MakerBot Industries

Is that something that someone is looking into, or is it, as you say, a potential possibility.

This is new to me, so if you (or anybody else) have any links or references to discussions on the subject, it would be appreciated.

while print quality isnt realy the focus of most extruder experimentation there is a lot of extruder work being done. I know I have been working on getting a reliable extruder since my origional blew out the Teflon heat barrier. Im actualy planning on ordering some ceramic rod from mcmaster-carr. all the other heat barriers ive tried have had issues and the work arounds ive tried have each caused other issues. right now the one im trying i have way too much thermal mass and surface area so it doesnt heat uniformly and the flow is poor. It also appears im going to have to change motors cause im loosing thrust in the direction of flow. NOTE: for those that havent gotten the upgraded plate a brass bushing will fit in the existing mk3 hole to support the end of the motor shaft.

I've done quite a bit of testing using smaller nozzles and assorted extruder variations. I've got working extruders down to 0.35mm. You can get nozzles for MakerBots down to 0.25mm on MakerGear.com though 0.30 and 0.25 are purely experimental at this point.

And, yes, smaller nozzle diameter makes a big difference on print quality.

You can see assorted pictures related to nozzle variations here.

You can also find detailed discussions around this topic if you search around in the MakerBot Operators google group.

Thanks for the link to the pictures and to the other discussion.

In regards to the pictures, it is not really possible to understand the level of detail or surface smoothness since there is nothing in the picture to compare with the items. Perhaps you can put something like a penny in the picture when you make pictures in the future.

I imagine you are starting to push the physics of what may be possible with the viscosity of the melted plastic.

I was just brainstorming. (sort of like window shopping at an expensive mall. Easy to do, and occupies your time, but it is unlikely to result in any purchases.)

There is another topic of how best to produce support structures. Perhaps a solution can be found for both by finding a support material that has low viscosity, and so can be extruded at fine resolution. This support material doesn't need much strength, but obviously needs to be easily removed.

A wall of the support material can be laid down first, which will later be followed up by the stronger plastic. This build material is laid down so that it flows up against the support material, which determines the final surface finish. Internal webbing is less important, and perhaps is deliberately laid down with a larger extruder diameter, so that progress goes faster.

As for this wondrous support material, perhaps I've ended up with what is called an "elephant soup recipe". Tastes wonderful, but the soup bones are hard to obtain!

Gelatin has a low viscosity when it is hot, and gelatin can withstand high temperatures. Viable as a support structure? Perhaps it wouldn't really work as a support structure unless the true support was made from the build material, and the gelatin used only as a separator between the support structure and the part.

Oops, now I have gone over the permitted limit for brainstorming on someone else's topic.

Joe Dunfee

Joe -

I meant to include a reference object but forgot :(

There is progress being made using PLA as a support material.

Come join the conversation in the MakerBot Operators Group. Discussing a concept plastruder today…

Rick

This is a good summary of the place of a rapid prototyper, like the Makerbot, in the world of product development. I suppose we can assume there will be a labor cost difference between North America/Europe and Asia for the foreseeable future and thus labor intensive activities like tooling for high volume parts will naturally gravitate there.