www.3ders.org

Oct 16, 2015 | By Alec

Despite all the making freedom it gives us, we in the 3D printing community are still slaves of the filament manufacturers. And as everyone knows, those rolls can get expensive. This is exactly why more and more people are turning to desktop filament extruders, that turn very cheap pellets (usually a sixth of the price of filament) into perfectly 3D printable filament. In essence, creating your own 3D printer filaments not only helps save users money, but it also brings them closer to the 3D printing experience as a whole. Earlier this year, Italian startup Collettivo Cocomeri had already released the very interesting and open source Fefil extruder, but have now appeared on Kickstarter with an improved (and much better looking) version: the Felfil Evo, a cheap and excellent option for those thinking about cutting out the filament middle man.

Collettivo Cocomeri (which funnily enough means Watermelon Collective) is an interesting startup that was born during a course in EcoDesign at the Turin Polytechnic in Italy. Consisting of Fabrizio Pasquero, Giulio Cravino, Fabrizio Mesiano and Alessandro Severini, this team turned to 3D printing and making in 2013 and became absolutely obsessed with it. But during that time, they became acutely aware of the ecological consequences of 3D printing, as well as of the money involved . ‘The theme of recycling has always been very important to us, this is the main reason why our project was born, and for which we care so much to make it happen: we hope it will be an opportunity for everyone to pollute less, saving time and money,’ they say. This already led to that first prototype we reported on, and already attracted a thousand downloads.

However, that was mostly made of salvaged parts and didn’t look very good. Collettivo Cocomeri is therefore now back for more with an excellent and very cool looking design, that will be a great addition to any desktop: the Felfil Evo. And as they explain on Kickstarter, this machine seems to have it all. It is easy to use, and enables users to choose their own colours, diameters (1,75mm, 2,85mm or 3mm) and material (ABS and PLA for now) per extrusion project, essentially offering you all the options you’d like. ‘Moreover, you will be independent during the whole printing process, from the beginning to its end. Is that all? Not yet. The last advantage, the most important in our opinion, is that you can have a positive impact on the environment, recovering materials originally directed to landfill,’ they say.

And all of that is bundled in an extremely affordable package; the basic kit is priced at €230 and early birds are even cheaper, making it one of the more affordable filament extruders out there. In part, that is achieved by relying on very cheap off the shelf parts, such as an Arduino. ‘Felfil Evo is a small machine that takes inspiration, for its functioning, from the industrial extruders,’ they say. ‘The temperature control is obtained through a PID system, Arduino based, freely controllable and customizable by the user.’

But they also feature a design that is more efficient than most desktop options out there. For the usual problem is in the cooling mechanism to ensure consistent filament results, but the Italian designers have come up with a remarkably simple and cost saving solution. ‘Felfil Evo uses a complex brass nozzle, that is able to progressively cool down the filament in a passive way. So the filament gets out from the nozzle with the correct diameter and a relatively cool temperature, so no more deformations would occur. Thanks to this revolutionary nozzle we were able to not integrate any spooler or water tank, resulting in minor costs and dimension,’ they say.

All those different elements make this machine a very interesting option for everyone looking into at-home filament manufacturing. If you do back their Kickstarter campaign, shipping will begin in May 2016.

 

 

Posted in 3D Printer Accessories

 

 

Maybe you also like:

• The Palette multi-color 3D printing add-on launches now on Kickstarter
• Airwolf 3D unveils Wolfbite Nano adhesive solution for optimal PLA 3D printing
• Supercharge your 3D printer with the Fastbot BBP controller board
• WASP unveils new 3D printer extruder with a rotating nozzle, one step closer to 3D printing houses
• Stacker 3D now offers highly efficient HYBRID hot end for 3D printers
• Z-Unlimited add-on enables your Ultimaker to print with an unlimited height
• Flexible Hybrid Slicing that will optimize & speed up your 3D printing projects, coming soon to Kickstarter
• Control any 3D printer with smartphones and tablets wirelessly using Sharebox3D
• Studio Under's new extruder design could 3D print plastic granulate AND natural resin Shellac
• Add an operation system directly to your 3D printer with Photon Elephant's new kit

   

Leave a comment:

Your Name: