Bondtech Extruder

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I've been involved in 3D printing for the past two years, and one of the biggest challenges I've faced is related to material feeding. Today's extruders use a single driven wheel with a spring-loaded bearing that pushes the filament against the drive wheel. This method has some significant disadvantages - low pushing force, risk of grinding the filament leading to a failed print, slipping that leads to underextrusion, and deforming the filament resulting in increased friction in the Bowden tube. The new Bondtech extruder uses two drive wheels equipped with sharp teeth that grab the filament on both sides, providing numerous advantages over standard extruders. Some of its most significant benefits include: * Huge pushing power eliminating the risk of underextrusion - tests have verified it's over 9 kg with a 1.75 mm filament. * Minimal risk for filament grinding. * Ability to print at high speeds due to the large pushing power, with tests made at 250 mm/s printing with a 0.4 mm nozzle and no filament grind. * Capability to use small nozzles. * High-torque Nema17 stepper motor with a precise planetary gearbox delivering high resolution and fast retracts. * Adjustable secondary drive wheel for optimizing grip. * Easy access to drive wheels for cleaning. Here's a walkthrough of the design by Eric Lien: The extruder in action: https://plus.google.com/109092260040411784841/posts/gnn6rmyWWC6 In a few weeks, I'll be able to provide kits with metal parts and professional 3D-printed SLS parts for housing components. The current version only supports 1.75 mm filament, but a 3.0 mm version is in development.