PW3d Blog

Makerbot Replicator 2: Adjustable Extruder

My new Adjustable Extruder is the new extruder update I am working with since 1 week now and I have to say, that it is the best I had till now. It replaces my spring driven extruder which did do a decent job too till I tried to print with Soft-PLA with it since the spring based extruder always used the same pressur for feeding the filament to the extruder itelf and that did not work out for SoftPLA. My new extruder printing with SoftPLA, the ...

Owl-Print

A small but nice 3d print of the common Owl model to fill the time till the screws for my new adjustable extruder are delivered. With this new extruder I hope to be able to print Soft-PLA successfully, which I can not print till now, very likely because my static, spring-based extruder has only one pressure setting and needs a less high pressure for the softer material to be transported correctly. The new extruder can be adjusted using a small ...

Happy Holidays

I wish anyone who reads this Merry Christmans and Happy Holidays. I certainly will have a good time with this new xmas decorations. 10 blue stars are currently hanging from the christmas trees while candlelights are lightening us, maltreat our voices and ears... ;) Merry Christmas!

A 3d print example at 100 micron layer height

Here is another example of a 3d print at 100 microns layerheight. It is a pen holder.

3d print close up

Many people wonder about how a 3d printed object from an affordable 3d printer will look. How neatly is the surface, how clean does it look? I am trying to give an answer to that today. The object below is a jewellery piece for a friend I produced with my Makerbot Replicator 2. Image 1: Jewellery piece at 150 Micrometer Image 2: The same piece next to a ruler (showing centimeters, not inches; 2.54 cm = 1 inch) to show you the size ...

My Extruder Updates

Over the last few weeks I have modified the extruder of my Makerbot Replicator 2 to make it much more effective and reliable. Before I had from time to time problems that the print was cancelled inbetween, but now it is working much better. That is partly the case because there is a new firmware for the Replicator 2 but of course it has to do with the updates I did too. The image shows, what I have changed to the original design. Additional ...