http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-your-own-3d-printing-filament-factory-Filame/

Food      Living       Outside        Play        Technology       Workshop

Build your own 3d printer filament factory (Filament Extruder)by ianmcmill on February 23, 2014

Table of Contents

Build your own 3d printer filament factory (Filament Extruder) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Intro:   Build your own 3d printer filament factory (Filament Extruder) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Step 1:   Material list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Step 2:   Base plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Step 3:   The motor mount . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Step 4:   The barrel mount . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Step 5:   Auger kickback protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Step 6:   The barrel and auger bit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Step 7:   The auger-motor coupling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Step 8:   The nozzle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Step 9:   Band heater and temperatur probe (K-type thermocouple) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Step 10:   Cooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Step 11:   Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Step 12:   Extrusion settings and setting up the PID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Advertisements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-your-own-3d-printing-filament-factory-Filame/

Author:ianmcmill    CapotexlAMA trainee teacher studying teacherism 'n stuff. Ask me questions!

Intro:  Build your own 3d printer filament factory (Filament Extruder)Too long, didn't read:

Make your own 3D printer filament !Cheap and high quality at a decent speed of 150-190 IPM ! (4-5 meters per minute)

UPDATE: Now with wiring diagram !

Long read:

3D printers are cool and they finally start to drop in price. Kickstarter campaigns like the one from QB-UP or M3D are popping up and they are finally "affordable". Andwith affordable I mean affordable like 200 $ and not "affordable" like 2.199$ affordable. However, once you are a proud owner of a 3D printer you will soon realize thatyour wallet is far from being let alone. No ! You need plastic filament of course to print those super awesome coat hooks and wheel chocks. Since the price for thesefilaments tend to top the actual material costs, printing before mentioned life savers is kind of expensive and could become a problem to the development of the evergrowing 3D printer community

BUT FEAR NO MORE !! Some clever gents came along - Hugh Lyman with his Lyman Extruder may be mentioned here or the guys over at Filastruder.com - and savedthe day ! YAY. And there was much rejoicing ! They have built plastic extruders everyone can build or buy at a decent price. However if you are a fellow Instructable.comuser the first thing that should come to your mind is "I can build this by myself...and cheaper...". Building at lower costs is the nature of DIY after all.

And much more fun than putting together a premade kit, of course.

Special greetings go out to Xabbax and his plain simple but super awesome Low Cost Filament Extruder !

So how much money do I save when making my own filament ?

Good question ! A lot !

Depending on the pellets you get you can make your filament starting at 1$/kg.

How long does it take to produce 1 kg of filament you may ask ??

Using the build I describe here...roughly 1 hour. (for 1,75mm filament using ABS/PC pellets).

So, let's say on a Saturday in your next workshop session you start at 10 AM and batten down the hatches at 5 PM you could make 4-5 kg of filament, saving between125-150 $ leaving you with lots of filament for hundreds of thousands of eggcups and phone cases and other useless needful things.

Oh yeah what about the build cost ?

Depending on shipping and local prices, I would guess around 130-150$.

Next step: List of Materials

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-your-own-3d-printing-filament-factory-Filame/

Step 1: Material listExcept for the electronics everything listed here can be bought at your local hardware store.

Materials:

1x Wiper Motor (Ebay EU - 15€) / 5€ from the junkyard1x Auger bit(diameter = 16mm ; length = 460mm)1x PID Temperatur Controller - DC 12V version (Ebay)1x SSR-25DA Solid State Relay 3-32V DC / 24-380V AC / 25A (Ebay)1x K-type thermocouple (Ebay - like this one; does not need to be that shop :) just an example)-->!!! Sometimes the PID is bundled with an SSR and an K-Type Thermocouple !!!<--

1x Motor Controller 20A (Ebay)1x Power Supply 12V, 240W+ (Ebay)1x Heating band (200 Watt 25mmx30mm) (Ebay)2x Fans (80mm) 12V1x Fitting 3/4" US Inch UNC --- 1/2" German Inch - 18cm long1x Water tap extension - 3/4" UNC threads --- 1/2" German Inch - 50mm long, 27mm diameter (one core thread and one exterior thread)1x End cap 1/2"1x Faucet-mounted filter - 1/2" diameter3x Steel angle1x Axial ball thrust bearing (Ebay) - Fitting exactly onto the auger bit's shaft.2x 10mm threaded rod1x InsulationPTFE tapeHeat resistant tape3x Rocker (previously "rocket") switches1x Wooden board 100cm x 10cm x 2cmSeveral screws and nuts2x sockets (1 that fits on the auger bit and 1 that fits on the nuts of the motor shaft)Wires (two colors)

Tools:

Multitool (Dremel-like)

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-your-own-3d-printing-filament-factory-Filame/

SawHammerDrill

Step 2: Base plateTake the wooden board and cut away two pieces each 15cm in length (~6"). They will serve as a mount for the motor and for the barrel.

