. At that temperature PLA was *flying* out, about 40"/min. Cooled it back down to 165C, which is where it's running now.

The PLA pellets are a little larger and harder than the ABS I've been using. The motor bogs a little more when it has to crush a pellet between the funnel opening and side of the pipe.

923

Re: Filament Extruder - Convert pellets to filament

ysb wrote:

perhap what i have call "flange, bearing, flange" is only "bearing in 3 parts" ??
EDIT : ok.. i found the error... what i call flange is in fact "washer" (sorry.. english not my native language..etc..etc..) so it's

black metal spacer (with a screw on the side) , washer, bearing,washer, black abs spacer

Yup, that's the mistake. Sorry for the confusion!

924 (edited by ysb 2013-03-08 18:55:45)

Re: Filament Extruder - Convert pellets to filament

another question from me..

when i set the distance for the motor wood board from the auger (for the coupling) , did the auger need to bet set at full left(toward the hot nose) , or at full right (toward the flange motor side)... or between (as the auger can move in place) ?

925

Re: Filament Extruder - Convert pellets to filament

ysb wrote:

another question from me..

when i set the distance for the motor wood board from the auger (for the coupling) , did the auger need to bet set at full left(toward the hot nose) , or at full right (toward the flange motor side)... or between (as the auger can move in place) ?

Assemble it just like this:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1786359/Photo%20Mar%2006%2C%2011%2047%2000%20AM.jpg

With the white nylon spacers on the threaded rods, and everything else will take care of itself.