What do you think about Dragon Hotend

theruttmeister

@arhi said in What do you think about Dragon Hotend:

That's the think @deckingman is trying to do, he's trying to make a new hotend that will actually mix the filament as diamond is not mixing them (you can read his text about "toothpaste effect")

Static mixing or active? Because sealing an active mixer is a challenge.

What do you consider a 'low temp' or 'high temp' material? There has been at least 1 extruder on the market that (if fitted with a better sensor) could print in ULTEM or PEEK, was also very good with PLA, maybe the best with TPU. It couldn't print wax to save its life...

which one?

Type A Machines G2. Not that you can do anything useful with ULTEM or PEEK without an oven to print inside... Plus you can't buy that extruder any more.

Why print something that already exists?

I looked trough I think 500 different connectors and was not satisfied with what I found. I'll go trough this site too. I prefer to purchase a working solution than to invent hot water but so far nothing I found was fitting my vision

I know the feeling. But just used some of the mill-max SLC components on a project. If I try and build a tool changer with electrical connections, I'll use something from them.

arhi

@theruttmeister said in What do you think about Dragon Hotend:

Static mixing or active? Because sealing an active mixer is a challenge.

static mixing using "weird paths" like those multi-component mixer attachments on the industry syringes ..

https://somei3deas.wordpress.com/2020/02/24/my-6-input-51-mixing-hot-end-version-2/

there are 9 parts of that, I find it super interesting

I know the feeling. But just used some of the mill-max SLC components on a project. If I try and build a tool changer with electrical connections, I'll use something from them.

I just went trough the site, they have the pogo pin modules I was planing to use but they don't have a "connectors" with guides, locks etc etc.. I did not plan to use just blank pins and house them in my case (if I don't have to :D) but to pack bunch of stuff like this into a mating pair:

theruttmeister

@arhi

I think the closest are these
https://www.mill-max.com/products/new/rugged-spring-loaded-wire-termination-connectors

But no, not an actual connector. But if you are building a tool changer you don't need a connector, you need to design the electrical connections into the tool mount.
A simple PCB, that carries SLC's and breaks them out into maybe Molex KK connectors, and locates accurately on a machined aluminium mount that holds the printhead. With a matching PCB and mount on the printer...

That's how I ~~did~~ would do it.

You could also just use the ones I linked to and bolt them in position.

Although if you are only going to use 2 tools, and don't need to be able to swap out the heads super fast, just regular connectors would work.

fcwilt

@theruttmeister said in What do you think about Dragon Hotend:

I dunno, I've not done testing on either of them.

Perhaps you should. I tried one M and was so impressed that I equipped my other printer with one.

I like everything about the M. If it has a downside I have not found it yet.

Time will tell.

Frederick

zapta

@jens55 said in What do you think about Dragon Hotend:

Rather than heating up a big oven, a plumbers propane torch does wonders for cleaning nozzles...

That's what I do, with a small cooking torch, but arhi's comment here about toxic fumes made me rethink it.

deckingman

@jens55 said in What do you think about Dragon Hotend:

Rather than heating up a big oven, a plumbers propane torch does wonders for cleaning nozzles... and it's very quick!
More importantly, it doesn't get SWMBO wound up.

In my house, 'er in doors doesn't object to getting her oven cleaned. Speaking hypothetically of course, but if one were to put a heat break in the oven, one doesn't necessarily have to tell anyone If you go about it the right way, you can even earn brownie points. Be careful with that torch - it's not too difficult to anneal stainless steel if you get it too hot.

arhi

I managed to kill aluminium nozzle with a small proxxon torch so I don't go with torch near my nozzles any more.

Don't put "non food" in the oven, dunno, small kids, wife, life's short either way without needed to explain what/where/why... Will be moving, hopefully this year, to a house where I'll have a proper work space (I will have a small 50m2 house just for me ) and there I plan for plastic-dedicated oven for my recycled plates (I recycle failed prints, support, iterations.. into plastic plates I later on machine and use for other builds) and for other stuff but now when space is scarce I have to restrain myself and worry about WAR (wife approval rate)

theruttmeister

@fcwilt said in What do you think about Dragon Hotend:

Perhaps you should. I tried one M and was so impressed that I equipped my other printer with one.

Perhaps I should. The load cell is just gathering dust and I've not done a blog post in about 6 years...

Might be interesting to do 1 hotend a month, proper quantitative benchmark.

theruttmeister

@arhi said in What do you think about Dragon Hotend:

@theruttmeister said in What do you think about Dragon Hotend:

Static mixing or active? Because sealing an active mixer is a challenge.

static mixing using "weird paths" like those multi-component mixer attachments on the industry syringes ..

https://somei3deas.wordpress.com/2020/02/24/my-6-input-51-mixing-hot-end-version-2/

there are 9 parts of that, I find it super interesting

Interesting.
The huge volume of the melt chamber is going to be an issue... he'll have epic purge requirements. And its funny that he thinks there is IP in static mixing device design (hint, if hundreds of pounds is a lot, you can't afford patent enforcement), static mixers have been around forever and are well understood.

