Let me know if you're interested in an extruder like this by signing up to my newsletter! properprinting.pro/proper-extruder-news/ Although I am going to improve upon this design, by signing up I can get an idea if it's worth turning this into an actual product or not. If you have material suggestions yourself, leave a comment!
Why not make it out of aluminium sheet metal? Light and very studry, you can easily bend, rivet, press etc. parts and connections. Looks way more professional compared to wood which looks hobby made. And it is still not that expensive.
Aluminum is pretty flexible if it is so thin. The problem is that if you have a constant pressure by the motor and filament in will bend irreversibly over time.Steel sheet or Titanium might work but then it is pretty unafordable.@@sierraecho884
looks sweet! I was interested in the belt concept from your earlier extruder; this makes it even better! Love the idea of PCB material and aluminum; a carbon fiber sheet may make it look really industrial!
This would probably be more viable out of FR4, and maybe some stainless sheet reinforcemnet in the larger structural plates. idk i'm no engineer, but it would be cool to try!
this was very entertaining. What a nice project. seems to be a lot of fun to assemble and put toghether. Great work man. looks like it was a TON of work here to put up this video. Hats off once again! Man I love your projects and love you even more :) I hope one day I can meet you in real life. Cheers bud !
I would definitely be interested in this. It seems functional, and like you said, it looks interesting. I have a bit of a showroom going on, so when I have meetings, people like to look at 3D printers working, so I'm also trying to make the printers themselves look more interesting. This seems like it could give it a nice steampunk esthetic. Definitely would draw some eyes.
Also, seems like it really is fun and rewarding to put it together, which is also a bonus. Building stuff is fun, and helps you understand the mechanism and how to repair it.
I love lasers as much as anybody. My lasers go up to 6kW! But you need to consider a hybrid version where you leverage the strengths of both 3D Printing and Lasers. You can integrate all the small tedious parts into a handful of 3D printed components and still keep the laser cut vibe going 😎
Not only could you make it out of FR4, and could heatsink with Al substrate as you mentioned. But you could embed strain gauges anywhere on the flat layers you'd like, you could measure nozzle force against the bed or part like prusa can now. As well you could even measure filament pressure BEHIND the nozzle assembly at the same time if you really wanted to. For the gears I'd really change to an engineering plastic or metal TBH.. I totally understand the wood aesthetic, but at the forces you need, and the gear's current contact area, they're probably going to shred quickly unless it's a rather durable material.
These are the exact suggestions I was hoping for! It'd be so interesting to explore these kind of possibilities. Regarding the gears, I agree. Wood right now is ideal for prototyping and I am curious how far I can go with it. From this point onward, it can only go better!
@@properprintingany thoughts about "painting" the wear surfaces with a polymer, perhaps with with different polymers in opposing surfaces? i.e. put a softer polymer on a larger gear, and a harder one for a gear with fewer teeth?
@@properprintingbased on the prices for laser cut metal ive seen in other videos you could totally sell this with a drop shipped design markup from PCBway, use wood where needed and metal where needed
i like that you show your failures..... most channels just want it to look like everything went perfect the first try. I never get it the first try, im always having to redo something, and it makes me feel like i suck.... showing the reality of all the fails, defiantly helps.
I think this is actually a good STEM project for students and people learning about 3D printers and how mechanisms like the extruder is constructed. Not even mentioning the design methods considered given that it is sheet material. 2 birds 1 stone
This was such a learning experience! Even if you don't own a laser cutter, the parts can be 3D printed and designing with the restrictions of 2-dimensional parts really forces you to find interesting solutions.
Jón, I've been watching your videos since basically the beginning - the Camera Sliders - your work got so INSANELY better and entertaining. Congratulations my friend! I think the majority of the people is looking for extruders that will be very reliable (plus fast, powerful and light). This project is more like a novelty / curiosity thing, exploring odd materials for the job. Personally I wouldn't buy one myself - but the project is highly entertaining and I am SO CURIOUS to see how much an assembled one could actually print before catastrophic failure. I hope you can push it forward. Good luck!!!!!
Thanks Everson! I think that this extruder can stand out as a niche extruder because it's capable of handling very brittle filaments (high metal concentration) and thin fibers. I don't think that wood is going to be the material eventually unless it proves being reliable enough. We're going to explore the capabilities!
Fixing them together with screws and bolts would be probably a good way. And, like you said, including PCBs as a layer. Interesting options. Why not include "some" 3d printed parts. They could be printed while the cutter is doing his job. Very stoked to see the progress of this extruder.
