I recently finished building the most recent version of the Filastruder and I was able to quickly extrude all of the provided MG94 ABS. I wanted to do a quick review of my experience and give some feedback.

Please note this is my third Filastruder, the others that I built were much older versions.

Pros:

Assembly was quick and painless, instructions were pretty clear, but at times felt too high level and not specific enough. I do tons of hands on projects so it was not hard for me to fill in the areas that I found unclear, but I could see someone that is less technically inclined struggling. The product is also sold as a kit so it makes sense that instructions are written the way that the are

Extrusion speed is wayyyyyyy faster. This is the best thing about the new versions

The laser cut case is nice, it would be cool to have an option to not have it and save a couple dollars

The provided barrel insulation is nice

The motor being actively cooled it's also a good addition

Electrical Diagram was clear and concise

Challenges/ needs improvement:

The hex socket and the auger did not initially fit and the auger had to be sanded down

The provided wire lengths were close to enough, but not enough. This maybe because I am wiring my Filastruder to use different voltages for the heaters and the motor. It would be nice and relatively inexpensive for Filastruder to provide longer wires. I also did not understand the choice to provide silicone insulated wires. Does the inside of the Filastruder get hot enough to justify this?

I wish the hopper was easier to mount. I ended up drilling and tapping some holes on the barrel to make it simple to mount a hopper

Mouting points to set the Filastruder up vertically were lacking. It would be nice to have some tapped M5 holes on the bottom.

Conclusion:

After not extruding filament for a couple years it was pretty simple to get this built and setup. The faster extrusion rate is game changing for me. For $300 plus 3hrs of my time @ $25per hour so for $375 the value is obvious. I will be using it to extrude PEEK filament, and if I am successful the Filastruder should pay for itself after just a little over 1kg. (PEEK is $325-$700 per kg)