Metal Printed Direct Drive Delta Effector

youmagine

I moved from printing with PLA to XT, but I soon grew frustrated with the excessive blobbing, stringing, and layer unevenness caused by the compression of the filament in my bowden tube. Since XT is less stiff than PLA, it resulted in back pressure and reduced retraction efficiency. In response, I started searching for direct-drive options suitable for Delta printers, and the Ultibots Micro Extruder seemed to be my only viable choice despite its excellent reviews. However, it appeared rather large in Z, and plastic printed extruder components had failed me in the past due to temperature differences between where steppers can operate safely and where plastics cannot withstand significant creep. I also appreciate Printrbot's geared extruder design, and previously designed a minimalist housing for it using Shapeways printed stainless steel. Taking these parameters into account, I rapidly sketched out a combined hotend-mount, direct drive extruder, and mag-ball based carriage to initiate the creation of a minimally sized, rugged, precise, highly integrated effector. The result functions well and can be cost-effectively printed from Shapeways stainless steel or other metals at an increased price.