I think that the screws will be inevitable indeed. I do like the concept of everything clicking together and being held into place, it has a certain elegancy to it IMO. I think that finding the most optimal way of producing an extruder is an interesting challenge on its own. I think that sheet material is one of the quickest and most efficient ways of producing parts.
@properprinting only if you don't account for labor, which for a hobby part is totally fine but not for a widely used commercial product unless the cost of labor is low e.g. with automation
That looks so interesting! Wood won't be able to last very long in the sense that the teeth will wear down quickly (my assumption), PCB material seems way better indeed, but also there I wonder if it doesn't chip away when printing. Really cool idea and I would be interested!
@@testfag If you grease it up it will last for a very long time. Back in the day they used a lot of wood bearings. The only thing about grease is that you should be careful not to get it on the belts and the filament.
If you went with PCB materials you could go as far as adding 'pads' to the teeth of the gears to add some additional durability though idk how well it would go with the manufacturing processes
I'm not into printing, so I have no idea of the parameters involved, but I'm curious, how important is it to actually use a positive drive train, ie gears? Shouldn't some O-rings Super glued to discs have a similar effect?
My 2013 Printrbot Jr had a partly laser-cut plywood geared extruder. The main gear axel was metal though. One of the first things I did was 3D print helical gear replacements that meshed much better. p.s. It was nice meeting you at Open Sauce a couple of months ago
I got for Christmas a plywood laser cut kit, from my sister. It's a globe with a space shuttle going around, the best thing in my opinion is that the base countains a clockwork mechanism with rubber bands acting as springs and a working escapment, thus allowing the space shuttle to go around at constant speed, the best part in my opinion is a working planetary gearbox, all of the gears being laser cut plywood, the planets rolling in plywood bushings, ... to lubricate the gears, the kit asked depose a thin layer of wax on the teeth by scrubbing a piece of candle, and it works beautiful
I love the whole concept of it, I really think all it needs is for the kinks to be ironed out. My idea for it was using steel axles, with cuts on the sides so you can lock them in place with a laser cut piece, like a c-clip.
Yes definitely! You had me browsin' amazon for the model car kit thinking "oh shit that looks like a lot of fun", so getting the wooden assembly experience for a functional part would be even better!
This looks really cool, I work with lasercutters allot for my projects. My one tip would be to ditch the plywood and go to jlcpcb and get all the parts milled out of 2mm fr4. It would still not last very long, plywood would also fail at some point. But the product would be allot stronger, not to mention stiffer. You can also make breakable tabs and even incorperate some electronics in there some led's, sensors even. Sky's the limit.
Awesome job man! The last assembling sequence is so satisfying to watch! It's always a pleasure to see your amazing CAD designs. Always a piece of engineering jewelry well served by a perfect video montage ❤ I just subscribed to your newsletter and can't wait for updates!
That's an interesting concept, I like it! Maybe you can find some thin M3 screw inserts or flanged nuts with a wide & flat flange (you could insert those reversed with a hexagon cutout in the wood, and the flange sticking out) to screw parts together. That could make assembly easier and possibly strengthen the axles, while still being of the shelf.
Very cool idea! I would love to see a lightweight version of this using one of those circular NEMA 14 motors. Also, using a plastic called UHMWPE could help to solve the durability issues. It is very easy to laser cut, light, cheap, and very high strength!
I absolutely love your videos, especially the ones involving printing or laser cutting. They're incredibly useful and enjoyable to watch. Thank you so much for generously sharing all this fantastic content!
Ugh...the sounds of the wood being put together at 13:40 upwards are so disgustingly satisfying...another great video! And a very entertaining watch. Amazing how you come up with all this stuff! I want to see it print :D
Your posts are pretty instructive and entertaining as well. Thank you very much. It's always a pleasure to be notified of each and every post of yours.
I think as a kit, this would be a great idea. Hobbyists have been purchasing wood kits like these for their Miniature Wargaming tables and they work very wel. I say, give it a shot! It's a great concept, and, if you include the custom PCB into the design, as something you can clip in with the wood tabs, that would really make it a killer product.
Looks great, You really made a fantastic project even tho sadly wood can't be too functional due to deformation, humidity and general wear (it does looks sick tho). This project has a lot of potential and might inspire other custom parts made like this (which seems like a pretty cost effective method both in terms of shipping and small to medium production). You really never disappoint...
I have a Replicator 2 that is wood which we will rebuild.. I think this is NEEDED for it at some point! Amazing work sir! And again, your videos are really getting good. Amazing flow, the music is great, and the shots are tremendous!
