1 Topic by bteeter

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Topic: Another Filament Extruder

I have started a blog on building my version of a filament extruder.  It is based upon the work of Filabot, Lyman and Tim's work.  The same type of machine.  I have a compete woodworking and metal working shop but what I wanted to do is create one that can be completed in most peoples garage.  So no slicing of pipes or custom plastic parts to make.  Oh there is one plastic part - a 2 liter bottle and you will have to empty it yourself. The bottle will hold 1320 grams of pellets and so should work fine for holding 1Kg of pellets for conversion.  I will also be putting up a BOM once I have it working but it makes no sense to post something that would be changing until it is done.  I also want to build the Lyman Filament winder and have some ideas as to how to link the two units so that it would take care of its self.  I also want to setup a camera to watch it work so that I can see what the mice in the shop are doing.

http://www.teeterconsulting.com/

I also do not want to detract from the work that Tim is doing and I completely support the work that he has done and thank him for that effort.

Bob Teeter

2 Reply by cmetzel (edited by cmetzel 2013-03-22 19:27:41)

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Re: Another Filament Extruder

Your page takes forever and a day to load for me, I gave up.  It's been years since I watched images load line by line like that, and there were a lot more nekkid women in them.

3 Reply by Schieggster (edited by Schieggster 2013-03-22 19:47:47)

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Re: Another Filament Extruder

cmetzel wrote:

It's been years since I watched images load line by line like that, and there were a lot more nekkid women in them.

yes
yes
YES
YES

Please restart you Browser as Internet Explorer has crashed

sad

4 Reply by cmetzel

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Re: Another Filament Extruder

Netscape Navigator smile

5 Reply by bteeter (edited by bteeter 2013-03-22 21:01:58)

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Re: Another Filament Extruder

This document describes what I built based upon the projects by Filabot, Lyman and Tim Elmore.  Because I did not what to waste time cleaning out the unit when changing the type of plastic pellets that I would be extruding.  I created several units one for each type of plastic the I wanted to create filament for.

This is what I want to happen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlZ678sMvZoLyman Filament Extruder II Video

So I will be building 3 different extruder's because I have 3 different types of pellets.   ABS, HDPE and PLA.  These each have a melting range
similar but different so that using one extruder for all the plastics would be a mess to clean up every time I want to change the type of plastic filament that I wanted to create.

So wanting to get busy I bought a bunch of stuff including 50 pounds of PLA plastic.  I already had about 30 pounds of ABS and 10 pounds of HDPE plastic it seemed to be the way to go.  By the way this is what 50 pounds of plastic looks like:
http://solidoodletips.com.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/344-1.jpg


And so each bag is a little big for a load I rebagged it to look like this:
[img]images/IMG_0357-1.jpg[/img]

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6 Reply by nickythegreek (edited by nickythegreek 2013-03-22 20:38:36)

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Re: Another Filament Extruder

that is alot of pellets!

I would resize the photos on your website, they seem to be the raw jpgs off your digital cam and is killing your hosting upstream. 800pixel width should work fine.

If you are going to use the image button in the forums, it requires an absolute url between the tags.

7 Reply by bteeter

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Re: Another Filament Extruder

NO all the pictures are 816 in the largest size.  But I thank you for the info as I was able to determine that my internet connection is crap at the moment and I need to go beat Century Link over the head about it.  Again thanks for the transfer info as I had not noticed.  My quandary at this time is should I upload pictures here as I go along.  Also how do you embed pictures in a post and not have to attach them.

Bob Teeter

8 Reply by Leghk (edited by Leghk 2013-03-24 18:57:30)

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Re: Another Filament Extruder

When I looked at your page the day it was posted, the image file I checked were the raw full-resolution camera images (1632x1232 for the one that's still in my recycle bin), and your HTML just has img width and height attributes - which leads to the full resolution photos being downloaded for every user that hits your page and then their browser scales it to fit your tag's limits; all of them.

Better to manually resize the photos to the desired web resolution yourself - web servers don't do that automatically, all your visitors' browsers are doing the work.

If many people visited your pages from these links, the internet connection certainly would look like it was performing badly, with that much data being transferred for each hit.

Don: Folger Tech 2020 Kossel Rev A + Borosilicate + Snow Effector
        Davinci 1.0 + Repetier : Filastruder
        SD3 + RAMPS + Lawsy Carriages + E3D + Borosilicate + ... : Cupcake

9 Reply by bteeter (edited by bteeter 2013-03-24 20:46:47)

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Re: Another Filament Extruder

Thanks Leghk - I have re-sized the photo's so that they are 812 pix on the largest edge.  I have also verified that each of the pictures are now of that size and are 10x smaller in download size.  Also I am STILL going to pound on Century Link because I still think that my speed is crap.

Bob Teeter

10 Reply by RavensCrest

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Re: Another Filament Extruder

the photo loads fine for me, can't wait for your BOM, thank you

Solidoodle2 with Ceramic tile heated bed http://www.soliforum.com/topic/2544/my- … eated-bed/
"1kg should last for an while" is a lie!

11 Reply by bteeter

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Re: Another Filament Extruder

I have updated the project page and also included a link to the inital BOM that I have put together.

Bob Teeter

12 Reply by cmetzel

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Re: Another Filament Extruder

bteeter wrote:

I have updated the project page and also included a link to the inital BOM that I have put together.

Bob Teeter

Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't you say earlier you would sell the kits for $150?  Your BOM shows parts costing $238.

13 Reply by IanJohnson

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Re: Another Filament Extruder

That was someone else in Europe.  The prices might have been lower for some things there, but shipping and customs would add a lot.

