TriloByte Extruder

Hmm so when did the polystruder come out...I'd heard the name(possibly before the trilobyte) but dont remember seeing the device

Collaborative design? if that's the case I may have to throw together a couple of ideas i've had on the subject as I want a triple extruder at some point as well.

First of all, I like the idea of having the 3 nozzles in a row like your copper renders rather than a triangle, as trying to get the offsets set correctly for the triangle would be a nightmare, (unless you have a near perfect mounting system).
Second, I've been racking my brain on how to do this but: it should allow each nozzle to be independently leveled (for many reasons such as different temps causing some nozzles to grow closer to the bed, uneven tightness etc)

Just something to think about, if you can find an elegant solution I would love to see it. I will still be working on this in my head in my free time, may have a concept design at some point.

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If you need some help, or don't understand what I just said, feel free to send me a PM anytime

Printer: Prusa i3, 2 E3D v6 Hotends, Arduino + RAMPS 1.4 with a Bypassed 5V Regulator, 400w Insignia ATX PSU, Custom Designed Bowden Extruders

Cool ideas, on different levels the only thing that comes to mind is the Ultimaker & the Spring thats in the hotend...
as far as I know its not in there for levelling, but it could maybe be made to work with a screw adjustment.

Ooh! a new idea, just spit balling here but how about a cnc'ed x carriage that has 3 (though could work with 2) rails in it and having 3 identical and low profile extruders that slide into the rails (possibly slide in from the bottom and have a screw adjustment at the top).

Think I could make that work, though dont think explained it well.

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If you need some help, or don't understand what I just said, feel free to send me a PM anytime

Printer: Prusa i3, 2 E3D v6 Hotends, Arduino + RAMPS 1.4 with a Bypassed 5V Regulator, 400w Insignia ATX PSU, Custom Designed Bowden Extruders

Yeah it only needs a dovetail or v groove rail, like arca
my original hotend holder

or picatinny rail but much smoother & smaller

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/2016 12:14AM by MechaBits.

Yeah, a dovetailed rail. That could work. Oh and so as to not waste any z axis build volume I would make the nozzles only about a centimeter below the bottom of the x carriage (seen some people make it hang down a couple inches below the x carriage but what I don't think they realize is that they are sacrificing all that space to max z height)

these nozzles being that high would mean the x carriage would be in the way of airflow front to back, but you could set up a blower style fan to blow through the 3 cold ends from x- to the x+ direction

EDIT Or to keep with a trilobite aesthetic you could have a blower fan on top blower air straight down through fins that would need to be vertical

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/2016 12:28AM by DaGameFace.

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If you need some help, or don't understand what I just said, feel free to send me a PM anytime

Printer: Prusa i3, 2 E3D v6 Hotends, Arduino + RAMPS 1.4 with a Bypassed 5V Regulator, 400w Insignia ATX PSU, Custom Designed Bowden Extruders

my extruder is well below the rails but it needed to be because of my motor, but thats only because I dont have the metal parts I need, when i have all the parts I need my bed will be lower, Z will be higher and, x motor moved, I will gain an extra 250mm in Z, though on my other printers i have 300mm of Z from the get go, and only have to swap rods & lead to go higher.

I wonder if something like this could be made to work for the height adjustments,

not spent any time trying to figure out how to implement, but might look really cool.
[www.ebay.co.uk]
too much weight i know but it would look sexy.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/25/2016 02:13PM by MechaBits.

Some Tribo-Filaments for the trilobyte extruder

[www.3ders.org]

This guy could make a really nice trilobyte triple extruder [www.chrisbathgate.com]

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/11/2016 10:10PM by MechaBits.

Trilobite Modular Synthesis Evolver

[www.electronicbeats.net]
Sorry its not 3d print related, but couldnt resist evolution of the thread.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/09/2017 12:56AM by MechaBits.

Hmm TriBot
[www.youtube.com]

Anyone notice this hotend with the extra screws through the heatblock

[www.ebay.co.uk]

Interesting...
It would make more sense, if the heatbrake would be tapered and the two screws were used to clamp it in the heatsink. But they use a simple cylinder/grubscrew design.
Poor contact area

Well, I'll say this. Without looking at all the pictures in this thread I was thinking a cylindrical shape of 3x 33degree wedges for a three nozzle hot end design would be pretty compact... Then I scrolled up... So it's not exactly an exclusive idea, but yes, no one seems to be productive one right now.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/05/2018 02:33PM by obelisk79.

A push in throat is a great idea for easy replacement, it can be a pain to unsrcew a heatblock
If I was trying to make a triple extruder today I would use 3 of the tiny heatsink for £3 similar to the one above,
actually think i like the one above better with more square shape
just done a single version with one, a triple could be still quite small maybe 90mm wide cart or less.

Why all these grub screws ? Poor thermal contact, can damage the hotend making removal difficult. Also this kind of heatsink makes the set up too tall. Same as the E3D.

Just a slit in a bar or heatsink, one screw that squeeze it, good thermal contact, firm grip, easy removal. It is how I made my hotend. [reprap.org]

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"A comical prototype doesn't mean a dumb idea is possible" (Thunderf00t)

I tried a long bar a while back, but added a found heatsink just to be sure, but by the time the fan went on it was no longer a slimline solution(not likely with found parts bolted to each other, as opposed to a custom design from the ground up), these heatinks seem really tiny compared to e3d but in reality not much smaller, I shaved a little of the design of my old hotend holder but for £1 or so, already threaded & anodized, I cant complain.