What a beautiful concept! Really enjoyed watching the video! Can't wait to see your PCB version of it. And you really made it through the whole video without making a joke about how this sheet extruder is sliced into layers, like a 3D printed one, only with an enormous layer height.... :D
Really cool idea, I think you are onto something with this. Although I believe the PCB material might be the ultimate solution for the integrated electronics and strength of the fiber glass infused board. One think about PCB material would be adding traces for aesthetic reasons as well as functional.
I would love to see this extruder on a Mendel/Prusa type printer that's made using your modular tension beam system as the frame. I think it would be aesthetically unique, rigid enough for crazy accelerations, and have an appeal to nostalgia while paying Proper tribute to those who laid the innovative foundation for this wonderful "hobby."
Even if you didn't do the extruder kit you could probably get a side hustle going, making your own model kits. You're already a whiz with CA, 3D printing, and now you even have a laser cutter. That's like a Etsy seller's trifecta of necessary production equipment. I do think the wooden gears might strip eventually though. I suppose the upside is they'd be inexpensive to replace in comparison to other material.
I would love to see this as an actual product. I always thought this was a cool idea and personally would buy it in certain cases. I would love to see a 2.85mm version though, although most manufacturers are strafing away from 2.85mm filament, its still very commonly used with some older printers and I happen to have a bunch of it
Very cool. This video got me really thinking about this design technique. I frequently use tab and slot for plasma cut steel projects. But this could be taken to a whole new level in metal working, too.
great video as always, please try make a version of this with FR4 pcb. its essentially fibreglass and utra rigid and if you order it from pcbway you can customize the pcb edge finish to be smoothed and bevelled or even polished so the gears mesh easier. your idea to integrate circuits on the mechanical parts will be awesome.
Fantastic video as always Jon! Interesting use of the plywood for the extruder. Would love to see a more tutorial like process on cutting that on the laser cutter. Until next time!
I wonder if it would help to glue some of the parts together. In the spacers, it might transfer some sideways forces off the thin square axle holding it together, and instead into the wooden stack.
My main concern is repairability. It might be easy to assemble with the tabs and all, but can you disassemble it to swap a worn or broken part without breaking or loosening something else? So while the novelty of "it's all laser cut!" is definitely neat like with the car model, and it's fine for some of the assemblies meant to be a single block, the final assembly should probably still use screws.
You should be able to add your kerf width in the machine settings of the laser control software and if it's smart, it will move inside and outside cuts the proper distance from the design line for you.
Definitely interested, this is a great concept! I'd also love to see a sheet metal version as well for heavy duty/industrial use in enclosed printers. Well done, this is something truly innovative and it shows a lot of promise in my eyes.
Early Printrbots were all made of laser cut wood. I had 3 of them. The biggest problem I had was the fact that wood is not stable and will expand and contract with humidity. I loved the look, and REALLY love the look of this extruder, but wood is not a material I would want in a printer anymore. It moves around more than I would like. G10 with steel axles for the gears, and I may actually order one or two. Regardless I love this design and you do great work.
AS axles you might be able to find some standoffs that could work? or you might be able to stack a bunch of discs with 2 holes in them and use screws in the holes? how do you define "off the self" in this context?
Watch IKEA a new player in flatpack design has entered the game. 😁 Seriously, this was very impressive. Looking forward to see the progress in the future.
I heard graphite is a decent conductor, if you're thinking of using the frame as a circuit board. 0.25 mm deep cuts in the wood and a spatula. Why make wooden gears? There doesn't seem to be a timing issue, so just use a rubber ring glued to the circumference.
Do you know what kinds of loads an extruder has to respond to? Comparing them with the abilities of the plywood pieces to resist those loads would be an interesting follow-up on this video.
Shipping would be cheaper/faster, storage of the laser-cut sheets in the warehouse is increased, entirely "biodegradable" depending on your viewpoints of that word, and I bet that some plywood would be better than others. Like the stuff that alternates the grain with every layer? I dunno if it exists on the very thin stuff like is used in this project. I really like the PCB idea! Even putting in simple diagnostic LEDs would be helpful. But I imagine that you would be able to put a lot more useful stuff on there, like 1-wire temp sensors, or maybe an accelerometer, or a strain gauge. I've seen many electronic toys use PCB material to get right angles of mounting, but also they use solder to get signals/power from one board to the other. A lot of times Pin headers are used, but if they never need to be removed, a PCB works just as well. I've also seen where the components are buried inside layers of PCB material, but if you stacked several layers of PCB you could get a similar effect. Maybe even shielding as well, due to the copper on the board?
Look into nesting software like deepnest. It automatically lays out all the parts in the most efficient pattern it can find. This reduces wasted material when you cut it out.
Looks awesome! Material-wise, I think you're on the right track with pcb material. I'd think you'd want to use G10/FR4/Garolite for strength, cost, and fire-resistance. It's not the best stuff to laser-cut though (from my understanding - fumes are hazardous). Would consider buying in a more fire-resistant material than plywood.
