Replicator 2 Extruder Upgrade

cults3d

This extruder upgrade for the Replicator 2 replaces the Delrin plunger with a pinch roller. Using the spring specified in the parts list below, this pinch roller provides about 60N of force on the filament, which provides enough driving pressure on the filament, in combination with the stepper drive gear to prevent stripping. Unlike other designs, this one uses a pin style bush on which the pinch arm rotates. This provides a large lower friction surface for the pinch wheel arm to rotate on, and allows the mounting screw to be fully tightened so there is no chance of it working loose. I have extensively tested this design, which has evolved through numerous iterations, and I have also tested several different springs. With the specified spring I can hold the drive gear with my thumb and pull hard on the filament without it stripping, and its done numerous unattended prints with troublesome clear PLA filament - so I can confidently say it works. ###UPDATE (Mar 4th 2013) In v7 I have added a filament guide slot to the bottom of the backing plate. I added a spring channel to hold the spring in place and stiffen the backing plate. I redesigned the arm geometry to make it pivot better - compressed and uncompressed. I altered the pin so one side now 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) so will behave well with Makerware, ReplicatorG and skeinforge. There are also STEP files that can be imported into other CAD programs. Because a few of you have asked - Paypal donations graciously accepted - whpthomas at yahoo dot com