1 Topic by 3dcad

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Topic: Bowden extruder with bicycle brake line and e3d hotend possible?

Did anyone try to use a bicycle brake line  with the e3d hotend to make a bowden type extruder? I think the benefit will be that they can prevent the filament from breaking, but the downside will be that the metal inside the cable will also rust.

It was just a guess and the filament fits very nicely into the break line,  now I have to find a way to attatch the brake line to the hotend.

2 Reply by ITman496

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Re: Bowden extruder with bicycle brake line and e3d hotend possible?

3D print some kind of adapter to hold it on?

That does sound cool, though.  And if a brake line can sit outside on a bike for years before rusting, it should handle an indoor printer just fine.

3 Reply by IanJohnson

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Re: Bowden extruder with bicycle brake line and e3d hotend possible?

Most people use PTFE tubing for bowden extruders.  Apparently it's important to have as little friction as possible inside the tube to prevent jamming.

4 Reply by justsomeguy

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Re: Bowden extruder with bicycle brake line and e3d hotend possible?

The bike cable housing also wants to be a low friction environment.  It's the stiffness of the housing relative to PTFE that makes me think it will be unsuitable.

5 Reply by 3dcad

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Re: Bowden extruder with bicycle brake line and e3d hotend possible?

Ok thanks for the feedback :-)