Step 3: The motor mountMount the wiper motor to the motor mount and place it somewhere at the end of the base plate. See the technical drawing for an estimation.

Use the steel angles to attach it to the base plate.

The motor just has a threaded shaft. For the coupling to fit onto the motor I took a hex-nut with 13mm outer diameter and put it on the shaft. When the shaft rotates andthe coupling is attached, the nut would untwist. To fix this I drilled a hole in-between the attached nut and the motor shaft and put in a 2mm steel bolt. This prevents thenut from opening. See the last picture above.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-your-own-3d-printing-filament-factory-Filame/

Step 4: The barrel mountDrill two holes into the other piece of wood so the flanges can be attached left and right of the board. Drill another 1/2" hole for the auger bit.

Both mounting boards need their center opening to be aligned to each other so the auger / coupling / shaft-axis can rotate freely.

Fasten the flanges with two pieces of the 10mm threaded rod. The rods must be left long enough so they can be screwed to the auger "kickback protection". 10 cm isgood enough. They can be cut to size later on.

This will get clear in the next step.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-your-own-3d-printing-filament-factory-Filame/

Step 5: Auger kickback protectionWhen the auger bit turns and hauls the pellets a lot of pressure builds up. In the worst case this could damage the worm drive inside the wiper motor. To counter thatproblem, we need a kickback protection. This is simply done by a sturdy steel angle and an axial ball thrust bearing.These ball bearing withstand alot of force applied tothem.

It works like that: The auger pushed back due to its "backward" turning attitude. Because of its taper the auger's shaft pushes against the axial ballthrust bearing whichitself pushes against the steel angle. The coupling between the auger and the motor should always have a little clearance. So that no force is applied to the motors shaft.

Now place the steel angle with the inserted rods at a distance to the barrel mount so that the auger's shaft sticks out for about 3-4cm (~1.5"-2").

The pictures should explain it as well. Moreover I have made a short video that should illustrate it as well. The dimensions of the parts might differ from the ones you haveaccess to. So exact measurement might not help you very much, but the pictures should give you an idea how it should be put together.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-your-own-3d-printing-filament-factory-Filame/

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-your-own-3d-printing-filament-factory-Filame/

Step 6: The barrel and auger bitBarrel:

Smooth out the ends and the seams of the pipe so the auger bit can rotate freely.

Before cutting an opening into the pipe screw it tight onto the flange and mark the upper area and remove the barrel again.

Take your multitool and cut out the marked area at the end of the pipe where the pellets should fall in. Wind some PTFE tape around that end of the pipe. This shouldprevent the pipe from turning with the augers movement. Remember the motor is very powerful and if there is some friction between the auger and the pellets, the pipeeasily turns another 4-5 mm even if it was fastened with a monkey wrench.

The threads on the flange and fittings are not made for perfect 90° angles. So the fitting/barrel might stand in an oblique angle. To fix this take some washers and placethem under the flang where necessary.

Take a square piece of wood and drill a hole lengthways for the pipe to run through. Now drill another hole orthogonal to the "pipe channel" so that a bottle can fit tightly.Now just cut the block in half for easy dis/-assembly.

Auger-bit:

The auger might be too long so you need to cut off its tip with an angle grinder.

The auger bit should reach up to the heater. See the pictures above.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-your-own-3d-printing-filament-factory-Filame/

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-your-own-3d-printing-filament-factory-Filame/

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-your-own-3d-printing-filament-factory-Filame/

Step 7: The auger-motor couplingTake a 5cm (2 inch) piece of a square steel that fits into the ends of the sockets (about 12mm edge length).Put the coupling on the auger bit and attach the motor to the motor mount.

The coupling should now fit nicely in-between.