Thanks! If I'll go with PCB material, I'm not going to laser cut it and it looks like PCBWay is able to manufacture it. I looked into the fire hazard of wood and although, many people mentioning this hazard,, the ignition temperature of wood is way higher than the hottest part of the printer which also doesn't come in contact with it.
@@properprinting Wood could be a problem if people have the voltage cranked up on their extruder stepper, i think they can operate at up to like 100c, my printer came with it at like 2.2v from the factory and that was so hot it was making my pla soft lol
Definitely interested, I once made a ugears air powered engine that also turned out to be a interesting and challenging puzzle, can't wait to get my hands on this one!
I think this is very interesting. Shipping something like this would probably be much cheaper. I wonder if you could work within a constraint that it needs to fit within a form that can be mailed using standard post options. I think the wood fasteners are a nice astetic, but might be sacrificing too much. I would rather use some standard nuts and bolts to hold things together. More secure fastening. The only thing I would be concerned about would be if the gears were to wear out. Ideally I'd want to be able to replace them with something I could source locally, either printed myself, or purchaseable.
I love what you are doing. But honestly metal extruders are all I use. I need long term reliability and durability. But what you are doing is amazing. Keep going
An interesting concept but I'm not sure about plywood, maybe sheet aluminium would be better or a combination of materials i.e. sheet aluminium for strength with PCB sheets in-between, for internal circuitry as you stated, and acrylic outside for finish effect.
You made an extruder with resin? I wonder if a carbon fiber filament on an FDM printer would work better. If I remember correctly, CNC kitchen had worse results with resin for functional prints than FDM.
I'd be interested for sure but i would try and make the gears out of something other materials as the wood would just wear down too far. Maybe aluminium for the gears? Would look great too with the wood and still be very light.
You could get rid of the bearings if you used a low friction material like delrin/POM, plastics would potentially be more durable since there’s less structural variance in the material. The plywood does looks really, really cool though.
Let me know if you're interested in an extruder like this by signing up to my newsletter! properprinting.pro/proper-extruder-news/ Although I am going to improve upon this design, by signing up I can get an idea if it's worth turning this into an actual product or not. If you have material suggestions yourself, leave a comment!
Why not make it out of aluminium sheet metal?
Light and very studry, you can easily bend, rivet, press etc. parts and connections.
Looks way more professional compared to wood which looks hobby made. And it is still not that expensive.
Signed up! Hope I get to test it one day.
Aluminum is pretty flexible if it is so thin. The problem is that if you have a constant pressure by the motor and filament in will bend irreversibly over time.Steel sheet or Titanium might work but then it is pretty unafordable.@@sierraecho884
Have you considered offloading the drive motor from the print head with a belt, worm gear, or flexible drive shaft powering the extruder?
looks sweet! I was interested in the belt concept from your earlier extruder; this makes it even better! Love the idea of PCB material and aluminum; a carbon fiber sheet may make it look really industrial!
We would be much honored to be one part of your great idea! Let's get the BALL rolling ⚽!
Legends.
PCBWay, that's an amazing spirit!
Thank you! ❤@@GeekDetour
@@802Garage
This would probably be more viable out of FR4, and maybe some stainless sheet reinforcemnet in the larger structural plates. idk i'm no engineer, but it would be cool to try!
this was very entertaining. What a nice project. seems to be a lot of fun to assemble and put toghether. Great work man. looks like it was a TON of work here to put up this video. Hats off once again! Man I love your projects and love you even more :) I hope one day I can meet you in real life. Cheers bud !
Thanks man! It was a lot of work and a lot of fun! I'd be awesome to meet, maybe at one of the RRF's in the future, cheers!
@@properprinting ill be in UK in dec for the san jay rrf :) and we might meet virtually before then ;)
I would definitely be interested in this. It seems functional, and like you said, it looks interesting. I have a bit of a showroom going on, so when I have meetings, people like to look at 3D printers working, so I'm also trying to make the printers themselves look more interesting. This seems like it could give it a nice steampunk esthetic. Definitely would draw some eyes.
Also, seems like it really is fun and rewarding to put it together, which is also a bonus. Building stuff is fun, and helps you understand the mechanism and how to repair it.
