Airtripper's 3D Printer and Arduino Blog

Airtripper Extruder Filament Force Sensor – Introduction

Following the announcement of the Airtripper Extruder Filament force sensor I found a bit of time to run a few tests and to plot a few graphs to find out if the load cell is not just a fancy 3d printer add-on. But before we get into the graphs, we’ll start with the introduction to the Airtripper Extruder Filament Force Sensor; with images to boot.

Airtripper Extruder Filament Force Sensor – Announcement

3D Printer Extruder Filament Force Gauge graph

Yep, my 3d printer now has a filament force sensor. It works great and it looks awesome. I’m just at the end of a second full day of testing and the installation has not caused any print quality issues using the same g-code as before.

J-Head MK-IV Hot End Clone Design Quick Review

Got myself a J-Head MK-IV Hot End clone, from Ebay (snipermand), to see if it will be good enough to replace my heavily modified Mendel Parts Hotend V9 clone; and since the J-Head MK-IV is a clone, this is my quick review to share my purchase experience. The review also includes an illustration of how the different components fit together, how the J-Head clone stacks up against the original J-Head and conclude whether Hot End clones are really worth considering.

Marlin Firmware v1, Basic Configuration Set-up Guide

Marlin Firmware v1 on 20x4 LCD Panel Display

While my latest experience with 3d printer firmware is still fresh in the mined, I’ll share some notes about what settings you need to know to get a basic Marlin firmware configured enough to get a 3d printer working. The notes will focus on the Marlin firmware v1 and will include setting up the click encoder and LCD panel. But before going straight into getting the Marlin firmware configured, I’ll first quickly introduce you to a handy tool called WinMerge.

Airtripper’s Bowden Extruder V3 – Updated Design

Airtripper's Direct Drive Bowden Extruder V3

The Airtripper’s Direct Drive Bowden Extruder is now at version 3 with the design files ready to download from Thingiverse. A lot of work went into the design to improve the usabillity and the look of the extruder. The design is stronger with a much cleaner 3d printed finish, and filament changing is now much easier than before.

Sumpod 3D Printer Filament Handling for Extruder

Sumpod 3D Printer With Reel Roller Shelf

The more improvements and new features added to the Sumpod 3d printer the more I want to use the 3d printer, and adding better filament handling has gone a long way to improve the 3d printer’s ease of use.
The Sumpod’s sturdy construction has allowed me to set up a filament spool rack on the top of the printer.

Dial Indicator for Build Bed Level Test

3d printer dial test indicator, view from front

I’ve designed and printed a bracket for attaching a Dial Indicator to the 3d printer for accurate build platform level testing. I can now test to reduce inclines on the heated build bed to a very small fraction of the 0.25mm layer height I normally print at over a wide area.

Hot End Design on 3D Printer Extruder

3d printer hot end extruder sliced component view

So, this is an introduction to my latest 3d printer extruder system with a detailed view of the Hot End, Cold End and Nozzle. There are plenty of pictures and a detailed ilustration that shows details about the 3d printer extruder system I’m currently using. I explain some of the pros and cons, and explain why the latest extruder system I’m using works.