Welcome to the SeeMeCNC Community

Not to steal any of SeeMeCNC thunder, cause you guys are awesome!
Congratulations to the crew at Filastruder They are now a distributor for the E3d. No more "stuck in customs" blues
I recently assembled my Filastruder and started extruding filament with amazing results

Batteau62 wrote:Not to steal any of SeeMeCNC thunder, cause you guys are awesome!
Congratulations to the crew at Filastruder They are now a distributor for the E3d. No more "stuck in customs" blues
I recently assembled my Filastruder and started extruding filament with amazing results

That's great that we now have a USA distributor. Hopefully they will also stock spare parts in the future.
How do you wind the filament that you create onto a spool? Seems like you would have to stay beside the
machine while it is extruding so you can handle the filament as it is extruded.

They have a tab for spare parts, it only has nozzles listed now.
My winding technique isn't very "polished" It involves attaching a spool to a battery drill and trying not to kink the filament as I wind it on from the birds nest on the floor. I do this when I'm done for the day.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... a4906d0244

There are very sophisticated designs though, one guy uses optical sensors to trigger a take up reel as he extrudes. It's tricky, any movement of the newly extruded filament can cause kinks or waves in the strand.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9Du_4Ba5DA

It's been a great learning experience, just like my Max. I've learned a ton about mechanical systems control.

edit-just found this one. He is the "guru"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_E7crY9wfg

That's a cool video, he spent some time and money setting all that up.
Now that you see how he did it, you'll have to duplicate it so you don't
get the bird's nest all over the floor.

How have your results with the filastruder fared? I've heard mixed reviews - with negative reviews much harsher than the positive ones.

I've been looking at one of these guys... http://www.extrusionbot.net/

Seems to be a much better design, but I'd like to hear from actual users...

cope413 wrote:How have your results with the filastruder fared? I've heard mixed reviews - with negative reviews much harsher than the positive ones.

I've been looking at one of these guys... http://www.extrusionbot.net/

Seems to be a much better design, but I'd like to hear from actual users...

To be honest, I just got it fired up. I extruded aprox. 1lb of natural ABS yesterday. For a $250 kit it performed very well. I kept tolerances of +/- .02mm, on my first try. Like any build, It's how much TLC/$ you're willing to invest. I think we all have our expectations for these kits, some realistic, some not. I have yet to print the filament, but I really don't for see too many issues. I think as long as my slight kinks will go through the bowden, I'll be golden.

My first iteration is going to be experimenting with filament winding or control somehow. Like I said above, it's tricky, any little perturbation and the filament reacts(as you would expect molten material to)by kinking. I tend to like machines that I can add my two cents to, if you will. I enjoy modding, and I did add some things to this during the build. A printed race for the thrust bearing, a jam nut on the pipe nipple, etc. It's the problem solving/upgrading that makes it fun.

And the forum for it is very active, much like this one, so that's a plus

And then there is the material cost savings. It's hard not to own a printer and just want to print anything and everything you heart desires. I personally can't swing $30-$40 a spool for filament all the time. Now I can print a part..fail...not care(too much)...change settings...print it again...fail again... you get my drift. Plus, now I can experiment with color, additives, and so on.

That "Exstrusionbot" looks very interesting, having it coil the filament for you is a definite plus. $700 price tag? That stings a little, but to each his own. I think whatever you decide, the cost savings alone is worth it.

PS-My kids had Razor electric scooters when they were little. I always wanted the adult version, until I watched your video I know what I want for Christmas!

Batteau62 wrote: That "Exstrusionbot" looks very interesting, having it coil the filament for you is a definite plus. $700 price tag?

Sounds like we need an open source version. I'd have to make 20 kilograms of filament for that to even START to pay off, and I might... MIGHT... go thorugh that much in an entire year. At the same time, 3'/min isn't fast enough to commercialize unless you buy a bunch of them.

I'm glad Filastruder is going into distribution of those hot ends. I was giving it serious consideration myself.

Batteau62 wrote:
PS-My kids had Razor electric scooters when they were little. I always wanted the adult version, until I watched your video I know what I want for Christmas!

Yep, that's probably the most common thing I hear. It's a big kid toy