I love lasers as much as anybody. My lasers go up to 6kW! But you need to consider a hybrid version where you leverage the strengths of both 3D Printing and Lasers. You can integrate all the small tedious parts into a handful of 3D printed components and still keep the laser cut vibe going 😎
Not only could you make it out of FR4, and could heatsink with Al substrate as you mentioned. But you could embed strain gauges anywhere on the flat layers you'd like, you could measure nozzle force against the bed or part like prusa can now. As well you could even measure filament pressure BEHIND the nozzle assembly at the same time if you really wanted to. For the gears I'd really change to an engineering plastic or metal TBH.. I totally understand the wood aesthetic, but at the forces you need, and the gear's current contact area, they're probably going to shred quickly unless it's a rather durable material.
These are the exact suggestions I was hoping for! It'd be so interesting to explore these kind of possibilities. Regarding the gears, I agree. Wood right now is ideal for prototyping and I am curious how far I can go with it. From this point onward, it can only go better!
@@properprintingany thoughts about "painting" the wear surfaces with a polymer, perhaps with with different polymers in opposing surfaces? i.e. put a softer polymer on a larger gear, and a harder one for a gear with fewer teeth?
@@properprintingbased on the prices for laser cut metal ive seen in other videos you could totally sell this with a drop shipped design markup from PCBway, use wood where needed and metal where needed
Added bonus: when your extruder bursts into flames, it probably smells nicer than if it was made of plastic.
😂😂😂
Especially when you use some Hickory. 😂
i like that you show your failures..... most channels just want it to look like everything went perfect the first try. I never get it the first try, im always having to redo something, and it makes me feel like i suck.... showing the reality of all the fails, defiantly helps.
I think this is actually a good STEM project for students and people learning about 3D printers and how mechanisms like the extruder is constructed. Not even mentioning the design methods considered given that it is sheet material. 2 birds 1 stone
This was such a learning experience! Even if you don't own a laser cutter, the parts can be 3D printed and designing with the restrictions of 2-dimensional parts really forces you to find interesting solutions.
Jón, I've been watching your videos since basically the beginning - the Camera Sliders - your work got so INSANELY better and entertaining. Congratulations my friend!
I think the majority of the people is looking for extruders that will be very reliable (plus fast, powerful and light). This project is more like a novelty / curiosity thing, exploring odd materials for the job. Personally I wouldn't buy one myself - but the project is highly entertaining and I am SO CURIOUS to see how much an assembled one could actually print before catastrophic failure. I hope you can push it forward. Good luck!!!!!
Thanks Everson! I think that this extruder can stand out as a niche extruder because it's capable of handling very brittle filaments (high metal concentration) and thin fibers. I don't think that wood is going to be the material eventually unless it proves being reliable enough. We're going to explore the capabilities!
Fixing them together with screws and bolts would be probably a good way.
And, like you said, including PCBs as a layer.
Interesting options.
Why not include "some" 3d printed parts. They could be printed while the cutter is doing his job.
Very stoked to see the progress of this extruder.
I think that the screws will be inevitable indeed. I do like the concept of everything clicking together and being held into place, it has a certain elegancy to it IMO. I think that finding the most optimal way of producing an extruder is an interesting challenge on its own. I think that sheet material is one of the quickest and most efficient ways of producing parts.
@properprinting only if you don't account for labor, which for a hobby part is totally fine but not for a widely used commercial product unless the cost of labor is low e.g. with automation
That looks so interesting! Wood won't be able to last very long in the sense that the teeth will wear down quickly (my assumption), PCB material seems way better indeed, but also there I wonder if it doesn't chip away when printing. Really cool idea and I would be interested!
the wheels from the early ultimakers took a bit of a time to worn down but to be fair they are thicker
@@testfag If you grease it up it will last for a very long time. Back in the day they used a lot of wood bearings. The only thing about grease is that you should be careful not to get it on the belts and the filament.
You can also use graphite powder or petroleum jelly I’d imagine to reduce wear.
If you went with PCB materials you could go as far as adding 'pads' to the teeth of the gears to add some additional durability though idk how well it would go with the manufacturing processes
I'm not into printing, so I have no idea of the parameters involved, but I'm curious, how important is it to actually use a positive drive train, ie gears?
Shouldn't some O-rings Super glued to discs have a similar effect?
My 2013 Printrbot Jr had a partly laser-cut plywood geared extruder. The main gear axel was metal though. One of the first things I did was 3D print helical gear replacements that meshed much better.
p.s. It was nice meeting you at Open Sauce a couple of months ago
Reminds me of my kit build of the Ultimaker Original❤👍👍
honestly just a normal ABS/PETG printable extruder would also be great
I got for Christmas a plywood laser cut kit, from my sister. It's a globe with a space shuttle going around, the best thing in my opinion is that the base countains a clockwork mechanism with rubber bands acting as springs and a working escapment, thus allowing the space shuttle to go around at constant speed, the best part in my opinion is a working planetary gearbox, all of the gears being laser cut plywood, the planets rolling in plywood bushings, ... to lubricate the gears, the kit asked depose a thin layer of wax on the teeth by scrubbing a piece of candle, and it works beautiful
Of course I would be interested in an extruder like this one! Plywood makes it look very unique.
