jrrdw wrote:When I say "hop-ups" I was meaning printer upgrades. Things that would make it faster, easier to use, print more things then it is currently able to print, firmware updates ect...
jrrdw,
There are too many to list.
The main one is having the lowest mass possible on your printing head to reduce inertia between rapid movements. This is accomplished by the obvious - and also by totally unique mechanical designs. This will speed up your printing more then anything as it's currently the main limiting factor in a majority of the printers. Typically they mount the filament drive motor, hot end, extruder assembly and the carriage all on the printing head platform - this makes for a heavy mass attempting to rapidly change movement.
Properly managing heat is also a big issue - You only want the first inch or so of the filament that's being melted to actually be in the liquid stage. This requires a rather sharp thermal gradient - something people have been experimenting with extensively in the the amateur field, where exotic plastics are being extruded. This is being accomplished both by liquid cooling and the use of FEA for thermal modeling more efficiently.
Beyond that - the motors and drivers are old technology. Trimming and optimizing the code helps though!
sagthegreat wrote:jrrdw wrote:So what are the hop-ups for 3D printers? They been out long enough haven't they...
I was kind of hoping for 3d print darts, kind of like the ones JSR made out plastic
I dont want this to sound spammy, but I made a spudgun youtube channel, and was wondering if I could get some feedback?
https://www.youtube.com/user/Coolnventions
I am getting amazing layer bonding the further I optimize my print setting - I could probably easily print you a dart sabot or 5 if you give me the sizes of the constraints (i.e. barrel and ammo).
Just pay me shipping and a tip and it's yours! Sabots will use a ridiculously small amount of plastic. Additive manufacturing really does have it's advantages when it comes to material conservation!
