Low z profile extruder/hot end

Hi there,

I have a small CNC mill (converted from a 1940's BCD jig borer) and would like to experiment with adding an extruder head to it. My problem is that the z-axis on this machine is pretty short and I would need an extruder head which is short in the z-axis so as not to limit the build volume too much. My plan is to mount the head using the same collett system the machine has by defualt and run the cables and filament through the hollow headstock so wiring shouldn't be a problem with a filament drive on the top. From what I have seen, the heating block and extruder nozzle are not a problem but the cooling of the transition zone is. The headstock is physically massive so my questions are - has anybody done something like this before - do I need fin cooling or indeed any colling with this set up and or are there extruder heads available which are "flat" rather than "tall".

For any one interested this is base machine - [www.lathes.co.uk] with mods for CNC use.

Thanks - matthew

I would think that the thermal sink that the collet provides should enable you to clamp the heat break in a collet (have a look at the E3D Kraken - [e3d-online.com]) but I'm not sure how you would feed the filament in.

You could always make a heat sink the same shape as a collet and use it to replace the finned heat sink in something like this (http://e3d-online.com/E3D-v6/Full-Kit/v6-1.75mm-Universal-Bowden) - might be a bit tight on space depending on the layout of the collet clamp. The cables would run outside with the filament feed being through the headstock.

You will find that the mass of the slides limits acceleration and top speed so it won't be ideal but it's worth a go :-)