Alternatively you could use a spark plug socket instead of the two sockets. But therefore the distance between the motor-mount and the auger/barrel-mount needsadjustment.

I went with the above mentioned method because I did not have spark plug socket at hand but I will try this with the next build.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-your-own-3d-printing-filament-factory-Filame/

Step 8: The nozzleNozzle diameter:Depending on the material you process the diameter of the hole in the nozzle will vary and finding the right dimension is a process of trial and error. For ABS/PC blendpellets with a melting point between 240-280°C a 1.5mm hole perfomed well from my experience.

Breaker plate:

Take the faucet-mounted filter and cut it into a 1/2" diameter if needed. This will act as a breaker plate. What this breaker plates does is mix the molten plastic and retainsdirty (which should not be there of course) and eventually small bubbles that could occur in the melting process. This helps smoothing the plastic pushing through thenozzle.

Be sure there are no chippings or strands ! You don't want to ruin your printers nozzle !

Take a washer, place it inside the end cap and put the DIY breaker plate on top.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-your-own-3d-printing-filament-factory-Filame/

Step 9: Band heater and temperatur probe (K-type thermocouple)Drill a 2mm hole near the front of the water tap extender for the thermocouple to fit in.

Strip the thermocouple wire to length. It should just be as long as needed.

Push the band heater on the tap extender. It should sit around the end of the extender.

Next take some PTFE tape and wind it around the thread of the tap extender. This prevents the molten plastic from squeezing through the thread.

Fix the thermocouple with some heat resistant tape.

Then put on the nozzle from the previous step.

Next, take a 10cm long piece of aluminium tubing with a diameter of around 1cm and place it in front of the nozzle using some rigid wire. This gives the filament a nicecurl when cooling.Thanks Xabbax for the idea.

Now wrap the insulation around the heater so that the nozzle is covered as well.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-your-own-3d-printing-filament-factory-Filame/

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-your-own-3d-printing-filament-factory-Filame/

Step 10: CoolingThe front of the nozzle and the motor needs some cooling.

The filament is still very hot and soft when it exits the nozzle. To prevent it from stretching too much from the affecting g-forces when falling down, cooling is veryimportant. The more you cool the better you can control the diameter of the filament later on.

Although the motor builds up some heat and the fan helps to keep it cool.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-your-own-3d-printing-filament-factory-Filame/

Step 11: ElectronicsNow that most of the mechanical parts are set and done it is time for installing the electronics.But before, take a piece of wood for the front enclosure and arrange the 3 rocket switches, the PID controller and the motor controller's potentiometer and fix them withsome hot glue.

Main powerConnect the power cord via a rocker/t switch to the power supply (Ports L, N and Ground).

PID temperature controllerConnect the PID temperature controller via rocker switches to the power supply.

Solid State Relay & Band heaterConnect the 12V ports of Solid State Relay to the PID (Port 6 and 8)Connect port 1 of the SSR to the 220V (EU) /120V (US) port (Port L) of the power supply.Connect port 2 of the SSR to one of the band heater ports.The other free port of the band heater is connected to the N port of the power supply.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-your-own-3d-printing-filament-factory-Filame/

What does the SSR do actually ??The band heater is a 220V part but the PID only runs on 12V. Therefore the SSR connects the 12V PID with the 220V heater. The PID powers the SSR on and off ifneeded. When it is on then 220V are connected to the band heater and it gets warm. If the relay is off, the band heaters isn't connected to 220V and ergo is powereddown. The idea is to control a high power device (Heater) with a low power device (PID).

Motor controller

Connect the motor controller via a rocker switch to the power supply. Then connect the motor to the motor controller. Use the pinout for the 2nd speed setting of themotor. The pinouts differ from model to model and you first have to find out which pins are for which speed setting.The two fans are connected to the same ports as the motor is to the motor controller.

Wiring diagramI am not sure if I am allowed to post the wiring diagrams for license reasons so I will link to the respective websites.

1) Filastruder wiring diagram

2) Filabot Wee wiring diagram (scroll down)

3) Here is a link to the Sestos PID I used.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-your-own-3d-printing-filament-factory-Filame/

Step 12: Extrusion settings and setting up the PIDDifferent materials need different extrusion settings.

For pure ABS a temperatur of 190°C is about right.

