Looking for 4 beta testers for new product

[Choclit99 0]

About 2 1/2 years ago, a few months after purchasing an S5, I was doing a 56 hour print after a LOT of design work.   About 36 hours into the print, I went to check on things and found the image shown in the picture.  I was using Ionic support material, which is very stiff, and the Bowden tube popped out, ruining the print as well as the end of the Bowden tube, as I quickly discovered when I tried to re-insert and re-use it.  The second time this happened a couple of months later, this time with a CF filament, I get irritated and started working on a solution.  I later learned that this is a known problem with Ultimaker systems.  If you just print soft filaments like PLA or PETG, you may never run into this, but anyone doing serious work with an UM system is likely to use filaments that are high friction, including TPUs, filaments with GF and CF, and stiff support materials.  The constant pull and push being done by the filament driver puts a lot of stress on that clip and this is what can happen, ruining the print and often leading to having to spend almost $30 for a new Bowden tube.

 

Two and a half years later, after eight completely different designs taught me a LOT about material properties under stress, I have completed the development of a Patent Pending product called BowdenSave(TM).   Before it goes on sale, I am looking for four people (USA only at this point) to stress test the product for a few weeks, for example, seeing if it works with old BowdenTubes that would normally pop out easily, especially if you have ever had this problem in the past or are concerned about this problem for the future.  BowdenSave is designed to be an insurance policy and prevent you from having to replace your Bowden tubes other than annually as UM recommends.

 

At this point, I only have a version of the product for the new generation S systems (S3, S5, S7) and the 2+ Connect, all of which use the same filament drivers.  I can quickly develop a version for the older UM systems if there is enough demand.

 

Let me know if interested.  You can email me directly at eharris@synnovation.com if you want to learn more about this.

 

Thanks,

Ed