Oct. 31, 2012
With the new direct drive extruder for the 3D printer PRotos, the German RepRap GmbH, one of the first German companies to put an own 3D printer on the basis of the Open Source project RepRap on the market, succeeded in realizing an extruder with minimal dimensions. Due to the compact construction, the printing space can be used even better and larger objects can be printed. By dint of the modular design, several extruders may be stringed together to a dual or multiple extruder.
This opens up even more possibilities for the 3D printing, two-color printing or accompanying support material for instance. Moreover, the German RepRap was able to considerably simplify the extruder. In accordance with the motto "keep it simple", less components were used than for conventional extruders.
direct drive extruder single version
The new direct drive extruder of the German RepRap offers more flexibility due to its modular construction, as it may be used as a single or dual extruder depending on the requirements. Therefore, support material can be used during the whole printing process. The support material is necessary for complex undercut or movable objects, for instance, or for threads or objects that move freely inside of a cavity. A second extruder for the printing of support material is already supported in the free Open Source software slic3r. With the right slicer software, the direct drive extruder also enables two-color printing.
direct drive extruder dual version, credit: German RepRap
At the moment, the extruder works with the modular Hot Ends for 1.75 mm and 3 mm material. It can be disassembled with only one movement and therefore, it is easy to clean and to maintain. There is a conversion kit for the existing PRotos printers. It also fits for other Open Source printers, such as Prusa and many more. Those may use the direct drive extruder as a single, dual or multiple extruder, depending on the construction of the x-axis.
The price for a construction kit including a Hot End with a 0,5mm nozzle is 194.95 Euros / US$ 252.8 / GBP 157.06 incl. VAT. The kit for the dual extruder is 397.95 Euros / US$ 516.06 / GBP 320.58 incl. VAT.
Source:German RepRap GmbH
Posted in 3D Printer Accessories
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