PLA requires less heat and ABS/PC blend needs higher temperatures like 260-270°C.

The Sestos PID is able to autotune to the desired temperature.

PID controller setup:

To enable the autotune function press "SET" for 3 seconds.You will now see "HIAL" on the display. Now use the DOWN button until you see "Ctrl" and adjust it to "2". This is the number for the autotune function. Press "SET"again until you see the temperature readout again. Just after all the EP1-8 options. Set the desired temperature using the up and down buttons and wait until the displaystops flashing (~10-15 minutes).

Activate the motor and let the extruding begin. You have to play around with the speed of the motor.From my experience setting the potentiometer to half speed @ 270°C for ABS/PC performed very well.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-your-own-3d-printing-filament-factory-Filame/

Related Instructables

Low Cost 3DPrinter FilamentSpool Stand bytalk2bruce

The Basics of3D Printing on aType A Series 1Beta: Made atTechshop: SanFrancisco bySocialTransformation

(Delo$tuder)Fillament MakerFor 3d PrinterOn The Cheap(first workingprototype) bydelokaver

Change PLA ona 3D Printer(video) bykevin7314

AdjustableExtruder DriveBlock Upgradefor Replicator2X byCreativeTools

How to calibratethe Extruder onyour 3d Printerby 527666229

Advertisements

Comments

50 comments Add Comment view all 150 comments

 lbeira says:  Jul 13, 2014. 7:46 AM  REPLYHey, how long is the barrel and the auger bit? And what tolerance did you leave between auger bit and the barrel? Thanks for your help

 japhillips87 says:  Jul 10, 2014. 8:53 AM  REPLYwhat size thrust bearing is needed? I see several sizes

 Perceval17 says:  Jul 8, 2014. 3:53 AM  REPLYNice one, I started to build one according to your instructions :)

Ihave misc. stuff that fits and a wiper motor from my old car (Citroen AX, what aluck !!), I have to order several parts (but I can't find any bandheater with the good size, volting input (110V only, no more 220V...) orwatt (too low or 300W)). I couldn't find a 12V PID, so I bought a 220V bundle (PID Rex C-100 + SSR + probe) directly connected to 220V AC, and just usinga classic ATX PSU (with P4 plug, this adds two more 12V outputs available).

Alvinchua > You can get that on any plumbery/DIY store, you should stay away from "chromed" extension, prettier but much more expensive !

 alvinchua says:  Jul 8, 2014. 1:50 AM  REPLYHi, I can't find a water tap extension, can you suggest other substitute ?

Can I use copper (fitting) bushing 1/2" and instead of cap I will use plug ?

TIA

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-your-own-3d-printing-filament-factory-Filame/

 Orngrimm says:  Jul 3, 2014. 4:00 AM  REPLYJust a heads up for those shopping for the mica heaters:

If you have the classic Bauhaus-Tap-extender with 25mm outher diameter, you will sometimes find it hard to get your hands on 25mm inner diameter mica-heater.Let it be known that 63/64" inner diameter also works and are commonly available in shops from Hongkong.

Also wrapable (often in fiberglass) heating bands or heating strips can be used.

 totalstranger says:  Jul 7, 2014. 1:47 PM  REPLYYou are a lifesaver .. many thanks.

 kurgelak says:  Jun 16, 2014. 11:45 AM  REPLYhave you the 2mm hole drilled through or so that the plastic does not come out?

 ianmcmill says:  Jun 16, 2014. 1:20 PM  REPLYAh okay now I understand... Took me some time to figure out what you were talking about. If you mean the hole for the thermocouple, this is not drilledall the way through. Just 2-3 mm into the surface. Is this what you mean ?

 kurgelak says:  Jun 21, 2014. 9:24 AM  REPLYYes that´s what i mean. Another question about the wiring, i made it according to your wiring diagram, but the heating band does not heat. could youmake pictrues of your heating band and ssr and put it in the comment? I have this pid boughthttp://www.amazon.degp/product/B00JLATRNQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8 &psc=1 I did as you wrote it changed ctrl on 2 and 190°for ABS it blinks AT and 190. The out led lights.Can you help me pls?

 kurgelak says:  Jun 21, 2014. 10:49 AM  REPLYhas be done, have plus and minus exchanged. on your wiring diagram is plus and minus exchanged, so it didn't work for me.

