What does it do?

• My final project will Extrude/make filament for 3D printers from pellets fed into it. It will be a desktop filament maker which would act as an aid to your 3D printer.

Who’s done what beforehand?

• So, people have made these types of extruder machines before as a DIY project and as a Product too.

• All of those machines were pretty expensive whether homemade or a final product. I wanted to try my hand on the project and see if I could make it uses low cost material which could be feasible for the Indian market.

• Some of the sources from which the project is inspired from from are :

  1. Lyman Filament Extruder
  2. Felfil
  3. Granulo

What did you design?

• Mechanical components :
  1. Barrel
  2. Hopper
  3. Housing
  4. Motor Shaft Coupling
• Electronics components :
  1. Input / Output Board
     

What materials and components were used ?

• Mechanical Components :
  1. Mild Steel Stock
  2. Aluminium Stock
  3. 16mm Auger bit
  4. 12V 10RPM geared Motor.
  5. Brass end Cap
  6. Brass flange
  7. Lots of Nuts and Bolts.
• Electronics Components :
  1. NTC 100k Thermistor
  2. 12V 40W Heat Catridge
  3. Mosfet IF540
  4. Voltage Regulator 7805
  5. Atmega 328p
  6. Resistors, capacitor & LEDs.
     

Where did they come from?

• Purchased Material :

  1. 16mm Auger bit
  2. 12V 10RPM geared Motor.
  3. Brass end Cap
  4. Brass flange
  5. NTC 100k Thermistor
  6. 12V 40W Heat Cartridge

• Material from Lab :

  1. Mosfet IF540
  2. Voltage Regulator 7805
  3. Atmega 328p
  4. Resistors, capacitor & LEDs.
  5. Mild Steel Stock
  6. Aluminium Stock
  7. Lots of Nuts and Bolts.

###How much did they cost?

• Bill Of Material To view the image Kindly open it in a new tab .

Find the BOM here.

What parts and systems were made?

1. Barrel
2. Hopper
3. Base
4. Coupling
5. Electronic Board

What processes were used?

1. 3D printing
2. Turning
3. Drilling & Tapping
4. Milling

what tasks have been completed, and what tasks remain?

• Everything I aimed for has been completed.
• All the manufacturing work is done, assembly is done. Filament has been extruded.
• Some minor things need to be added like a 16x4 LCD and a outer case.
• PID control for the temperature remains.

What has worked? what hasn’t?

• Almost all the goals I set were accomplished.
• I tried writing a PID code for my board but could’t get it to work. I plan to debug the code further in order to have perfect temp control.
• Also I had to shift the heating cartridges to the front of heat end in order to prevent the heat from travelling to the 3D printed base. I plan to extend the barrel length to counter the problem.
  

What will happen when?

• my project plan :

What have you learned?

• The learnings from the project have been enormous, been a Mechanical engineer I was always focussed and confined to the mechanical aspects of things.
• But in my final project everthing from mechanical , electronics and software was included.
• I got to learn so much about the electronics stuff, It’s such a proud moment when you get your board to work.
• I had previously worked on laser cutter but was’t aware of the press fit, and the flexures. Amazing.