<p>I have been involved into 3D printing for the last 2 years and one of the biggest problems are related to the material feeding. Todays extruders that uses one driven wheel with a spring loaded bearing that pushes the filament against the drive wheel. </p><p>This method has some disadvantages as</p><p>- Low pushing force<br>- Risk of grinding the filament that leads to a failed print<br>- Slipping that leads to underextrusion<br>- Deforming the filament that leads to increased friction in the bowden tube.<br><br></p><p>The new Bondtech extruder uses 2 drive wheels that are equipped with sharp teeths that grab the filament on both sides wich gives a lot of advantages over the standard extruders. Some of the most important ones are the following.</p><p>- Huge pushing power that elliminates the risk of under extrusion, tests have <br> verified that it is over 9 kg with a 1.75 mm filament.<br>- Minimal risk for filament grinding<br>- Possible to go high speed due to the big the pushing power, tests have been <br> made with 250 mm/s printing with 0.4 mm nozzle and with no filament grinds.<br>- Possible to go with small nozzles <br>- High torque Nema17 stepper with a high precison planetary gearbox gives <br> high resolution and fast retracts.<br>- Adjustable secondary drive wheel to optimize grip.<br>- Easy access to drive wheels for cleaning</p>
A walkthrough of the design by Eric Lien: http://youtu.be/18dc96ZMd2I?list=FLCB1vETRBsx4WjMZ8_xiOyg
The extruder in action: https://plus.google.com/109092260040411784841/posts/gnn6rmyWWC6
In a few weeks time I will be able to provide kits with the metal parts and also professional 3D printed SLS parts for the housing components. The current version supports only 1.75 mm filament but a 3.0 mm version are in development.
Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial Share Alike