14 Reply by christian1980nrw

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Re: Another Filament Extruder

Hello, did you test the Maschine already? How many RPM are you using? Thanks.

15 Reply by RavensCrest

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Re: Another Filament Extruder

cmetzel wrote:
bteeter wrote:

I have updated the project page and also included a link to the inital BOM that I have put together.

Bob Teeter

Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't you say earlier you would sell the kits for $150?  Your BOM shows parts costing $238.

he needs to put bulk price in there... a lot of them are over priced... :-(

Solidoodle2 with Ceramic tile heated bed http://www.soliforum.com/topic/2544/my- … eated-bed/
"1kg should last for an while" is a lie!

16 Reply by bteeter (edited by bteeter 2013-03-27 21:03:54)

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Re: Another Filament Extruder

One of my targets is to be able to make 4-6 Kg of filament a day or more.  That is one of the reasons for using 3/4" pipe and a faster motor that turns 11 rpm.  The motor in the BOM has plenty of torque because when the pellets jammed in the pipe it torqued tighter than I expected and it took a LARGE pipe wrench to remove it.  I believe that using the Bondo should fix the problem the easy way.  I will find out this weekend.   

All the prices are to build 1 unit.  I have no intention in selling kits and just the desire to built for myself.
Just to let all of you know.  It is not my intent to be cheaper than Tim's project.  All I wanted to do is make some filament extruders for my own use.  And with 3 different types of plastic I figured that I needed 3 different extruders so that I do not cross contaminate each type.   I support Tim's effort and believe that what he has put together is a great value.

Also I have just ordered one of Tim's kits because I can see an additional use to have one.   I think that I want to do some custom color blending.

Bob Teeter

17 Reply by christian1980nrw (edited by christian1980nrw 2013-03-28 08:41:04)

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Re: Another Filament Extruder

bteeter wrote:

That is one of the reasons for using 3/4" pipe and a faster motor that turns 11 rpm.

...that are a BIG difference to the rpm that HLyman is using...

hlyman    on January 23, 2013 said:
The rpm is variable with the
voltage regulator. At 3 volts it is around 3 rpm.
The right speed is accomplished by
testing.

In his videos, the speed looks slower, too.

Im only asking because i was thinking if this cheap 3 rpm motor could be perfect if lower rpms are used:
ebay article 181026098597

But if 11 rpm are needed, it will be too slow.

18 Reply by bteeter (edited by bteeter 2013-03-31 19:35:03)

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Re: Another Filament Extruder

Update - trying to use Bondo to create a sleeve inside the 3/4" tee did not work out so well.  The sleeve detached from the tee and rotated into the arbor.  But I think that I might have at least 2 other options.  The 1st is to use the method that Tim and the rest have used and that is to cut a slot into the 3/4" pipe and attach an external hopper.  The other I am just going to try and then let you know if it works out or not.  Because the slot method has worked on at least 3 other extruders and we know that it works.  I am just trying to avoid that cutting if I can.

Bob Teeter

19 Reply by RavensCrest

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Re: Another Filament Extruder

yea, that cut is not something ordinary people can make. keep up the good work Bob

Solidoodle2 with Ceramic tile heated bed http://www.soliforum.com/topic/2544/my- … eated-bed/
"1kg should last for an while" is a lie!

20 Reply by bteeter

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Re: Another Filament Extruder

Just a quick update.  I got tired of fighting the flange/nipple/tee rotation issue and just welded it together now no more rotation and problem solved.  Also I have run about 1.5 Kg of plastic thru the system without the cap or heater on it.  The feed from the bottle works fantastic.  Also the problem of pellets on the bottom of the tee is not a problem.  when empty there is a layer of pellets that are laying under the auger and are not a problem.  Just when changing colors you need to blow out the excess pellets with either a strong breath or use a can of air to clear it.  It takes about 15 minutes to empty a bottle that holds 500 grams of pellets.  That is just dumping them into a bowl without a cap on the system.


Bob Teeter

21 Reply by bteeter

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Re: Another Filament Extruder

I have just updated the blog on my filament extruder.  I have wired the unit up and have documented what I have done for the wiring.  I took some time to get things layed out correctly and then wired together.  I was worried about the size of the wires and weather the wire was large enough for the load.  So I used 16 and 14 gauge wire to do the job.  It works just fine now.

Bob Teeter

22 Reply by mnutsch

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Re: Another Filament Extruder

Hi Bob,

I'm building my own plastic extruder based on Lyman's v3 design.

I read that you were were having trouble with the internal dimensions of a tee not matching the internal dimensions of the pipe. Instead of using a tee, you might be better off using a tapping saddle.

Google "tapping saddle for copper pipe" for an image.

Google "manual hot tap machine" for illustrations on handheld machines that are used to install tapping saddles onto pipe.

Tapping machines can be rented from underground utility supply stores, such as Ferguson Waterworks.

(It's been a while since you posted this thread, but I thought that I should comment in case anyone else comes across it.)

Sincerely,

Matt

23 Reply by bteeter (edited by bteeter 2013-12-05 03:28:39)

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Re: Another Filament Extruder

mnutsch - The issue of the use of the tee is not a problem.  When used there is a layer of pellets under the auger that need to be removed to finish the clean out of the system.  I just remove the bottle and blow out the extra pellets or just use compressed air to remove them.  The biggest problem that most extruders have is that the pipe nipple will rotate (tighten up
and change the location of the pellet inlet for the extruder because of pellets that have to be sheared because of physical position.  I solved my problem by spot welding the flange, the 2" connector nipple and the tee together.  So no rotation and it works fantastic.  Like I said just blow a little air into it and no more pellets of the wrong type.

Bob