.2 mm layers without support first try and .1mm layer with meshmixer support 2nd - post cleanup.
Ninjaflex from 3dfilaprint at 220C and fairly straightforward settings (PLA for 5th gen std) set to 4 shells
Overhangs are unforgiving
Both print had the be re-fed at the base but then went smoothly even with 1mm retraction.
This is with 33% infill on my solid version of my 40mm test object
2nd try pre-cleanup (with a small wire cutter). This was the hollow version with meshmixer supports.The supports are hard to print in abs but once the NFlex is flowing is has good detail i think. I do not intend to use flex for anything but small buffers, rings and bellows so i consider the test mostly successful. And it bends and holds together :-). Im thinking to maybe design a surrounding feed tube for inside the smart extruder that makes is impossible for the filament to buckle. Inspired by http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:290786 or http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:222667 Maybe print it in nylon ? Nice and slippery. See below. Anyway this was great fun but not terribly stable.
Those prints actually look pretty good using a smart extruder. I've been able to improve the overhangs by reducing the extrusion temperatures to about 210°C.
ReplyDeleteYou are on the right track with the support tube inside the smart extruder. We did the same thing to our lab machine, but we also had to modify the drive gear so that the NinjaFlex would sit inside the groove with the bearing applying pressure.
Stan Kulikowski - NinjaFlex Engineer