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2 days ago
Tyler McNaney
Posted project update #16Solving Confusion
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4 days ago
Tyler McNaney
Posted project update #15Happening Now
Filabot Lineup
When we first launched the kickstarter campaign I had no idea what I was really getting myself into. Now that I am backed by a great team with creative insight and problem solving skill we have shaped our Filabot line up into the following.
Filabot Wee: This is a basic kit that users will have to assemble. But not to worry there will be a stellar instructional manual. This Filabot will only process raw pellets, but can use recycled plastic with the use of a stand alone grinder that we will be offering.
Filabot Core: This is a assembled kit with some extra features, such as an added case that encloses the controls and motors. This Filabot will jump joyfully out of the box and start extruding. No grinder is included in this either but a stand alone grinder will be available. This system can be upgraded to the Filabot Reclaimer specifications if one so desires.
Filabot Reclaimer: This is the flagship of the Filabot lineup. This Filabot will be totally enclosed with carbon filters, laser-cut control panel, and see through sides. This Filabot will also include a grinder that is fitted right into the case of the system. This is truly the one-stop shop for producing your own filament from recyclable plastic.
Grinder (Name to be changed to something less boring): This is a stand alone grinding unit that can be used with any of the Filabot lineups. We are planning on having this grinder fit on a 5 gallon bucket so that users can grind directly into their storage.
Pellets: We most likely will be offering pellets on the store for your Filabots.
I am certain that this will cause some confusion among our awesome backers, myself and the team are sorry. As I mentioned before I had no clue what the finial system lineup would look like, but here it is and this is what it will be. We are still working out the details for how we will assign each level to our backers.
Conductive Filament!
On another note I have been doing some extruding of conductive filament. I have produced a bunch of filament that is conductive but have yet to test it on a printer. Filabot is not the first to have conductive filament but we may be the second. So this is very interesting. More to come on this topic.
Desktop Factory Competition
I have been getting some emails about this competition and found it very interesting. On Sunday I worked over 24 hours to bring the Filabot down into the specifications of the competition. I pulled an all-nigher and I am happy to say that the slimmed down version of the Filabot meets all the specifications for the competition. I will be sending in the Filabot for review. Hopefully we can add another 3D printer, laser cutter, and mill to our manufacturing area.
Here is a link to the competition: http://desktopfactory2012.istart.org/
Overall:
It has never been more busy here at the Filabot HQ. My team and I are finalizing our designs and are getting them ready for our machine shops. More orders for parts have been placed and soon should be arriving. My personal phone has been ringing off the hook and my email is like a constant waterfall. Reporters have been calling, and some have even stopped in to see what all the hype is about. It is a really great time here and myself and my team are having fun.
This is somewhat old news but Filabot has been accepted to be an exhibitor at the Futurists: BetaLaunch 2012. More information can be found on their site http://www.wfs.org/worldfuture-2012/special-events/futurists-betalaunch-2012
I would personally like to thank all the backers again for being so patient in this great technological endeavor.
Tyler McNaney and The Filabot Team
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chugadie 3 days ago
Conductive filament rocks my world. You have to win the desktop factory competition.
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chugadie 3 days ago
Maybe you can make some backing levels have a discount for upgrades - like $50 off a gridner. Perhaps make up the difference by providing lbs of filament of their choosing (50/50 blend, conductive, etc.)
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Gavin Maxwell 2 days ago
I'm a little confused and dismayed that the first paragraph of the project page is now incorrect. I'm pretty sure a lot of people signed up for this on the premise of being able to put milk-bottles in one end and retrieve filament from the other (the FAQ even states: "All the user will have to do is to put the bottles in. Then remove the spool for printing. "). I didn't sign up for this just to buy pellets from you as it completely defeats the purpose. I'm guessing this bait-and-switch has come about by the inclusion of a 3rd party into the grinder piece of Filabot... This updates raises way more questions than it answers, and those questions need to be addressed very quickly indeed.
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5 days ago
Tyler McNaney
commented on a projectHey Chilance, Well I have just completed a 24hr working crusade. All is going well. I am working on getting all the files together and I am getting ready to release them to the public. The BOM is coming together and I have been planning out what the reward levels have been shaped into. Not to mention endless hours of watching filament being extruded for my tests.
