In the name of saving weight as well as pushing plastic, it’s nice to see continuous tweaks on 3D printer extruders from folks in their spare time. as well as to go where no extruder has gone before, [wayne dalton] has managed to integrate the rolling screw thread extruder idea directly onto a brushless pancake motor. The result is a filament pushing system weighing in at just under 90 grams. What’s more, this modification arrives a few weeks weeks after we very first saw an open source version of the rolling screw thread extruder land on Thingiverse back in September.
Getting a direct-drive BLDC extruder off the ground comes with a number of geometry challenges. First, filament needs to be fed through a motor with a hollow shaft. since this motor will be operated under closed loop control by means of an ODrive, the motor likewise requires an encoder with a hole down the middle too. [wayne dalton] patiently walks us through all the changes made over seven iterations to create a setup that will ultimately install onto a machine as well as start printing. however for that last step we’ll requirement to check back a bit later. Finally, this development comes with the promise of a possible open source release of the style files, so we’re quite excited to stay tuned for future videos.
In the last few years, we’ve seen state-of-the-art extruders move away from NEMA 17 motors in favor of more compact options like planetary gears as well as even lasers to push printers faster. We’re ecstatic to see that folks keep trying to set the bar higher.
Thanks to [ImpC] for the tip!