July 25, 2014
Everyone who uses a 3D printer has experienced print fails when they run out of filament in the middle of a print job. Pedro M. Librero, an industrial designer, has the same frustration and he decided to make a device to help solve the problem.
Librero has developed a simple device, called the FUSE welding filament clamp, that welds two plastic filament together. The device has a heating element in the center of the clamp and the rest part is kept as cool as possible. So when the filament flows through it, a small portion of the filament is melted in the center and quickly cool, upon reaching the end, the filament stays solid and maintains its shape.
To use the Fuse clamp, simply connect it to the power and pause your print job. Insert two coils from both sides of the clamp. In less than a minute, the Fuse starts working.
Librero has launched the Fuse clamp on Indiegogo for raising funds for starting mass production of the device. Librero is looking to raise totally €3,500 on Indiegogo and he has received about 60% of the total amount.
The FUSE Clamp works with all common filament types, including ABS, PLA, PLA flexible, PVA, Nylon. It will also be available in two sizes. It works with 1.75mm and 3.0mm diameters filament. You can also mix different colors for multi-color prints.
The FUSE Clamp is available (including shipping) for €59 (USD$80) on Indiegogo. The campaign is running until August 6th.
Posted in 3D Printer Accessories
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Terrence Teo wrote at 10/1/2015 6:07:10 AM:
The filament is an important material used in 3D printing.Filament is the blood of your printer. And it is very important to choose right type of filament for your printer. I am using PLA Filament in my printer.I got my 3D printer from amazon and it helped me a lot in learning 3D printing.
Jeff wrote at 2/21/2015 6:54:49 PM:
Hello everyone, I will begin by saying I received my Fuse a while back. Actually, I was customer number 15 to register to the Fuse Store, I because of lack of time, I didn't get to play to the Fuse until this very morning. Right off the bat, even before I plugged it in, I found the first of a list of the things wrong with it. First, as you see in the videos, the Fuse comes with a base, and a top which gets secured in by thumb screws. Well, I could not remove the top part, yes, even after removing the thumb screws. You see, the way I pictured it is that, the Fuse got screwed to the back plate with its top, after the teflon got drilled with the back plate in place. It was drilled with both piece of teflon at once, my guess to ensure tightness and straightness. However, because it was drilled with and M6 drill bit, and secured in place by M6 screws, obviously the top part would not come out. To remove the top part I had to unscrew the M6 screws to let free the top part. Indeed, the top screw holes had threads in them clearly showing it would have been impossible to remove. From there, I went and used a M6.5 bit to enlarge the screw holes. Then I proceeded to put the top part back on. This is where I found the second problem. When the teflon was drilled with the metal bracket as the template, the holes were not 100% perpendicular to the backing plate, or not totally vertical if you'd like. That meant the top would not slide in and out freely. The first thing I did was trying to enlarge the top holes, but soon found out I could not fix the problem without bending the screws to set them vertically. I had M6 nuts on hand, so I screwed my spare nuts onto the screws and proceeded to hammer the screw straight to the perpendicular axis. Not much of a problem there, but had I not have nuts on hand, I would ended damaging the threads of the screws hammering them back where they belong. With that second problem fixed, I plugged the fuse and started fusing. After about 30 seconds of the Fuse plugged into the wall, I placed my fingers onto the cable right next to the teflon block, effectively where the cable would have the chance to be at its hottest while in use. And boy was it hot. Enough I could not let my finger on the cable. Letting security aside, I went to fuse 10 pieces of 3mm PLA filament I had prepared. By the time I had 3 pieces fused, I unplugged the Fuse from the outlet by fear of frying something else than the Fuse itself. The 3 fused filament pieces were actually pretty well fused and would had lasted their journeys to a hobb pully just fine. Then I started to look at the specifications of the Fuse power cable. It was clearly stamped on the cable 18awg, 300V, 60 degrees C. It is a cable you would typically used for a desk lamp, not something that is designed to heat at about 100 degrees C over its rating. So after those 3 flaws I consider the Fuse to be useless because of safety concerns. It is a neat idea, in fact I'll take it apart too see if I can improve it and replace the cable but until I remove the 3 layers of heat shrink tubing on the cable I won't know. So, to you the people that are waiting in line to receive the Fuse, don't get you hopes up. Its clearly an untested and unfinished product that received no certifications whatsoever. At any rate, it looks like the project owner left us all in the cold. And for those that want to take things further, this is what was written on the package as return address: Pedro Manuel Librero Martin C/ Montemar No 3, 1 -A Guadalajara C.P. 19001 Guadalajara Espana Good luck to all, if you indeed use your Fuse, make sure you have a fire extinguisher right next to it while you do and make sure your insurance is paid up on your house. Jeff -- The End.
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