3D Printing

New Extruder = $4 per Pound (£6 per kg) Filament!

A problem with current 3D printer heads is a lack of variety of extrudable materials. There are more than most mass media outlets covering 3D printing state, such as nylon, water soluble PVA, wood and sandstone, to complement the popular materials of PLA (eco-friendly) and ABS (think Lego) but the range is generally a limitation that puts some people off entering home 3D printing yet. A new crowd-funding project by Luminar Products seeks to further broaden the range of polymers available.

Luminar 3D Super Extruder

The cost of the plastics to the end user is another factor. The price of standard extruder filament plastic is anywhere from £20 per kilogram such as here to the astonishing price by market leaders MakerBot for their glow-in-the-dark green of £80 per kilogram here.

Luminar Products says that with the 3D Super Extruder’s ability to print lower cost plastic welding rod, the price per pound of plastics ranges anywhere from around £70 per kilogram for PVDF (a plastic commonly used in the chemical industry) right down to around just £6 per kilogram for Polypropylene.

Luminar 3D Super ExtruderNB: Price per weight conversion between currencies at current exchange rates can be performed most simply by example here. Prices quoted are none-inclusive of shipping.

Another limiting factor, although not one that troubles many 3D printer owners in all fairness, is limitation of range of width of filaments. Luminar extruders will be able to accommodate 5 filament sizes – 1.75mm, 3mm, 1/8, 5/32 and 3/16 inch diameter filaments.

Full features include:

  • Very compact design with a mid mounted, integrated heat sink for better cooling of both filament drive parts and stepper motor.
  • Extremely solid one piece aluminium body with mounting options on top, bottom or either side.
  • Copper heater block and nozzle for faster, more stable temperature control.
  • Plans for making two sizes of extruder, a NEMA 17 stepper motor size for smaller 3D printing machines or the larger, more powerful NEMA 23 stepper motor extruder for larger, faster moving 3D printers.
  • Precision quality, our extruders feature a spring loaded dual wheel filament drive mechanism for positive filament control. The drive wheels are made from steel and are hobbed for traction.
  • NEMA 23 extruders will be able to accommodate 5 filament sizes (1.75mm, 3mm, 1/8, 5/32 and 3/16 inch diameter filaments) and multiple plastic options with nozzle options for various materials and extrude diameters.

For further information you can check out Luminar Products crowd-funding project here.

About Luminar Products

Luminar Products is a group of engineers, designers, scientists and inventors. We look for ways to make things better. As a provider of innovative products and intellectual property, we take pride in offering high quality original products. We are dedicated to serving the needs of our customers each and every day. Our creative staff have worked in many different sectors of industry and each have strong problem solving skills and expertise. Although Luminar Products is a new company our plan is to become a strong partner with large distributors and manufacturing industries.’