 mykiscool says:  Jun 13, 2014. 9:18 AM  REPLYHey guys, what do you think about grinding up some graphite (old pencils?) or some carbon of some type and mixing it in with the plastic to make a carbonfiber sort of mixture.

 ianmcmill says:  Jun 13, 2014. 1:39 PM  REPLYAbsolutely doable. Did you check out proto-pasta ? The stuff sells for 80$ a kg.The only thing you have to do is get the right ratio. 15% would be a good start.

 mykiscool says:  Jun 17, 2014. 12:24 PM  REPLYOk cool. Thanks for giving me a suggestion to start off with!

 totalstranger says:  Jun 12, 2014. 11:43 AM  REPLYHi there,

I have bought most of the components for this great extruder but I don't know where to get the pipe for the barrel. I am in the UK. can anyone help?

 ianmcmill says:  Jun 13, 2014. 12:57 AM  REPLYHave you tried at a local or online plumper store ? For example I got the flange only online and not in my home improvement market.

 totalstranger says:  Jun 15, 2014. 3:42 AM  REPLYMany thanks. It's all in the name .. for anyone else having difficulty locating this part, search for 'black iron nipple'.

I've done some very similar searches in the past so i am surprised i haven't come across it before. ;)

 mrbiohazard says:  Jun 12, 2014. 8:32 AM  REPLYVery nice ! I started one myself.

I just got 1 question the thermocouple comme whith a threaded body.

How do you remove the threaded body ?

or you just cut the wire and solder them together ?

thank you !

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-your-own-3d-printing-filament-factory-Filame/

 ianmcmill says:  Jun 12, 2014. 10:42 AM  REPLYThe threaded cap fell off by itself :) I did not solder the two wires together. I just tied them together.You can cut the whole wire to the length you need.

When it comes to Thermocouples remember:The shortest you can, the longest you must.

 Troyanus says:  Jun 3, 2014. 10:36 AM  REPLYHallo,

Im 12. Jahrgang des Beruflichen Gymnasiums Technik der BBSLingen findet eine Projektarbeit statt.

Wir haben uns für das Projekt "Filament Extruder"entschieden und deshalb nach geeignetenExtrudern zum nachbauen gesucht. Nachdem wir den Lyman Filament ExtruderV2 nachgebaut hatten und feststellten, dassunsere Version verbessert werden sollten entschieden wir und dazu ihrenExtruder nach zu bauen. Wie Sie auf den folgenden Bildern sehen können siehtder ihrem auch sehr ähnlich :).

Nun zu unserem Problem. Beica. 6V (24VMotor) läuft alles Prima und der Faden ist verwendbar.Allerdings ist die Geschwindigkeit so klein, dass es ca. 20 Stunden dauernwürde um 1kg zu produzieren. Dagegen sind ihre Geschwindigkeit anormal!!!

Wenn wir jedoch die Drehzahl erhöhen kommt es sehr schnell zuLufteinschlüssen im Filament und der Durchmesser vergrößert sich auch extrem.Außerdem kommt kaum mehr Filament aus der Düse obwohl die Geschwindigkeitvervierfacht wird.

Haben sie eventuell eine Idee woran das liegt oder wie wirdas Problem lösen können?

Des Weiteren frage ich mich welchen innen Durchmesser ihr1/2 Zoll Verlängerungsstück hat weil unsers mit 19mm doch sehr groß ich im Vergleich zum 16mm Rohr. Könntees sein das dadurch sich das Filament wieder nach hinten wegdrückt uns somitder Druck wegfällt? Wie kann man das Beheben?

Wir wären Ihnen für Ihre Hilfe sehr dankbar

Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Julian Buitmann

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-your-own-3d-printing-filament-factory-Filame/

 power000 says:  May 21, 2014. 5:22 AM  REPLYhello guys, i have done this very nice construction but i have a main problem. I have use two gears, one with 12 tooth for moter wiper and one with 35 toothfor the auger.

But, even so, the speed of the motor wiper is not stable,that is because the huge preasure of the pellets and MAINLY because motor wiper is working onlywith 3.5 volts! As the matter of fact,i have realize that because voltage is so small, motor haven't enough power to spin the auger with a very stable speed.Motor should work with at least 9v so than drain around 2-3 Amper. Now, at 3.5v it drains only around 800mA maximun.

