3D clay printer with LDM
Delta WASP 3MT with LDM Extruder technology
WASP’s work has always been focused on the development of systems that allow the use of functional materials like ceramics, porcelain, clay, alumine, zirconium and advanced ceramics, in order to promote digital handicraft and self-production. By launching this new product the group aims to promote the print of fluid-dense materials and advanced ceramics in the world.
Building envelope: Ø1000 x h1000
Printable material: fluid-dense and ceramic materials
The new LDM Wasp Extruder can reach a level of precision which is very close to that of plastic polymers extruders thanks to the combination of a screw extruder and a pressure extruder. With this technology it is possible to control with accuracy the flow of material and also to use retraction to interrupt deposition.
Innovation:
-Bubble eliminating extruder, it eliminates air bubbles in the mixture
-Extrusion controlling system with retraction option
-Outward pressure multiplier until 40 bar in the screw extruder
The new WASP Clay Kit includes a 3 kg tank, which can be substituted with a 15 kg one, on demand. The preceding needle experimental models did not allow middle size printing because of the limited amount of mixture they could contain. The tank can be refilled or cleaned simply by opening the caps located at the extremes. Inside, there is a piston with two 4 bar gaskets which pushes the material through the teflon pipe (diameter 12mm) which supplies the extruder. The cap located on the back has a safety valve set at 8 bar.
On the stand of the tank there is a pressure regulator and a return preventing valve. Inside the chamber, the material is funneled toward a screw which pushes it out producing a pressure of 40 bar without damaging the system. It would be impossible to reach such a pressure level with a common pressure extruder. This technology allows the air to outflow upward , eliminating the probability of finding bubbles inside the mixture. Like for a common pressure extruder, if there were bubbles the flow would be interrupted and the print would be damaged. Furthermore, thanks to the screw, the density of the printing materials is higher. This allows to reduce the time for their change of state, from liquid to solid, thus eliminating the risk of collapse of the printed object. In case the screw or the chamber were damaged they can be easily substituted.
Adaptability to other machines
The set was created to be installed on WASP printers, but can be adapted to most of the existing machines. It is very easy to install LDM Wasp Extruder on other machines. Firstly, it is necessary to print the supporting cover (the source files are provided by WASP). Secondly, the extruder must be linked to the wire and the “number of steps per millimeter” must be set to 400.
This configurations are provided by the most common slicing softwares, like Slic3r or Cura.
All Rights Reserved. 2022 © Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning. The Technion, Haifa. Created by Catom web design.