3D print update

[Jerry Durand]

I need to make some food-grade parts so did some research and got a
spool of t-glase PETT food grade plastic (the stuff soda bottles are
made from). Well, I couldn't get that to print right no matter what I
tried. I exchanged the spool for some PLA (made from corn starch) which
printed fine for a bit, but has lots of problems with the feed stopping
so the machine is printing air.

*&%$#@!

Doing some research I find my antique machine (I've had it a couple of
years) uses a gear feed with a ball bearing pressure roller a fixed
distance from it. Works GREAT with the springy ABS plastic I've been
using, but PETT and PLA are more fragile and any slight size
imperfection leads to the gear breaking out a chunk of plastic and then
spinning in the gap.

So...ordered some tiny ball bearings (7mm od x 2mm thick) and am
designing a spring-loaded roller assembly that will fit in the same area
as the factory original. Tight fit but I should be able to make it
work. I see other people have redone the entire feed assembly shroud
and mount to make theirs work, I don't want to change that much.

--
Jerry Durand, Durand Interstellar, Inc. www.interstellar.com
tel: +1 408 356-3886, USA toll free: 1 866 356-3886
Skype: jerrydurand