My power supply is big enough (10Amper) and it is not the problem.

I have also use pwm pulses with L298N but no good results. So i suppose i have to find a gear for auger more than 35 tooth, or i wish i could find a scad fileto to do it, but i didn't find.

I am using ABS from LG. Nozzle is 3mm but i have done it 3.5mm because i think it is a little better. Filament gets out is from 2.5mm to 3 mm. Temperatureis around 210-220 Celsius.

I canot understand how yours is working without any gears!!!!!!!!!!!

How many volt do you supply your motor, or if you use pwm how many Amper it consume?

 ianmcmill says:  May 21, 2014. 9:15 AM  REPLYHi !Nice you have made one !I use a 12 volt power supply with 240W.The 5 amp PWM I used before went up in smoke. Now I am using a 20A PWM. So it consumes >5A and <20A. An educated guess would be 14-ishThis thing spins pretty nice. Like the observations you stated e.g. motor speed not THAT stable. Maybe +-10-15% deviation.

The nozzle size like you said is really a research thingy. Varies from plastics and temperature.

As for the gears, I always try to simplifiy things. Gear were my first thought (from bicycle) but I soon changed my mind and went with the direct method.

Could you post some pictures ?

 power000 says:  May 23, 2014. 2:13 PM  REPLYI cannot understand how yours is working without gears. Iit would be very useful if you upload a video just only to see the speed of the motor.

I change gears again, motor gear is now 12 teeth an auger gear is 40Now voltage is 5, more power but no good results.it is 2.6.. to 3mm. But, i foundthe reason.Problem is now with hopper.When pellets are in hopper and is hearing that characteristic sound that pellets starts broke, there is bigproblem. The problem is that at the exact time that auder break pellets, speed is not the same because it slow down juuuuust a little,but the sametime stretch motor continues pull up filament with the same speed and that point filament is thinner. Thinner i mean from 2.8 , it is 2.5. I don't like this,i am trying to solve this problem now. One solution could be to speed up motor and with a reduction gear ,auger obtain more power. But no money,so some ideas would be usefull.

Look at the next video ,how important is air after filament extruder.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-your-own-3d-printing-filament-factory-Filame/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkhDE_g_O2Q&feature=youtu.be

 ianmcmill says:  May 23, 2014. 11:22 PM  REPLYHoly cow!! Is this your Extruder ??

The air cooling construction is genious!

The gears reduce extruding speed drastically. This chains and gears look monströs. Maybe a bit overpowered ? ?

Those wipper Motors are power beasts. I don't think that gears are necessary.

I will make a video today wuth my finished build.

There is already one up in YouTube from an older version. The filament in this video has some bubbles in it. This was fixed later as you can readin the instbl.

DIY Filament extruder: http://youtu.be/lgatDFxOtxs

 power000 says:  May 21, 2014. 5:22 AM  REPLYhello guys, i have done this very nice construction but i have a main problem. I have use two gears, one with 12 tooth for moter wiper and one with 35 toothfor the auger.

But, even so, the speed of the motor wiper is not stable,that is because the huge preasure of the pellets and MAINLY because motor wiper is working onlywith 3.5 volts! As the matter of fact,i have realize that because voltage is so small, motor haven't enough power to spin the auger with a very stable speed.Motor should work with at least 9v so than drain around 2-3 Amper. Now, at 3.5v it drains only around 800mA maximun.

My power supply is big enough (10Amper) and it is not the problem.

I have also use pwm pulses with L298N but no good results. So i suppose i have to find a gear for auger more than 35 tooth, or i wish i could find a scad fileto to do it, but i didn't find.

I am using ABS from LG. Nozzle is 3mm but i have done it 3.5mm because i think it is a little better. Filament gets out is from 2.5mm to 3 mm. Temperatureis around 210-220 Celsius.

I canot understand how yours is working without any gears!!!!!!!!!!!

How many volt do you supply your motor, or if you use pwm how many Amper it consume?

 hobbyman says:  May 20, 2014. 9:01 AM  REPLYFinally somebody did this. Very nice and useful.

Could it be better if we make it upside down, hot flament coming from the bottom, staying straight while cooling down?

 ianmcmill says:  May 20, 2014. 9:24 AM  REPLYHmm so you would need a winder or something because at some point it will curl up anyways. Letting ut curl right away makes a little less mess I wouldsay.

 ariporad says:  May 11, 2014. 2:25 PM  REPLYHi,

Would it be possible to a modified version of this with the motor from my old drill that broke? Or not enough torque.

