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The Homemade Filament Race Heats Up with the EWE

Italians do it better! At least, so said Madonna’s shirt in the 1980’s. For sure Italians have a habit of making things look better. From fashion to sport cars, food and furniture design, Italians just developed a know-how when it comes to making things look good. Now many new digital artisans are starting to bring this ability into the world of 3D printing and the new EWE Extruder is a perfect example, starting from the logo all the way to the item’s design.

Ewe filament extruder 3d printingEWE Industries is applying this concept to its new EWE filament extruder, one of the hottest 3D printing accessories right now because it could radically alter 3D printing logistics and dynamics, by slashing the cost of consumables. Other start-ups have undertaken consumer-ready filament extruder projects, such as, recently, the Strooder by OmnyDynamics, but the EWE is the first of these next generation extruding systems to hit the market.

You can already order it from Ewe’s online store and the price is quite accessible: the Starter kit comes in at €330, with the top of the line, assembled, Deluxe version topping off at €690: delivery times run as high as 60 days, with email notification when the product is shipped. The system is built on an Arduino platform and its working temperature can be set to remain constant between 40°C and 230°C. The extrude rate is between 25 and 50 cm per minute, depending on the type of plastic and the filament diameter (1.75 or 3 mm).

ewe extruder 3d printing LCD

Although it will not have pre-set materials melting information like the Strooder (a key feature in making the system accessible to a wider demographic), the EWE is not just “good looking”: it has a very simple LCD display based interface system and, most importantly, it will allow users to mix in different colours and even different materials (for example carbon or wood) to give each extruded filament a specific feel and finish.

It is likely that EWE Industries will sell the ABS and PLA basic powdered materials, and the color mixtures, to use with its extruder (and that it will be its primary income resource). The race is on, more extruders will likely follow but it will be difficult to top the EWE’s look.