I saw a 3d printer using plastic pellets instead of filament.

Is this a good idea? Because I never saw anyone doing this.

Seller says “in this way it won’t run out of filament” but I have the impression of imprecise extrusions (machine was fitted with a big 0.8mm nozzle)

  • marcos@lemmy.world
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    15 days ago

    You want to minimize wight and vibration on the printing head. And everything that deals with pellets adds a great deal of both.

    In theory you can manage to melt the pellets in a static machine away from the printing head. But you will get a lot of new problems getting it where you need and switching it on and off as needed.

    • roofuskit@lemmy.world
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      15 days ago

      Pellet feeders are not meant for high speed machines. Pellet feeders are for large format machines where the speed comes from the volume of filament they can extrude while printing.

      • marcos@lemmy.world
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        15 days ago

        Ok. That is a very compelling use case. I guess over some size they become a non-brainier.