 Orngrimm says:  May 7, 2014. 8:22 AM  REPLYCool instructable i have to say! :)

But 2 things elude me:

1st: Why do you make a coubpling from the Auger-bit to the motor in the first place? The auger is pressure-releaved with the Axial ball thrust bearing... Sowhy not dimply to a (diameter-shise) 1:1-connection with a nut? It still can have some play in it to account for bending into the steel angle with the Axial ballthrust bearing pushing against...

2nd: What SSR do you use? I know what a SSR is and it may have come with the PID you ordered, but often i find PIDs without SSR's. I havent seen it inthe parts list... I ask for all those people who buy a PID without SSR and have to shop one or for those who dont know that the PID as it is "only" the brainand the SSR is the "muscle". One without the other is useless. I think a offer from ebay like http://www.ebay.com/itm/100-240V-Digital-PID-Tempe... whichcontains PID-Controler, SSR and Thermoprobe for 27$ could fit the bill quite nicely.

I plan on building one if these extruders with some modifications... Like the nozzle will be made of brass and easy to change for different diameters offilament. Unfortunately the project is on low prio due to spare-time-problems (as always)..

Oh! One last Q:With the heater on the extruder-pipe, the pipe warms up all the way back up to the fitting on the board. Isnt that a problem to have a hot metal on the wood?Or does the pipe not get hot this far back?

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-your-own-3d-printing-filament-factory-Filame/

 ianmcmill says:  May 7, 2014. 11:44 AM  REPLY1) You are right. I built both mounts before I found out that I could just put them closer together. Anyways ordinary nuts might be too short but there arespark plug nuts. They are 2-3 times the length of an ordinary nut.2) ebay: SSR-25DA Solid State Relay 3-32V DC / 24-380V ACThe one you linked is an AC version. I used a DC version.I am not very clear about what the exact difference is in wiring those two versions. As my PSU does only deliver 12V I went with the DC version. Like thisone http://www.ebay.de/itm/Dual-Digital-LED-PID-Temperature-Controller-K-Thermocouple-25A-SSR-/310946242975?pt=Mess_Pr%C3%BCftechnik&hash=item4865d7219f

This is the seller's shophttp://www.ebay.de/sch/welcometoyyz/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=

They asked me if I wanted the DC or AC version so I went with the DC version. This one shipped with an adequate SSR.

3) The heat does not play any role. I estimate the temperature to maybe 50°C-60°C. No Problem. The "flange" actually might work as a heat sink due tothe bigger surface.

 Orngrimm says:  May 7, 2014. 3:02 PM  REPLYThe AC-Version (of the PID and SSR) enables you to simplify the wiring-diagram: 230V AC goes directly to the PID as supply. No need to wire it upto the 24V powersupply.

The 24V is now only used for the motor. If we find a motor which runs on 240V AC we could ditch the Powersupply alltogether... :)

Thanks for the answers!

I was shopping today in the local (small) Bauhaus... Found a lot of material and bought some parts...

Here are some informations i found out during shopping and this evening:

- The Pipe-extension has an outher diameter of 25mm so i shopped this heater: http://www.ebay.com/itm/321294408248

- The 1/2" (German) pipe has some nasty weldings on the inside... I dont understand how you sanded it out all the way along the inside... So i boughta 16mm-drill for metal to drill out the seam on the inside of the pipe...

- My 16mm-auger drill has a round shaft of "only" 12.5mm diameter. Model: "Craftomat" (Bauhaus-Brand). So i will need to modify the way to mountthe axial-bearing (Available in 12mm which is too small or 15mm which is a bit big to mount on the auger directly): I will add a washer ID=13; OD=24betwheen the Auger-Tapering (from 12.5 to 16mm) and place the axial bearing behind that. This enables me to use slightly oversized axial-bearingsfor this :)

- My Bauhaus didnt have flanges and i had to buy them on ebay for quite some money (around 5€/pcs):http://www.ebay.com/itm/301147931978Ahwell...