Very cool idea, but I would like one made out of clear acrylic. I think a see thru design would be cool to watch.
I love the whole concept of it, I really think all it needs is for the kinks to be ironed out.
My idea for it was using steel axles, with cuts on the sides so you can lock them in place with a laser cut piece, like a c-clip.
This built is amazing. And actually it was really satisfying to watch all the press-fits scene of the parts!
Yes definitely!
You had me browsin' amazon for the model car kit thinking "oh shit that looks like a lot of fun", so getting the wooden assembly experience for a functional part would be even better!
CANT WAIT TO SEE SOME OF THESE PROJECTS FINISHED
This looks really cool, I work with lasercutters allot for my projects. My one tip would be to ditch the plywood and go to jlcpcb and get all the parts milled out of 2mm fr4. It would still not last very long, plywood would also fail at some point. But the product would be allot stronger, not to mention stiffer. You can also make breakable tabs and even incorperate some electronics in there some led's, sensors even. Sky's the limit.
Awesome job man! The last assembling sequence is so satisfying to watch! It's always a pleasure to see your amazing CAD designs. Always a piece of engineering jewelry well served by a perfect video montage ❤ I just subscribed to your newsletter and can't wait for updates!
That's an interesting concept, I like it! Maybe you can find some thin M3 screw inserts or flanged nuts with a wide & flat flange (you could insert those reversed with a hexagon cutout in the wood, and the flange sticking out) to screw parts together. That could make assembly easier and possibly strengthen the axles, while still being of the shelf.
This is an awesome suggestion! Why didn't I think about the flanged nuts, thanks man! I just ordered a bunch of them
Very cool idea! I would love to see a lightweight version of this using one of those circular NEMA 14 motors.
Also, using a plastic called UHMWPE could help to solve the durability issues. It is very easy to laser cut, light, cheap, and very high strength!
I absolutely love your videos, especially the ones involving printing or laser cutting. They're incredibly useful and enjoyable to watch. Thank you so much for generously sharing all this fantastic content!
I wish I had 1/4 of your ideas, man you come up with the best designs ! I think threaded brass rods and brass plates would be so sick !
I'm sceptical about the gears made of plywood. Also, maybe instead of flimsy tabs, screw would be better?
Ugh...the sounds of the wood being put together at 13:40 upwards are so disgustingly satisfying...another great video! And a very entertaining watch. Amazing how you come up with all this stuff! I want to see it print :D
Great idea! Would sheets of carbon fiber work instead of plywood? or maybe polycarbonate
Your posts are pretty instructive and entertaining as well. Thank you very much. It's always a pleasure to be notified of each and every post of yours.
I think as a kit, this would be a great idea. Hobbyists have been purchasing wood kits like these for their Miniature Wargaming tables and they work very wel. I say, give it a shot! It's a great concept, and, if you include the custom PCB into the design, as something you can clip in with the wood tabs, that would really make it a killer product.
Looks great, You really made a fantastic project even tho sadly wood can't be too functional due to deformation, humidity and general wear (it does looks sick tho).
This project has a lot of potential and might inspire other custom parts made like this (which seems like a pretty cost effective method both in terms of shipping and small to medium production). You really never disappoint...
This is dope because then it can be CNC'd out of any kind of material or even manually machine out of plywood using a router.
I have a Replicator 2 that is wood which we will rebuild.. I think this is NEEDED for it at some point! Amazing work sir! And again, your videos are really getting good. Amazing flow, the music is great, and the shots are tremendous!
What a beautiful concept! Really enjoyed watching the video! Can't wait to see your PCB version of it.
And you really made it through the whole video without making a joke about how this sheet extruder is sliced into layers, like a 3D printed one, only with an enormous layer height.... :D
All your projects are really cool, and I’d love to see you finally turn one into a product!
Very beautiful mechanical hear-shaped extruder! ❤
Really cool idea, I think you are onto something with this. Although I believe the PCB material might be the ultimate solution for the integrated electronics and strength of the fiber glass infused board. One think about PCB material would be adding traces for aesthetic reasons as well as functional.
thank god you finally placed your monitors side by side instead of one over the other
I really appreciated watching your learning process and the way you get inspiration to improve your own designs. Thank you for sharing
At this point, you are going to make a full 3d printer, you got the rails, now the extruder! This is awesome
Paper Mache Extruder! It can be strong and fun to assemble. Great video, really loving your innovation!
