This is a raw idea I just got. I've been contemplating alternatives to filament. What's happening now 3d printing is not cost effective. A commodity like ABS, which cost's $1/lb, is marked up to $30/lb when extruded into filament. I haven't seen much progress in granule extruders, So here's my solution:
I was walking through my local CircleK today (substitute your local stop-and-rob here) and I noticed the slushy machine was squeaking; "Hmm, bearing must be going bad I suppose." My mind works in mysterious ways :).
Anyway, I purpose extruding ABS paste, or ABS blended with acetone, through a contraption kind of like a slushy machine. ABS and acetone wont remain mixed if it sits in a tank, but make an air tight tank with an auger bit that agitates the mixture and in theory, you'll get a uniform distribution.
Then, attach a hose to the bottom of that tank to a tool head, with a solenoid valve to turn the flow on and off, then you could have an extruder that uses raw pellets instead of filament. Obviously there are pressure issues to deal with; You cant use normal air to push the paste out or you'll just get a big mess of hardened ABS in a big expensive tank, but maybe nitrogen or helium? I don't know.
Anyway I thought I would release my sludgexstruder into the wild and let you guys nitpick it apart. Cheers.
I was walking through my local CircleK today (substitute your local stop-and-rob here) and I noticed the slushy machine was squeaking; "Hmm, bearing must be going bad I suppose." My mind works in mysterious ways :).
Anyway, I purpose extruding ABS paste, or ABS blended with acetone, through a contraption kind of like a slushy machine. ABS and acetone wont remain mixed if it sits in a tank, but make an air tight tank with an auger bit that agitates the mixture and in theory, you'll get a uniform distribution.
Then, attach a hose to the bottom of that tank to a tool head, with a solenoid valve to turn the flow on and off, then you could have an extruder that uses raw pellets instead of filament. Obviously there are pressure issues to deal with; You cant use normal air to push the paste out or you'll just get a big mess of hardened ABS in a big expensive tank, but maybe nitrogen or helium? I don't know.
Anyway I thought I would release my sludgexstruder into the wild and let you guys nitpick it apart. Cheers.