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on May 8
Tyler McNaney
Posted project update #14Options for Grinder
Out of all the parts needed to make a system like Filabot, the grinder has turned out to be the hardest aspect of the whole project. After all of our designs we have settled on two possible ways of grinding. The first is a drum with a series of chain saw loops. This works well for thick plastic but we found that thin plastic is harder to feed into the grinder. Although this type of grinder works it is very noisy. For the second option The Filabot Team is working with Marek Senicky, of Germany. Marek has made a grinder that is less noisy, and suits our needs. Below are youtube links of his grinder doing its thing!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrGFVoUenkM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lze-UDPPyYk&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBuTqE0Kqtk&feature=relmfu
As for the extruder we have started to test out all different types of plastics. During this we are making filament for our backer rewards as well. We have also found a special plastic that is electrically conductive, and hope this could be a solution for printing circuit boards.
Hope everyone is doing well, and thank you for the support.
The Filabot Team
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chugadie on May 8
I am planning on shredding up HDPE shopping bags, so whichever grinder can handle thin plastic is good.
It would be nice if the grinder operated on a kill-switch idea, like a lawn mower does. If you're not holding a button it stops, even if it's switched on.
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Ken Schmitt on May 8
any thoughts on a protected feeder?.. the sort of thing you see on the top of a blender, with a cap that is removed and the vegetables fed into it. lots of room to bang around, but a small fairly shielded entry.
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on April 30
Tyler McNaney
commented on a project updateSo I just watched the Dropcam for about 45min. Not sure what I was waiting for. The train sure does come close to the building. Great work Brook!
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on April 20
Tyler McNaney
commented on a projectIm going to try and answer all the questions but If I miss one or two forgive me. Dont forget about our Filabot Forum! @Chillance I did use your suggestion for the selection of the rollers. The April date is going to be hard to reach, only because college is winding down and I have studying to do. But as soon as I am out in two weeks the whole team will be together and working full-time on Filabot. Up to this point I have done everything on my own, so we shall see what three, possibly four, guys can do. @Ken There is a transition time for the plastic to change. It takes about 2min for the plastic to change over. @Eddie I will be out of school in two weeks and that is when full documented testing will start to take place. I dont want to give a definite date to when Filabot is shipping, but I am hoping it is within a month or two. Side Note: Use Filabot Forum! Our Forum on Filabot.com is up and running. It would be great if we could get this information about labels and plastics over there, instead of here. Thank you everyone for being understanding with the timeline and nature of this project. I have read some other project commets and people are not so happy. I want to thank everyone for understanding that this is not a easy project, and good systems take time.
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on April 14
Tyler McNaney
commented on a project updateAwesome Brook, keep up the good work! As for anyone posting all these mean, pressuring, rude comments, please stop. The 3D printing community is not a place for this. It takes time to develop projects, and reach goals.......Rome was not built in a day.
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on April 14
Tyler McNaney
Posted project update #13Website Up
Hello everyone,
The Filabot website has been put online. Go check it out at Filabot.com
Hope you like it!
Thanks
Tyler McNaney
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on April 9
Tyler McNaney
commented on a project@ Ryan Voots This is a great website for plastic information. I have posted a link that should bring you to the HIPS information. http://www.matweb.com/search/QuickText.aspx
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on April 8
Tyler McNaney
commented on a project@eddie, I will make the grinder somewhat modular. That way you can put it where you want it.
Tyler McNaney
Milton, VT
I am a student at Vermont Technical College studying Mechanical Engineering. When not studying I run a small business, and work on my many other projects.
Good to hear. I was horribly confused and saddened by update 15.
Oh BTW in case you didn't hear there is a contest for a open source filament extruder going on.
http://inventables.blogspot.com/2012/05/40k-desktop-factory-competition-to-make.html#!/2012/05/40k-desktop-factory-competition-to-make.html
Slimmed down as in smaller? I guess it doesn't matter that much as in the end it will be either 1.75mm or 3.0mm filament... But the bigger the part where I can put my scrap plastic, the better, as I don't have to keep feeding the thing all the time... :)
Also, will it include some mechanism to put the filament on a spool?
Thanks for solving our confusion so quickly. Still very excited to get a Filabot. I already found a good supplier of empty spools and stockpiled a bunch.