Pellet extruder system

[arunmrao]

I am looking at introducing pellet extruder system to the existing 3D printer. I believe, this increases speed of printing ( about 60-70 times faster!), very economical, with a downside of poor finish and less accurate compared to PLA filaments.

Please share your experience.

"Even,if you are a minority of one, truth is the truth."

Mahatma Gandhi.

 

[itsmoked]

How could that make things faster arun?

Keith Cress
kcress -

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[MacGyverS2000]

Not seeing the speed increase, either. The great thing about the spools is the (relative) consistency of throughput. I imagine a pellet system would need an auger, a significantly larger heater, potentially a pressure system, etc.

Bigger, but not faster...

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[arunmrao]

Please follow the link explaining the features. A caveat, I do not represent Titan3D Robotics or Push Plastics. It is just that I have their machine , and discuss with them .

http://www.3ders.org/articles/20161...stem-makes-3d-printing-cheaper-3x-faster.html

"Even,if you are a minority of one, truth is the truth."

Mahatma Gandhi.

 

[JohnRBaker]

Well that makes sense when you think about it, particularly when the potential cost savings are figured into the equation, but I also suspect that we're not talking about high-precision 3D Printing here. The process looks more like it would be useful for larger objects where the rendering of small details are not as critical. In fact, the comment about using this approach in combination with post-printing machining operations would seem to confirm that, which I have to say could be an interesting evolution of the process for quickly creating creating rather large and complex 'blanks', where the machining needed for final clean-up would be minimal.

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[arunmrao]

Finishing operations after printing, will be the next challenge. Printers are now capable of pumping large amounts of resin through 6mm nozzles.

Pellet extruder will need a heated chamber, an additional investment for me.

The landed cost of PLA filament in Lagos is about 20USD/kilo, while for pellets, local manufacturers of PET bottles can give under 2USD/kilo.

"Even,if you are a minority of one, truth is the truth."

Mahatma Gandhi.

 

[btrueblood]

Yeah, I can buy "faster". With a filament, you have a certain maximum force you can push the filament with (before it buckles or crumbles), this limits the extrusion head pressure and resulting flow rate. With a progressive auger screw like an injection molding machine, you can achieve much higher pressures at the nozzle, and thus higher flowrates (provided you have the power to run the screw and its heating element). Also, you have a lot more materials you could potentially run, not just materials that can be extruded into a thick filament (think elastomers or other soft plastics).

 

[itsmoked]

Have you looked at extruder heads like the highly rated Volcano by 3D?

[URL unfurl="true"]http://e3d-online.com/E3D-v6/Volcano[/url]

Get the 3mm one and it may be fast enough to satisfy your needs while keeping the accuracy and keeping you back from horrid bleeding-edge travails. I thought you were in the business of casting not bleeding...

Secondly to avoid "landed filament" costs get your own little filament extruder and make your own out of PET bottles.

BTW have you looked at using weedwhacker string? I think you can get that in HUGE rolls that might cost a fraction of the typical stuff.

Keith Cress
kcress -

http://www.flaminsystems.com