Zesty Nimble Direct Drive extruder launched on KS

briangilbert · 22 Oct 2016, 02:34

Full disclosure I'm one of the creators of this, posting because I think it's likely of interest to many of you, hopefully thats ok?

Less than 33grams weight on the effector, stepper can be mounted remotely
Super simple unobstructed filament loading path
Tiny

Zesty Nimble Extruder
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lykle/super-light-and-easy-to-use-extruder-for-your-3d-p

Have a look and if you like what you see, please help us to realise this goal by backing the campaign.
Also, if you want, please share with anybody who might be interested.

Thanks
Brian

DjDemonD · 22 Oct 2016, 14:22

I'm backing them, I can vouch that flexible drive extruders work having tried the competition, and this one is simpler, looks easier to use and is even lighter.

A delta/corexy must have. Useful for dual/triple extrusion on cartesian machines too I suspect.

Dougal1957 · 22 Oct 2016, 17:33

yep pledged for a pair as well

briangilbert · 22 Oct 2016, 21:46

Thanks for the support guys!

Rommie · 23 Oct 2016, 15:01

Me too yay

deckingman · 23 Oct 2016, 15:30

Let me know when you come up with a way to graft 3 of them on to a Diamond hot end and I might be tempted.

T3P3Tony · 23 Oct 2016, 16:34

https://twitter.com/ZestyTechnology/status/790097955843825666

deckingman · 23 Oct 2016, 16:39

OK so I'm tempted. It's bloody huge though….......

T3P3Tony · 23 Oct 2016, 16:43

Yes - time for a bigger delta to accommodate it

Dougal1957 · 23 Oct 2016, 17:46

Oh I am tempted to increase my Pledge now to 4 of the things rather than 2 Think it would work well on my MegaBeast (1.5 tall 750mm horizontal extrusions).

deckingman · 23 Oct 2016, 18:35

Knowing how much the Diamond needs high air flow to cool the heat sinks, that ducting arrangement with the Nimbles encroaching into it would concern me a bit. I'd like to see some heat break temperature data or real world test results before I committed any hard earned.

ShadowX · 23 Oct 2016, 23:17

It sounds like your hot end should be using a blower fan instead of an axial fan if you need high air flow with higher pressure.

briangilbert · 24 Oct 2016, 00:27

I'm planning to use a blower fan when I set mine up (once I have Duex2)

briangilbert · 24 Oct 2016, 00:28

the image in the tweet was a quick blocking up to prove it will work, we're refining the design of the diamond mount before we release it

ShadowX · 24 Oct 2016, 05:09

Deckingman,

One thing thing to consider is adding an insulation blanket between the hot end nozzle interface and the cooling fins and also down a bit to cover the nozzle but exposing the tip area. There are ceramic fiber sheets you can order on Ebay that you cut to shape and you can use high-temp kapton tape to attach to the surfaces. I wrap my hot end block with the insulation and it helps maintain the heat where I need it and not radiate to surrounding areas where I don't want it. It helps improve the temperature stability.

deckingman · 24 Oct 2016, 07:51

@ShadowX:

Deckingman,

One thing thing to consider is adding an insulation blanket between the hot end nozzle interface and the cooling fins and also down a bit to cover the nozzle but exposing the tip area. There are ceramic fiber sheets you can order on Ebay that you cut to shape and you can use high-temp kapton tape to attach to the surfaces. I wrap my hot end block with the insulation and it helps maintain the heat where I need it and not radiate to surrounding areas where I don't want it. It helps improve the temperature stability.

Yes, I've been using a Diamond for quite a while now. Insulation between the nozzle and hot end is absolutely essential. The "stock" RepRap.Me hot end is supplied with 3 layers of "fire blanket". They work well but have a tendency to fray at the edges. When I assemble them, I put the 3 layers of insulation together then stick Kapton tape around the edges. It works but isn't a very elegant solution. There is a user on the RepRap forums who cut some from silicone sheet (as used for cooking trays) and kindly supplied me with some extra samples. I did some back to back tests to compare the two by fitting a thermocouple inside the heat sink in the area of the thread (the heat break). The results aren't conclusive because it is very difficult to position a thermocouple inside the heat break and know that you have exactly the same contact when you do it a second time. Also, there were other differences apart from the insulation as they were two different assemblies. So although the parts were the same specification, there were not the exact same parts, so it is possible that one fan may have bee slightly more efficient than the other. Anyway, for tests I did with the standard "fire blanket" insulation, the temperature I measured at the heat break with the hot end at 200 deg C was 46.5 deg C and was stable after 180 seconds (I carried on for another 120 seconds just to make sure there was no "creep". With the silicone sheet insulation, the temperature was 51.7 deg C and stable after the same time period. However, for reasons given above, I would not like to say that the silicone is definitely worse (and in any case 51.7 deg C is probably acceptable).

As for wrapping the nozzle in insulation, I understand that some people like to do this. I prefer to use the minimum required print cooling. For me, using cooling only if the layer time is less than 30 seconds, and then not all for the first 5 layers works well. I'm also careful not to have the print cooling directed at the nozzle.

deckingman · 24 Oct 2016, 07:59

@ShadowX:

It sounds like your hot end should be using a blower fan instead of an axial fan if you need high air flow with higher pressure.

It doesn't need to be high pressure - just a minimum of 18 c.f.m. I'm using a "normal" 50mm square 24v fan which gives around 22 c.f.m. (can't remember the exact figure). You'd have to be careful how you position a high pressure fan so as to have the airflow coming out through the heat sink fins and not blowing directly on to the brass nozzle.