Universal Gearless Extruder: Difference between revisions
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=OSE History= | =OSE History= | ||
We have experimented with various extruder designs since 2016 - see [[3D Printer Genealogy]]. We started with the common [[MK8 Extruder]] in 2016. The MK8 is a simple, gearless design, but it works only with 1.75 mm filament. Further, it is a design that one buys commonly off-the-shelf, and it requires some machining if one is to build it in a DIY fashion. Further, we could not find any well-documented, open source versions at the time. Given that the Prusa printers were exploding as a popular, open source brand at the time - we switched to the [[Prusa i3 MK2 Extruder]]. You can read more notes on our experience at [[Extruder Improvements from MK8 to Prusa i3 MK2 Extruder]]. We modified the Prusa i3 MK2 for a larger, 8-mm distance sensing probe - as we are interested in large prints and less risk of the height sensor hitting the prints. You can view our design details at [[Prusa i3 MK2 OSE Mod]]. While it seemed that the current, open source design from the most popular hobby printer company may be the best design - we found the choice to be terrible. We could not prevent the Prusa i3 MK2 from persistent clogging. The only way we succeeded was by disabling retraction all together, which meant lowering of print quality. This choice was particularly troubling because we ran a workshop in 2018 based on the Prusa extruder, leaving many of the participants frustrated. We switched to the [[E3D Titan Aero]] - the same as our poster-child [[Lulzbot]] 3D printer company was using in their more industrial-grade (compared to Prusa) printers. This change meant a switch to the most well-known, open source leader in 3D printer extruders - E3D. Lulzbot's [[Jeff Moe]] succeeded in getting E3D to open source their designs, which meant that we were consistent with our philosophy of using open source parts. Further, the Titan Aero was a decent design for printing with flexibles. Since OSE will be 3D printing rubber tracks and sprockets for tractors, effective rubber printing is critical for OSE's flexible productivity on a small scale. The Titan Aero features an integrated hot end heat sink, meaning that the long, finned heat sink of the common [[E3D V6]] or [[J-Head]] design is not needed. | We have experimented with various extruder designs since 2016 - see [[3D Printer Genealogy]]. We started with the common [[MK8 Extruder]] in 2016. The MK8 is a simple, gearless design, but it works only with 1.75 mm filament. Further, it is a design that one buys commonly off-the-shelf, and it requires some machining if one is to build it in a DIY fashion. Further, we could not find any well-documented, open source versions at the time. Given that the Prusa printers were exploding as a popular, open source brand at the time - we switched to the [[Prusa i3 MK2 Extruder]]. You can read more notes on our experience at [[Extruder Improvements from MK8 to Prusa i3 MK2 Extruder]]. We modified the Prusa i3 MK2 for a larger, 8-mm distance sensing probe - as we are interested in large prints and less risk of the height sensor hitting the prints. You can view our design details at [[Prusa i3 MK2 OSE Mod]]. While it seemed that the current, open source design from the most popular hobby printer company may be the best design - we found the choice to be terrible. We could not prevent the Prusa i3 MK2 from persistent clogging. The only way we succeeded was by disabling retraction all together, which meant lowering of print quality. This choice was particularly troubling because we ran a workshop in 2018 based on the Prusa extruder, leaving many of the participants frustrated. We switched to the [[E3D Titan Aero]] - the same as our poster-child [[Lulzbot]] 3D printer company was using in their more industrial-grade (compared to Prusa) printers. This change meant a switch to the most well-known, open source leader in 3D printer extruders - E3D. Lulzbot's [[Jeff Moe]] succeeded in getting E3D to open source their designs, which meant that we were consistent with our philosophy of using open source parts. Further, the Titan Aero was a decent design for printing with flexibles. Since OSE will be 3D printing rubber tracks and sprockets for tractors, effective rubber printing is critical for OSE's flexible productivity on a small scale. The Titan Aero features an integrated hot end heat sink, meaning that the long, finned heat sink of the common [[E3D V6]] or [[J-Head]] design is not needed. Simply put - E3D V6 or J-Head can't print efficiently in rubber: you have to slow the print rate way down in order to do it. | ||
=Data= | |||
*side-by-side comparison to Titan Aero for max print rate with flexible materials - compare the fastest extrusion rates for rubber, using 1.2 mm nozzles, with and without retraction | |||
Revision as of 16:00, 2 May 2020
Intro
A Flexible Gearless Extruder is one of the distinguishing features of OSE's D3D Universal 3D printer, now introduced as the standard extruder for D3D Pro, Pro 2, and Pro 3.
OSE History
We have experimented with various extruder designs since 2016 - see 3D Printer Genealogy. We started with the common MK8 Extruder in 2016. The MK8 is a simple, gearless design, but it works only with 1.75 mm filament. Further, it is a design that one buys commonly off-the-shelf, and it requires some machining if one is to build it in a DIY fashion. Further, we could not find any well-documented, open source versions at the time. Given that the Prusa printers were exploding as a popular, open source brand at the time - we switched to the Prusa i3 MK2 Extruder. You can read more notes on our experience at Extruder Improvements from MK8 to Prusa i3 MK2 Extruder. We modified the Prusa i3 MK2 for a larger, 8-mm distance sensing probe - as we are interested in large prints and less risk of the height sensor hitting the prints. You can view our design details at Prusa i3 MK2 OSE Mod. While it seemed that the current, open source design from the most popular hobby printer company may be the best design - we found the choice to be terrible. We could not prevent the Prusa i3 MK2 from persistent clogging. The only way we succeeded was by disabling retraction all together, which meant lowering of print quality. This choice was particularly troubling because we ran a workshop in 2018 based on the Prusa extruder, leaving many of the participants frustrated. We switched to the E3D Titan Aero - the same as our poster-child Lulzbot 3D printer company was using in their more industrial-grade (compared to Prusa) printers. This change meant a switch to the most well-known, open source leader in 3D printer extruders - E3D. Lulzbot's Jeff Moe succeeded in getting E3D to open source their designs, which meant that we were consistent with our philosophy of using open source parts. Further, the Titan Aero was a decent design for printing with flexibles. Since OSE will be 3D printing rubber tracks and sprockets for tractors, effective rubber printing is critical for OSE's flexible productivity on a small scale. The Titan Aero features an integrated hot end heat sink, meaning that the long, finned heat sink of the common E3D V6 or J-Head design is not needed. Simply put - E3D V6 or J-Head can't print efficiently in rubber: you have to slow the print rate way down in order to do it.
Data
- side-by-side comparison to Titan Aero for max print rate with flexible materials - compare the fastest extrusion rates for rubber, using 1.2 mm nozzles, with and without retraction