Crowd Funding Campaign Coming Soon. Beginning February 2018.

A crowd funding campaign will be a great way to get the extruder off the work bench and onto your printer.

While a majority of the Flex Wheel extruder is 3D printable there are a number of components that need to be manufactured by other methods, yeah, I know it’s hard to believe that 3D printing can’t do everything . . . . yet!!.

The components that would benefit from a crowd funding campaign as they need ‘tooling up’ include-

The internal flex wheel – The very heart of the mechanism. –In order to achieve the desired tolerances for superior performance this part needs to be injection moulded.
The aluminium backing plate – The backbone of the Flex Wheel. Needs to be a precision machined part holding all the components in just the right position, making sure everything lines up and providing strength and stability as you push your printing experience further.
The filament feed tubes – Are another unique machined part which needs to be matched precisely to the dimensions of the flex wheel.
The top and bottom bending profiles which bend and shape the flexible flanges of the Flex Wheel into just the right shape to hold and control your printing filament, these need to be precision manufactured from an engineering polymer with a low co-efficient of friction, this will reduce friction, in turn reducing stress on the stepper motor and wear on the flex wheel, the whole unit will run smother – tighter – and faster.

All other 3D printable stl. files will be available to download and print yourself.

Alternatively a range of additional rewards will be offered from just the basic components listed above to the supply of all components to fully constructed and ready to extrude units.

The Flex Wheel will be available in 1.75 mm and 3 mm combinations.

An example of the 1.75 mm Kit.

Hinged Top Plate
Base Plate
Filament Guide (1)
Filament Guide (2)
Aluminium Backing Plate
Tension thumb screws
Filament feed tubes
Motor Shaft
Bending Profile (upper)
Bending Profile (lower)
THE FLEX WHEEL
Thrust bearing

Over the short term feedback would be welcomed as final designs are still fluid.

In particular what we would like to know is-

What type of printer would you using with the Flex Wheel, this will help in the design of attachment brackets.
With Bowden Cable set ups, what frame is your printer, how is your current extruder mechanism attached, this will help with the placement of additional holes in the backing plate which will allow for future modifications.