Unbelievable how much work you put there. The concept is promising for sure. Keep it up 💪
I would love to see this extruder on a Mendel/Prusa type printer that's made using your modular tension beam system as the frame. I think it would be aesthetically unique, rigid enough for crazy accelerations, and have an appeal to nostalgia while paying Proper tribute to those who laid the innovative foundation for this wonderful "hobby."
Even if you didn't do the extruder kit you could probably get a side hustle going, making your own model kits. You're already a whiz with CA, 3D printing, and now you even have a laser cutter. That's like a Etsy seller's trifecta of necessary production equipment. I do think the wooden gears might strip eventually though. I suppose the upside is they'd be inexpensive to replace in comparison to other material.
I would love to see this as an actual product. I always thought this was a cool idea and personally would buy it in certain cases. I would love to see a 2.85mm version though, although most manufacturers are strafing away from 2.85mm filament, its still very commonly used with some older printers and I happen to have a bunch of it
Oh wow, that was really cool to watch. Yes, please I wanna have an extruder send in an envelope!
Very cool. This video got me really thinking about this design technique. I frequently use tab and slot for plasma cut steel projects. But this could be taken to a whole new level in metal working, too.
Nice idea! Perhaps you should also add one more “cover” plate to increase stiffness?
great video as always, please try make a version of this with FR4 pcb. its essentially fibreglass and utra rigid and if you order it from pcbway you can customize the pcb edge finish to be smoothed and bevelled or even polished so the gears mesh easier. your idea to integrate circuits on the mechanical parts will be awesome.
I really want to be in line to get one of these cnc'd out of alliminium when the design is done. please release some sets Id love one
This design is very nice. Imagine cutting it from sheet carbon on cnc. Much more precise. Very strong and still light.
Fantastic video as always Jon! Interesting use of the plywood for the extruder. Would love to see a more tutorial like process on cutting that on the laser cutter. Until next time!
Thanks for sharing a link to the plywood jeep.
Would definitely buy one of those if it proves to be reliable. Keep up the work man, it’s inspiring to see you develop such a unique extruder!
Why would you use bearings, belts, captive nuts (you know you can screw directly into the wood, right?) and shit but wooden axles?
...can you laser-cut a car rim, though?
I wonder if it would help to glue some of the parts together. In the spacers, it might transfer some sideways forces off the thin square axle holding it together, and instead into the wooden stack.
My main concern is repairability. It might be easy to assemble with the tabs and all, but can you disassemble it to swap a worn or broken part without breaking or loosening something else? So while the novelty of "it's all laser cut!" is definitely neat like with the car model, and it's fine for some of the assemblies meant to be a single block, the final assembly should probably still use screws.
You should be able to add your kerf width in the machine settings of the laser control software and if it's smart, it will move inside and outside cuts the proper distance from the design line for you.
Interesting project mate! Looking forward to seeing it working
Definitely interested, this is a great concept! I'd also love to see a sheet metal version as well for heavy duty/industrial use in enclosed printers. Well done, this is something truly innovative and it shows a lot of promise in my eyes.
I'd be interested to see how the changes you made for this wood one would improve the printed one and seeing one cut out of sheet metal
Early Printrbots were all made of laser cut wood. I had 3 of them. The biggest problem I had was the fact that wood is not stable and will expand and contract with humidity. I loved the look, and REALLY love the look of this extruder, but wood is not a material I would want in a printer anymore. It moves around more than I would like. G10 with steel axles for the gears, and I may actually order one or two. Regardless I love this design and you do great work.
The design is really incredible! It would be really awesome if you continue improving it!
This looks like fun even just as a keepsake without using it in a 3d printer!
AS axles you might be able to find some standoffs that could work? or you might be able to stack a bunch of discs with 2 holes in them and use screws in the holes?
how do you define "off the self" in this context?
Definitely would buy! Makes for a fun assembly day/ puzzle. And upgrades my printer for super soft flexible filaments.
Watch IKEA a new player in flatpack design has entered the game. 😁
Seriously, this was very impressive. Looking forward to see the progress in the future.
I heard graphite is a decent conductor, if you're thinking of using the frame as a circuit board.
0.25 mm deep cuts in the wood and a spatula.
Why make wooden gears?
There doesn't seem to be a timing issue, so just use a rubber ring glued to the circumference.
Do you know what kinds of loads an extruder has to respond to? Comparing them with the abilities of the plywood pieces to resist those loads would be an interesting follow-up on this video.
Where have you been my guy, missed you we need more videos! Keep up the great work!
