Still looking to make your own 3D printer? Don’t have many tools or a big budget? Well, [Adam Kemp] has just the hack for you — a DIY extruder that can be made with only a drill press and a few hand tools.
First, a little background. [Adam] loves the nitty gritty side of 3D printing, so he’s managed to build his own printer almost completely out of recycled parts from printers, scanners, etc. Unfortunately, there’s not much of an option when it comes to the extruder. Almost all designs online feature 3D printed parts. Not wanting to admit defeat, he came up with this clever glow plug extruder design.
As you can imagine, it requires a lot of drilling, and it would be a heck of a lot easier on a mill — but that’s not the point here. He even goes into detail on how to hob the extruder feed wheel using nothing but a tap, a drill press, some skateboard bearings, and a few washers and nuts. The entire guide is great, so if you want to feel like MacGyver for a few hours and you need a good extruder, try it out!
To see the extruder in action, stick around after the break.
[Via Reddit]
The design of this printer is unique. I suppose a design like this lends itself to a much larger print base? It appears to be that the x and y movements are not constricted by the frame.
This extruder design is super! It uses some parts that can be easily procured in local stores, atleast here in India. Most lathe and milling work can be done outside very cheaply.
Printer design looks a lot like simple small CNC mills as far as I can see.
I love the idea of a glow plug. Having a diesel myself and learning about it when i got the car i can not believe this has not been thought of sooner.
I second this, using a glow plug is brilliant.
On the other hand, the “useless” cig lighter units in cars can be harvested, using some basic spot welding to recycle the broken element as an extruder and fire cement + barrel + some sort of thermal tape for the casing.
Coating the barrel (Al) with Al2O3 using boric acid make a great substrate and should outlast the element.
A miniature of these might also work? http://www.vvs-shoppen.dk/billeder/storre/1/403159000.jpg
It’s for a radiator, it’s the one the thermostat presses on when you turn it. Remove the pin and you have a tip…. maybe :P If course there’s the small caveat that it’s hollow.
Like an r/c glow plug? http://volvospeed.com/~volvo/Pics/Mods/glow_plug.jpg Not sure on their lifespan though when ran constantly..