Wednesday, July 09, 2008

 

Extruder instructions


Apologies for the delay, but I have finally brought the extruder assembly instructions here up to date. Please let me know of any errors and omissions.

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Comments:
Am I right in thinking this version of the extruder requires support material to make some of its RP parts so RepRap can no longer self replicate?
 
Yes to the first; no to the second. We know that both PLA and ABS can be used as both support and build if you make a fast layer (= less stuck together) at the vertical join.
 
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i have wondered if you could not extrude onto a supporting material like sand or any other powder, i know sand may not be the best one, but it is an idea, salt is cheap and could be washed off
 
The problem with powders is getting them to stay where you put them. You can bind them, but if you do that you might as well just use the binder as the support.
 
>if you do that you might as well just use the binder as the support.

I can imagine a filled thermoplastic that is easier to wash off than soluble polymer alone, and much cheaper. I'm thinking chalk + salt + processed potato starch. Filled polymers will also almost certainly shrink less upon drying, and will allow you to play games with latent heat vs. specific heat to make extrusion easier and/or more efficient.
 
For "drying", read "freezing".

Oops.
 
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