I am building a filament extruder but i don’t know from where should i start ..

[AhmedMabrouk 0]

I build a 3d printer but i have problem with filament prices especially my country did not make it , we import it from china but it is really expensive , so i want to make

a filament extruder but i don’t know from where should i start .. I read alot about thermo dynamics and about plastic , i saw a lot of designs , but i had a few questions as :

- Specification of heating elements , and how can i choose them ?

- The screw specification and what it is depend on ?

- The motor torque required

- Should i use stepper or Ac motor ?

and any notes i should i know

I really will be thankful for your help

thank you ..

[ultiarjan 1,221]

These's guy's have an extrusion machine, and I think they also have a still experimental setup to extrude filament. Have a look here;

https://preciousplastic.com/en/videos/build/extrusion/

Maybe you should ask on there forums, as on the website I do see the extruder, but not the filament add-on.

[geert_2 556]

I took a look at these videos.

Very interesting project, but with the naked eye you can already see some diameter variations and deformations in the extruded filament. So I think it could give poor results in a 3D-printer when using standard nozzles of 0.4mm. Might be okay for 0.8mm, on a direct drive printer (without bowden tube), and if you accept lower quality prints.

In Europe good quality filaments are available from around 20 euro/spool, which sounds reasonable to me (from a European perspective at least).

However, to produce art and as a toy in school to promote recycling of plastic, the injection moulding stuff in these videos is absolutely great. It could teach the kids a lot. So the kids could recycle their empty coke bottles, and produce a nice piece of art with it. This is guaranteed to get their interest. Why didn't we have such things in school?

[AreDigg 8]

Why not look at the Filastruder, it is quite inexpensive filament extruder. Also Filabot, but price wise in a different ballpark. There are also a dozen kickstarter projects as well, with their inherent risks involved. I have also seen several projects on instructable.com.

[AhmedMabrouk 0]

thank you for your advises ,  if i faced a problem i will ask your advise

Edited March 17, 2017 by Guest