Replicator 2 Extruder Upgrade

cults3d

This extruder upgrade for the Replicator 2 replaces the Delrin plunger with a pinch roller, giving it a significant boost in performance. The spring specified in the parts list provides about 60N of force on the filament, which, combined with the stepper drive gear, prevents stripping and ensures smooth printing. Unlike other designs, this upgrade uses a pin style bush for the pinch arm to rotate on, providing a large lower friction surface that allows the mounting screw to be fully tightened without any chance of it coming loose. This design has been extensively tested through numerous iterations and several different springs have also been tried. With the specified spring, I can confidently say that this upgrade works. ###UPDATE (Mar 4th 2013) In version 7, a filament guide slot was added to the bottom of the backing plate, along with a spring channel to hold the spring in place and stiffen the backing plate. The arm geometry was redesigned for better pivoting, both compressed and uncompressed. Additionally, the pin was modified so that one side holds the base plate down against the stepper motor. This extruder upgrade was designed using an ACIS solid in Shark FX/ViaCAD (vc3 file included), which means it will behave well with Makerware, ReplicatorG, and skeinforge. STEP files are also available for import into other CAD programs. Paypal donations are graciously accepted at whpthomas@yahoo.com.