Over the last year, a small team of FDM enthusiasts based in El Paso, Texas has been refining and testing a dual filament FDM print head they call the X-Truder.
The lightweight and compact head has many desirable features such as 2 all-metal 315C hotends, ribbon cable connectivity, a high torque NEMA 11 motor, integral fan, servo driven extruder lifting and more.
“We wanted to design and market a print head for Makers who are looking to upgrade their existing printer,” explained David Williams, Praxis3D team member.
With the ever increasing number of installed 3D printers, they’re hoping to tap into a very large market.
The 4 key innovations of the X-truder are:
- 2 all Metal Extruders – a copper heatsink, precision nozzle, heat break built from polished 316 SS tubing
- Filament Drive System – a high torque NEMA 11 motor, easy filament loading/unloading and configuration with firmware, slicers and hosts
- Extruder Nozzle Retraction – a servo driven mechanism raised the inactive nozzle, the tips can be easily adjusted in Z hight, retraction mechanism was cycled over 100,000 times without wear
- Extremely simple electrical connections – 40 circuits on a 24 inch long ribbon cable, 2 LEDs to light the print area, steady power via a 6V regulator
The high-temperature extruder is capable of printing a wide range of materials including ABS, PC, PVA, PLA and TPU.
At the moment the early-bird offer for $ 250 is still available on Kickstarter.
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