Hi, Something I wanted to share and that possibly will make fdm printing compete

3D Printing
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Hi,
Something I wanted to share and that possibly will make fdm printing compete with sls and even sla printing :slight_smile:
To start of I invented a new type of cold end, it does not use a hobbed bolt but a belt. So there will never be any grinding of the filament anymore and way less jamming of the nozzle. I hope it will inspire a whole new type of extruders, called ā€œv-strudersā€ :wink:
One of my first customers, a goldsmid, has let me know that he was able to print without any problems with a 0.1mm nozzle using moldlay wax filament. Im now searching for a place to buy a 0.1mm nozzle or even smaller so I can confirm this myself. Anyone knows a good webshop, preferably with fast shipping?
To this moment I was only able to test the v-struder with a 0.4mm E3D nozzle. In an extrusion only test, using petg 1.75mm at 235 degrees celcius I was able to extrude up to 2 meters per minute of raw filament without any slip in a bowden configuration with a bowden tube of 1 meter long. For higher speeds the filament would buckle inside the cold end in the gap between the belt and the ptfe tubingā€¦ probably because the hot endā€™s thermic capicity to meld the filament was reached.

More info on the precise workings in this reprapworld newsletter: http://reprapworld.com/newletters/newsletter_12.pdf

You can buy it here: https://reprapworld.com/?products_details&products_id/1134/cPath/1616_1668#.Vpo9WlKGNoc
Or print it yourself, will upload the stlā€™s on github and thingiverse soon :slight_smile:

Happy printing,

Vaeder

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@Mark_Rehorst looks like itā€™s a belt-friction extruder.

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http://reprapworld.com/newletters/newsletter_12.pdf for more info.

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@ThantiK
yes it is belt friction mechanism, it has a quarter Ā±40mm diameter circle perimimiter surface contact with the filament. Which is much more than the point contact of the conventional cold ends, thus less force is needed for the same or more extrusion force. Also the belt contact will never grind the filament. Yesterday I also tested filament swapping by melting the old end to a new spool and it worked perfectly.

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Why the gears? As you are allready using belts, why not for the drive mechanism? It would be more quiet/precise.
And is it open source?

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@Rien_Stouten Good suggestion! Printed Gears are cheaper than using another belt, and the performance increase you suggest is for the time being unnecisary; first invent a fdm printer that can print 2 meter per minute raw filament :wink: Also I spend a lot of time optimising the gears to a point you dont hear them at all :slight_smile:
Ofcourse it is opensource, build instructions and links to the files will be posted soon on youtube. Search for user vaeder3d

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@Martijn_Korevaar_Vae ā€‹ it would be great if you posted the files on Thingiverse and announce here.

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Looking at your video, it looks a little backlash adjustment and some lube would make it quieter.

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I do like this :slight_smile:

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Maybe you search a little before saying you invented something. Terrawatt Industries have had a belt driven extruder for years now.

http://terawatt-industries.github.io/00str00der/

Been running one for a while with great success until I started using a direct extruder with a geared nema 17 stepperā€¦

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Oups my bad, if the filament is moved by touching the belt, that is indeed new.

Interesting!!!

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How does the weight compare for ā€œconventionalā€ filament drive systems? Would it be possible to incorporate this type of design into the Flex3Drive, putting the motor on the frame and the belt drive mechanism at the head? Heavier or lighter as a result?

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Belt-grip extruders arenā€™t new. https://0x7d.com/2014/07/improved-ultimaker-2-material-extruder/ https://www.youmagine.com/designs/belt-driven-ultimaker-2-extruder
However, I think this is the first time Iā€™ve seen someone use a belt to push the filament onto the circumference of a friction wheel. Thatā€™s interesting.

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@Mike_Miller This video is one of the first prototypes (just see the date of the video), lots of small changes have happende since then. Iā€™ll make a new video soon and post it on my channel.

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Not open source?

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@Markus_Granberg https://github.com/Vaeder3D/Vaeder_curved_geared_cold_end_v2/releases

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@william_foster @Markus_Granberg
That is an earlier version, current version is much better :slight_smile: Will upload it soon

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@Ryan_Carlyle was faster than me, the source he cited is also a really good and detailed build. One of the issue seems to be the wear of the belt.
Now about the printerā€™s cinematic that can sustain this kind of speed, Iā€™m actually not that far (check some of my video) but melting the plastic fast enough is another issue.

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@Michael_Memeteau Currently im doing an internship at Reprapworld and have been testing it on their printerfarm. In the beginning there were some problems with the wear of the belt, but with the latest versions there is no noticable belt wear. One machine I havent updated the v-struder for a couple of versions as a durability test and it has run for 240+ hours with only superficial signs of wear. And the beweren version run even smoother.

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@Fred_U
The weight is a bit more than a conventional extruder, but I think a flex drive could be done. The only question is why would you want to do it? The power of the v-struder is that the friction caused by any reasonable length bowden tube has no effect on the performance of extrusion. On the other hand if you want to eliminate the effect of hystheresis happening in the bowden tube you just increase the amount of retraction, because with the v-struder there is ā€œnoā€ slip and no grinding of the filament. Anyway the effect of the extra mass on the moving head will effect the performance way more than the effect described previously. Hope this answers your questions and more :wink: