Programmable Filament Gives Even Simple 3D Printers Multi-Material Capabilities

Re:Programmable Filament Gives Even Simple 3D Printers Multi... by punnerud on Saturday October 31, 2020 @02:23PM (#24953908)

The was a Indigogo project that did not take off, where they demonstrated making filament from pellets using an extruder. Had this been extended with multiple color feeded to the extruder at the right time, it would make this technique a lot more practical.

Maybe also more high precision because you can have the extruder closer to the printer, to match filament type with what is printed at any given time.

I proposed the this technique about 5-6 years ago here on HN. Nice to now se it in real life.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Programmable Filament Gives Even Simple 3D Printers Multi... by IgorPartola on Saturday October 31, 2020 @02:39PM (#24954070)

The problem is that an extruder that makes filament is something that can easily take up a room. It requires vats of water, wheels multiple measurement sensors, tensioner, spoolers, etc. And it still is unlikely to produce consistent filament compared to a commercial operation. I love the idea but I feel like you might be better off injecting viscous dyes into the hotend instead.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Programmable Filament Gives Even Simple 3D Printers Multi... by mdorazio on Sunday November 01, 2020 @01:03AM (#24957522)

Hobbyist extruders are fairly available already [1] and easily fit on a small table. You only need a giant one if you're manufacturing filament professionally and plan to produce hundreds of kilos a day.

[1] https://www.filastruder.com/products/filastruder-kit?variant...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Programmable Filament Gives Even Simple 3D Printers Multi... by punnerud on Saturday October 31, 2020 @04:02PM (#24954719)

Room size? Several examples that is home made and about the size of a hand (this from 2014): https://richrap.blogspot.com/2014/12/no-more-filament-quest-...

[ Parent | on HN ]