E3D-Online released their new Titan Extruder, and it seems to have all the features many have wanted in a high-performance extruder.
E3D has made a big name for themselves in the DIY 3D printing space, as they’ve produced highly-reliable hot-end replacements usable on many filament-based desktop 3D printers. Some printer manufacturers have even gone so far as to include E3D’s components directly into their models as a standard feature.
Now E3D has launched a completely new design, the Titan. The design attempted to meet some key objectives:
- Ensure good filament pushing capability
- Keep the size and weight small to ensure nimble and rapid movement
- Be compatible with as many machines as possible
- Enable very high-speed 3D printing
- Ensure extruder maintenance is easy to perform
- Ability to extrude all types of commonly available filaments, including composites, flexibles and high-temperature materials
- Keep the price as low as possible
And it appears they’ve been able to do all of these with the Titan.
There’s an incredibly detailed description of how they went about designing the Titan on their blog, but from my quick read, it appears they’ve done a detailed analysis of issues and come up with a variety of solutions that involve simplification of the mechanism, changing the plastics used in the components, and ensuring it is as reliable as possible.
One interesting feature is the design of the teeth on the drive gear, which is used to grab the filament and push it towards the hot end. Unlike most others gear’s teeth, which tend to be simple notches, the Titan uses a round cavity.
This design, which E3D apparently spent much time evaluating, ensures that the teeth are self-cleaning! A standard notch shape would solidly capture wedges of plastic, requiring the operator to remove them during maintenance. Or worse, filament would slip and prints would fail. Not so with the Titan, where any stray plastic falls easily out of the drive gear.
You’ll likely have to clean up some filament dust, however.
If you are looking for an upgrade to your existing unreliable and frustrating extruder, you might consider getting a Titan to replace it. They’re current available at E3D-Online at a price of only £45 (USD$63).
Via E3D-Online and E3D-Online
