The driving force behind the Flex Wheel extruder is unsurprisingly the Flex Wheel itself.
The Flex Wheel comprises a larger diameter drive wheel coupled with two flexible flanges located either side.
These flexible flanges are designed to completely enclose and envelope the filament.
As a result the contact surface area between the filament and the drive mechanism is significantly increased, additionally the soft polymer flanges offer an amazing amount of grip on all types of filaments either rigid or flexible.
As the load is spread over a larger area coupled with the flexibility of the flanges, filament profile distortion is significantly reduced, meaning that when the filament leaves the extruder and passes into the tubing system it slides effortlessly, no matter how much force is applied.
The entire drive path of the filament through the extrusion mechanism is completely enclosed, the filament can’t escape – it has nowhere else to go – except straight into the hot end of your printer.
In fact this system works so well that you now have the ability to print flexible filament at a shore hardness softer and more flexible than you could believe is possible – and certainly lower than what is currently commercially available – even through Bowden Cable set ups.
You can print flex at the same speed, parameters and print quality as you currently achieve with rigid type filament.
You can increase the overall speed of your extrusion system, as the Flex Wheel has power to burn.
The Flex Wheel – Designed for flex but prints everything the best.
International Patent application applied.