- Also had to improvise on the filter you used as breaker before the nozzle: Bauhaus had no metallic faucet-screens. Only pastic ones... I will replacethe faucet-filter with a hand-cut circle of metallic fly-screen. Easy! :)

If it is OK for you: as soon as i found the time to actually do the build and not only shop for parts, ill make a instructable (my first) with what i changedduring the build... It will be some sort of "I made ianmcmill's extruder and changed those parts"

 ianmcmill says:  May 8, 2014. 3:24 AM  REPLYI took a file and removed the inner weldings. A stick wrapped with sand paper wirks as well.

Metallic fly screen should work as well.

I had to order the flanges as well.

Go ahead with your instructable. We need more of those filament extruders ! Looking forward to it.

 ianmcmill says:  May 7, 2014. 11:51 AM  REPLYOk I have updated the material list. Should now be more consistent.

 esnowden2 says:  May 5, 2014. 8:09 PM  REPLYall my materials just got in from ebay and various other vendors...wish me luck

 ianmcmill says:  May 7, 2014. 7:35 AM  REPLYGood luck ! Post some pictures and report back !

 Machine says:  May 3, 2014. 1:18 AM  REPLYVery nice Instructable. Love your enthusiasm.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-your-own-3d-printing-filament-factory-Filame/

 ianmcmill says:  May 3, 2014. 2:52 AM  REPLYThanks Machine !

 flaboy71 says:  May 2, 2014. 6:53 PM  REPLYI purchased a 98 m3 bmw wiper motor but it goes the wrong way, counter clockwise, how do I get one that goes the right way.

 ianmcmill says:  May 3, 2014. 1:19 AM  REPLYJust interchange the two wires of the motor. Every DC motor can turn CW or CCW just by wiring it +/- or -/+.

 esnowden2 says:  May 2, 2014. 7:04 AM  REPLYI have attached a photo. What is the best length for this pipe coupling I will need for the heating?

 ianmcmill says:  May 2, 2014. 9:46 AM  REPLYDouble the length of your heater band.

 esnowden2 says:  Apr 30, 2014. 2:08 PM  REPLYHello. Just bought all of my items from ebay and various other suppliers. I do have a question about the "flange"...where can I source that....and what size offlange do I need?

 ianmcmill says:  Apr 30, 2014. 3:30 PM  REPLYYour local plumber should have such components. It should fit the pipe you use.

 esnowden2 says:  May 2, 2014. 5:35 AM  REPLYThanks sir. I found this out the hard way after I asked the question, and took my picture of the flange to lowes...ha ha ha. they got me squared away.

 corim123 says:  May 1, 2014. 12:16 AM  REPLYAlso if you want to save some money on the PSU, you may have a 12V power supply that's at least 240w kicking around. I found an old 400w I'm not using andwill probably tap into the 12V rail for power.

 ianmcmill says:  May 1, 2014. 5:37 AM  REPLYPC PSUs are excellent for such projects. I have a whole crate of those here but i haven't converted any of those yet.

 Msquared94 says:  Apr 30, 2014. 5:59 PM  REPLYI was wondering, have you seen/know of any instructables that go one step further? What I mean is plastic grinders that grind up refuse prints to use aspellets for a filament extruder (like the filabot reclaimer)?

 corim123 says:  Apr 28, 2014. 2:30 AM  REPLYWhat size did you wind up cutting the auger down to? I ask because most of the ones I see are already signifcantly shorter and can save $10 by buying onethat's smaller than the largest size. Would having a shorter setup impact the extrusion capability? I don't see how considering most of the work is done in theend where the heater and nozzle are.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-your-own-3d-printing-filament-factory-Filame/

 ianmcmill says:  Apr 28, 2014. 8:45 AM  REPLYI took a photo in while building and added a indicator to show where to cut the auger in step 6.Here is the photo.

Regarding extrusion capability :I haven't done any research on the impact of the auger bit's length. I just did cut it "below" the heater. Too much knowledge is poison to the inventivemind.

It proved to work just perfect where I cut it.

 corim123 says:  Apr 30, 2014. 1:47 AM  REPLYAm I missing the length of the pipe somewhere? I'm more or less trying to determine if a 13" auger will be long enough to build a similar one.

 ianmcmill says:  Apr 30, 2014. 5:14 AM  REPLYIf the auger is too short, just take shorter pipes/fittings. Should be working anyways. I don't even think a heat barrier is really necessary.

view all 150 comments