I think that'd work fine, another probably easier option would be to use a bit longer bolts and spacers between the wing nuts and "ears" to space the wing nuts down instead of out.

Where are you getting your dry color from?

What do you think about adding ears at the bottom so that instead of having the screws that close to the tube, they could be moved  out a bit and use wing nuts to tie it down.  I use a lot of dry color and I take it off a lot to get all the powder out.

Oooh! Awesome stuff!

Now as a very selfish question..... Do you have any more deets about the motor controller? That kind of small board looks very useful for pet projects.

Wait a second..I think I'm familiar with it!  Hah, I have one of those that I've been using for a while . It's the best version of the cheap DC-DC converters I've seen.

Yeah, they're pretty neat. The only dumb thing about them is the USB connector isn't regulated to the output voltage, not 5v - so you can happily feed your USB device way over 5 volts. I'll probably fill the USB plug on the ones I ship with hot glue for that reason.

will there be an upgrade kit?

Yes, if you're interested get in touch via the contact form on the Filastruder site. I'll roll out the upgrade kits once I get caught up from the initial spike in orders.

I can make a video after getting caught up and rolling out upgrade kits, but it wouldn't be very interesting. It'd also be hard to illustrate all the speed differences, since v2 > v1.6 > v1.5 > v1.1/1.0. I can try to make a video showing the speed control though, that might be more useful.

I personally use horizontal extrusion, but there's no reason you couldn't run vertical. You'd just drill 2 holes in the chassis and mount to the wall or stand. If using a winder, vertical or 45 degrees is still preferred. There's a similar hopperfor vertical mounting.

The barrel uses a rounded cutout now to reduce stress concentrations and add back a bit more material.

Barrel OD is the same.

All Filastruder motors use the same mounting holes - that's something I've endeavored to maintain to assist in upgradability.

Now as a very selfish question..... Do you have any more deets about the motor controller? That kind of small board looks very useful for pet projects.

Wait a second..I think I'm familiar with it!  Hah, I have one of those that I've been using for a while . It's the best version of the cheap DC-DC converters I've seen.

Upgrade kits would be nice, but would the dimensions to of each part be swappable? For example, is the barrel OD the same as 1.x? If we wanted to swap the motor for the gF45, would the mounting holes be different?
Small things, I know.
Great touch on the motor control.

What is different about the barrel? how is it stronger?

A per bubbasnow...........upgrade kits?

It looks like from the layout that you are suggesting horizontal extrusion over vertical?  I've been running my V1 near vertical.  Even have two purpose built stands for the extruder and winder.  They take up space, so if they run better in the horizontal, all the better.  Just put them on a table top and go to town?

The barrel insulation kind of looks like the silencer on a long range sniper extruder.

I need to find/buy some of that to make my current extruders look kewl.  You know, keep the WAF up.  "See honey, it looks better, that's why we need another one."

-os3dp

Its been a crazy two years since the Kickstarter wrapped up, for both Filastruder and my personal life. In that time I've finished graduate school, moved to a new state, and gotten married! Professionally, over 2,000 Filastruder Kits have been sold to folks in over 70 countries around the world. We partnered with E3D, makers of the highly regarded v6, Lite, and Cyclops/Chimera/Kraken hotends. Things finally settled down enough to allow me to revisit the Filastruder and make some long overdue updates. These changes have been largely due to feedback from users ranging from the weekend hobbyist to Fortune 500 companies, and I am grateful for their suggestions. Without further ado...

New Features

Aluminum Alloy Chassis - Gone are the days of wooden Filastruders! The backbone of a Filastruder is now made out of CNC'ed 6061 alloy, improving both ease of assembly and durability.

Upgraded motor - (Model #: GF45) This motor is roughly 200% more powerful than the v1.0-1.1 motor. It is 100% more powerful than the v1.2-1.5 series, and 50% more powerful than the v1.6 series. It is also a different style of motor, with better quality internals and easily replaceable brushes. It is around 5-8dB quieter than the previous motor as well. As a courtesy to recent customers, the last 100 or so Filastruders have been upgraded to the GF45 gear motor at no cost, to ease the pain of a new version being released so soon. If your gear motor looks like the photo above, you already have the latest and greatest.

Advanced motor control - The voltage (speed) and current (torque) can now be controlled via a closed loop PWM controller. This controller also displays the input voltage, motor voltage, motor current, and motor power. The voltage/current limiting functionality has been present on v1.6 Filastruders in the form of the stall protection board, but the board adds the LCD display so you can keep an eye on motor load. For example, as the melt filter nozzle starts to become clogged, the motor current increases, which is displayed on the LCD. Additionally when trying new polymers, you can start the speed out slow and watch the current, changing temperature as you dial in the best parameters for that particular plastic.

Lasercut enclosure with cooling fan - All Filastruder 2.0 kits now come with a laser cut enclosure. This enclosure is not structural, just cosmetic, meaning it can be modified by the end user if desired without compromising strength. This is in contrast to the v1.x Kit Enclosure, which was structural and carried the entire motor load. The enclosure also has active cooling via a 60mm fan for the PID controller and motor.

Upgraded hopper - The original Filastruder Hopper was remixed into a 2-part design by imageit, who added threads as well for a standard soda bottle to be threaded in. This part is used with permission by the author, and I added some small tweaks to wall thickness to make it a bit stronger.

Upgraded, fully insulated barrel - The cutout to the barrel has been reshaped to improve barrel torsional strength while still maintaining smooth pellet feeding, resulting in a reduced tendency for the barrel to be damaged by overload. The barrel is now fully insulated to improve throughput and polymer mixing.

Melt filter nozzle - This was originally an option on Filastruder Kits, not the included in the kit. This was for a few reasons. It added cost without being necessary in all cases, and it was new and still being tested. Demand is now such that it can be included by default without significantly increasing price, which is great! The melt filter nozzle prevents any particles larger than 200 um from passing through into the filament. As a result, filament produced through a melt filter nozzle is free of any dirt or debris that would otherwise clog a 3D printer's hotend.

Redesigned filament guide - In the spirit of no more Home Depot wood, the filament guide was redesigned. It now uses a low friction PTFE guide in place of the previous copper guide. The guide bracket is laser cut and attaches to the barrel. It can be slid backwards and forwards to adjust the position relative to the nozzle.

Simpler assembly

Another thing to be excited about is simpler assembly. With Filastruder 2.0, the only tools necessary are:

- Screwdriver
- Pliers
- Allen wrenches
- Wire stripper/crimper tool

Previously things like a pipe wrench, a drill, and a set of files were needed. No more! We deburr the barrel and tighten it into the flange for you, a step that caused some folks difficulty with v1.x kits.

You can grab one from the store here.