Shipping would be cheaper/faster, storage of the laser-cut sheets in the warehouse is increased, entirely "biodegradable" depending on your viewpoints of that word, and I bet that some plywood would be better than others. Like the stuff that alternates the grain with every layer? I dunno if it exists on the very thin stuff like is used in this project.
I really like the PCB idea! Even putting in simple diagnostic LEDs would be helpful. But I imagine that you would be able to put a lot more useful stuff on there, like 1-wire temp sensors, or maybe an accelerometer, or a strain gauge. I've seen many electronic toys use PCB material to get right angles of mounting, but also they use solder to get signals/power from one board to the other. A lot of times Pin headers are used, but if they never need to be removed, a PCB works just as well. I've also seen where the components are buried inside layers of PCB material, but if you stacked several layers of PCB you could get a similar effect. Maybe even shielding as well, due to the copper on the board?
It is cool, but it just feels like a step back to the Solidoodle Jigsaw extruder, for instance.
You rock!!!!! I really wanted to print your last design, but I don't have a resin printer. Looking very forward to laser cutting it!!!
Look into nesting software like deepnest.
It automatically lays out all the parts in the most efficient pattern it can find.
This reduces wasted material when you cut it out.
Thanks for this suggestion, I was looking for something like this!
i cannot wait for a composite version!!!
no, i think your freaking talents should be put in a product that lasts an apocalypse :D
Looks awesome!
Material-wise, I think you're on the right track with pcb material. I'd think you'd want to use G10/FR4/Garolite for strength, cost, and fire-resistance. It's not the best stuff to laser-cut though (from my understanding - fumes are hazardous).
Would consider buying in a more fire-resistant material than plywood.
Thanks! If I'll go with PCB material, I'm not going to laser cut it and it looks like PCBWay is able to manufacture it. I looked into the fire hazard of wood and although, many people mentioning this hazard,, the ignition temperature of wood is way higher than the hottest part of the printer which also doesn't come in contact with it.
@@properprinting Wood could be a problem if people have the voltage cranked up on their extruder stepper, i think they can operate at up to like 100c, my printer came with it at like 2.2v from the factory and that was so hot it was making my pla soft lol
If this were on Kickstarter I'd definitely back it
I think the wood extruder would make a nice decoration.
Definitely interested, I once made a ugears air powered engine that also turned out to be a interesting and challenging puzzle, can't wait to get my hands on this one!
I think this is very interesting. Shipping something like this would probably be much cheaper. I wonder if you could work within a constraint that it needs to fit within a form that can be mailed using standard post options.
I think the wood fasteners are a nice astetic, but might be sacrificing too much. I would rather use some standard nuts and bolts to hold things together. More secure fastening. The only thing I would be concerned about would be if the gears were to wear out. Ideally I'd want to be able to replace them with something I could source locally, either printed myself, or purchaseable.
For Kerf... Lightburn has a setting to take that into account so your model doesn't have to.
That's good to know, thanks for the info!
does it all have to be wood? Could the gears be acrylic? Or metal? Would larger wooden gears work better? I think this is a fascinating adventure!
If I could buy a hot end kit I'd be so happy. I love building these little kits.
I love what you are doing. But honestly metal extruders are all I use. I need long term reliability and durability. But what you are doing is amazing. Keep going
An interesting concept but I'm not sure about plywood, maybe sheet aluminium would be better or a combination of materials i.e. sheet aluminium for strength with PCB sheets in-between, for internal circuitry as you stated, and acrylic outside for finish effect.
That plywood sheet gives me goosebumps. What if that you can mail a full 3d printer chassis in one sheet?
Very interesting to watch your process. The PCB material may offer many advantages, or even a carbon fiber or fiberglass material. Looks great
Very interesting, for sure. I wonder if wood glue would have helped keep it together better.
You made an extruder with resin? I wonder if a carbon fiber filament on an FDM printer would work better. If I remember correctly, CNC kitchen had worse results with resin for functional prints than FDM.
I'd be interested for sure but i would try and make the gears out of something other materials as the wood would just wear down too far. Maybe aluminium for the gears? Would look great too with the wood and still be very light.
Interesting extruder design 👌 but why not just use screw's as axels? Much stronger and also holds everything together.
You could get rid of the bearings if you used a low friction material like delrin/POM, plastics would potentially be more durable since there’s less structural variance in the material. The plywood does looks really, really cool though.
How about throwing the files out there and let us cnc/laser our own?
Something else you can experiment with is coating the gears with CA glue or similar and seeing how it affects strength and wear.
Looks sweet man I love this extruder and i can't wait to eventually try it out for myself. You're awesome dude!
Hey, I think the gears would need lubrication. Would plywood start to "expand" (and disintegrate lol) if you grease it?