Filament Feeder

thingiverse

This feeder is designed to be inserted into a 56mm hole created in the top table of the Lack 3D printer enclosure project. It has been successfully printed and works flawlessly. To ensure stability, both parts must be securely glued together or attached to the table; otherwise, they may snap off due to filament tension. Removing them is easy - simply turn them and they will separate easily. Its primary goal is to provide freedom of movement for the filament when the printing head reaches its maximum z height, while allowing it to pass through the center of the enclosure's top. A silicone seal can be applied between the bottom part and the table to maintain airtightness within the enclosure. The lip allows for this seal, so only the top part needs to be replaced if you switch to 1.75mm filament. This design is tailored specifically for 3mm filament, but I will upload a 1.75mm version if it performs as expected. Future versions could incorporate parameters to accommodate different hole sizes. It was printed with 2 shells, 0.2mm layers, and 3 solid layers; PLA or ABS should work well (the holes are slightly larger to allow for ABS retraction, but still require some resizing with a 3mm bit for the filament hole). Change notes: v0.5 - test printed successfully; v0.2 - dimensional adjustments after first test print; v0.1 - initial release and test print. Printer settings: RepRap printer brand; Mendel90 printer model; doesn't matter if rafts are used or not; same for supports; resolution is 200 microns; infill percentage ranges from 10 to 20%. This design was created using Catia V5.