RepRap Solder Extruder

Creating an optoswitch circuit. This is at 3x actual speed. For more details see http://blog.reprap.org/search/label/reprapped%20electronics

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• RepRap
• Solder
• Extruder
• Creating
• an
• optoswitch
• circuit
• Darwin
• University
• of
• Bath
• Adrian
• Bowyer
• Ed
• Sell
• Rapid
• Prototyping

[plaasjaapie]

I wonder what you could do to reduce the surface tension of that solder?

[rhysjones5]

@plaasjaapie @plaasjaapie Well, this was done with a 1.6mm nozzle made from a stainless steel needle (we can't use brass - the solder dissolves it :( ). I did try a regular extruder at the time but it was terribly unreliable. I think Adrians new layout would be a lot better though. Also I did a bit with Wood's, Field's Bend Alloy and some others, they had better characteristics than 60/40, lower surface tension, but was much too brittle, you could never get it on to a spool.

[rhysjones5]

I've also wondered whether you could have a cooled bed so it freezes quicker on contact. At least they use a similar principle in EBM, but theres about a 600deg temp difference:D

[mightyrevenger]

That's badass. Bad. Ass.

[Maux4200]

Sounds like the Printer Jam song

[carterfamilybowl]

@plaasjaapie flux, draw a small bead of flux inside the channel and your solder will be happy ;-)

[CaptainAthiest]

@guruflorida how about conducting plastic?

[guruflorida]

How about extruding solder paste then using heat to reflow the solder paste after. There would still have to be something so the solder doesnt ball up and seperate. Maybe first some kind of metallic ink that the solder paste would bind to?

[alphamone]

The day a rapid prototyper is able to build the needed components for another printer, is the day that we get closer to stargate replicators.

[rnakata808]

Pen plotter

[enticed2zeitgeist]

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't it much easier to print carbon based circuitry? Or is that not the point of this exercise? thumbs up anyhow.

[dumle29]

@rhysjones5 peltier?

[Hardwyre]

If you can introduce flux into the mix, it'll reduce the surface tension.

[leapoffaith20]

Hmm, I know this is in development, but i think you need to refine just a little more.

Awsome what you guys have achieved so far though.

[frac]

@matleyz Pure water is an insulator (a pretty good one, actually). There needs to be something dissolved in the water to get it to conduct. That's not the point of this video, I think. It looks like early experimentation down the path to getting a reprap to print its own circuit boards.