n2ri wrote:was thinking the E3D was the way to go. wonder if the new SD printers use it? thats the 'boden type right"
and yes microns is what we are working with so a couple thousandths is a lot in this industry.
in N scale vehicles for instance that can mean the difference between side mirrors or not
New printers have their own hot-end, I heard talk of it being metal, but I'm pretty sure it won't be an E3D specifically.
A bowden extruder is a way of separating the extruder (motor + drivewheel, associated mass) from the hot end by feeding the filament through a flexible tube - this works like bicycle brakes, the whole thing is known as a bowden cable. Ultimaker is an example of good use of one: they go to some lengths to keep the mass of the moving head minimised, which allows for higher speeds. The disadvantage in all bowden setups is the springiness of the tube means the extrusion is not quite as accurate, and retraction is a big deal (needs around 3-4x what we use on our direct feed printers).
SD3. Mk2b + glass, heated enclosure, GT2 belts, direct drive y shaft, linear bearings, bowden-feed E3D v5 w/ 0.9° stepper
Smoothieboard via Octoprint on RPi