I just look at the endless number of sealing surfaces... I get the desire for CMYK mixing. I just think that 99.9% of people are happy with a low maintenance hotend and a wide range of available single colours. Just using the 4 colours of a Palette is a big jump in complexity for design.

Good luck to him.

fcwilt

@theruttmeister said in What do you think about Dragon Hotend:

Might be interesting to do 1 hotend a month, proper quantitative benchmark.

Now that would be great!

Frederick

deckingman

@theruttmeister As I'm being talked about, I thought it best to respond. I've been using "mixing" hot ends for many years. But none of the commercially available options actually mix. So I am stuck with the stripey toothpastes effect. If I could buy one that actually mixed I would as that would save me a lot of time and money.
It's fair to say that 99.9 % of people are happy with a low maintenance single input hot end. It's also fair to say that very few people would buy a mixing hot end, not least because each input needs its own extruder.
But I'm coming from the basis that I already have six Bondtech BMGs. These are mounted on a second CoreXY gantry which sits above the hot end. This was the first CoreXYUV for which the Duet guys wrote a new kinematics. I also have a third load balancing gantry so now the machine is a CoreXYUVAB. This was another world first.
I'm proud of the fact that both my CoreXYUV and my load balancing gantry have been implemented by others because I feel that I have made a contribution towards advancing FDM printing.
I also "invented" a technique for advancing the tool change point within the gcode file which negates much of the required purge. Again, I have openly shared all this information and the Duet guys have previously stated that they might implement this in firmware.
If I can make a hot end that actually mixes, then that will be something else that will move FDM printing forward. I don't really care if the 99.9 % of people won't be interested. If 0.1 % of people do benefit, then that will be an achievement.
Thus far, I haven't made a bean from all the work I have done over the years, so it would be nice if I can find a way to get some return on this mixing hot end if I ever get it to work. But that is secondary. The main thing for me is solving the problem.

jens55

A wild thought here .... commercially used two part epoxy actually 'mix' the two separate epoxy parts in a nozzle. It is a very effective mixing action. Have you ever tried implementing something like that to get rid of the toothpaste effect?
The only issue is that the mixing chamber, by the very definition, needs to be larger in volume than a straight through path and so there will be a delay to the mixing effect. A purge tower will be needed (don't remember if you are currently using a purge tower).
Manufacturing the mixing chamber would likely be quite tricky.

deckingman

@jens55 said in What do you think about Dragon Hotend:

A wild thought here .... commercially used two part epoxy actually 'mix' the two separate epoxy parts in a nozzle. It is a very effective mixing action. Have you ever tried implementing something like that to get rid of the toothpaste effect?
The only issue is that the mixing chamber, by the very definition, needs to be larger in volume than a straight through path and so there will be a delay to the mixing effect. A purge tower will be needed (don't remember if you are currently using a purge tower).
Manufacturing the mixing chamber would likely be quite tricky.

That's exactly the kind of principle that I'm exploring. It's largely getting a balance of three factors. Minimal volume in the mixing chamber, having enough "twists and turns", and minimising back pressure.

But this is all getting way off topic for a post entitled "What do you think about Dragon Hotend". There is a link to my blog in my signature where everything I've doen and am doing is documented (I'm up to post number 9).

theruttmeister

@deckingman said in What do you think about Dragon Hotend:

@theruttmeister As I'm being talked about, I thought it best to respond.

The main thing for me is solving the problem.

Best place to start.

And as a designer and I once started saying, if an engineer points out issues on your project... It's because he cares.

A Former User

@deckingman

And as a designer and I once started saying, if an engineer points out issues on your project... It's because he cares.

I must remember this analogy, as when I point out the issues with a project at work I usually get called a "difficult cu*t"

elmoret

Well, the manner in which they're pointed out does come into play, being constructive and all that.

theruttmeister

@CaLviNx said in What do you think about Dragon Hotend:

@deckingman

And as a designer and I once started saying, if an engineer points out issues on your project... It's because he cares.

I must remember this analogy, as when I point out the issues with a project at work I usually get called a "difficult cu*t"

I used to get that. Thankfully I'm now an overvalued 'expert' so they listen (and just think it instead).

The original version was actually 'if an engineer starts telling you what you did wrong...' The really good engineers will respond by explaining why they did it that way and why you are wrong about it. Which can start some great friendships!