Hey guys, this is David uploading at University of Waterloo student machine shop. Here are promised pictures of our extruder. Progress has been slow since my computer had issues running any form of 3D manipulation program (Ohwell, time to format.), but here they are.
This is the cold end. As you can see, it's a geared stepper extruder. Gear ratio is 6:1. It uses a captive nut to hold the bowden cable in place.
The opposite side of the cold end: There's nothing much to be said, really. 0.5-inch-thick Lexan plate is used since we have plenty of it left over after building the base.
View without the base plate, revealing the ball bearing and the captive nut assembly.
Annnnd here are some pictures of the hot end.
This is the hot and. From the top: Teflon tubing, heater barrier, hot end mount, heater block ,sandwiched between two Teflon sheets. Teflon sheets were added for better thermal insulation.
Teflon cable goes all the way to the barrel end, making the heat zone 0.255 inch long (that's roughly 6.5mm).
This is the heater block without Teflon sheets. Nozzle is part of the heater block now, for added reliability.
So yes, all extruder components are ready to be machined!
....as soon as a mill becomes available, that is (Hopefully before the shop closes.).
Now that CAD drawings are finally done, I am planning to look into electronics with Eric. We'll post our findings next time.
Until then,
David
WatRapter Co-Lead
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