Ice Printer Prototype

Render

Render

Assembled and moving

Assembled and moving

Nozzle cutouts

Nozzle cutouts

3D printed nozzles

3D printed nozzles

Installed pressure regulator and quick lock unit

Installed pressure regulator and quick lock unit

Testing movement

Testing movement

Experimenting with combining misting and flow with a pressure regulator

Experimenting with combining misting and flow with a pressure regulator

Flow works, misting not so much

Flow works, misting not so much

Testing a 3D-printed misting nozzle

Testing a 3D-printed misting nozzle

I designed and assembled this for a research project. A 3D printer for printing ice in sub-zero temperatures, to research new ways of building things with ice and snow.

It uses Openbuilds https://openbuildspartstore.com/ parts for all of the frame and mechanics. There's a Duet 3D WiFi controlling the printer and an external power supply for the motors. The "extruder" is custom, using low temperature hosing and changeable water nozzles.

This was designed to be a research platform, with modularity in mind, so converting this to other types of extrusion printers would not be too difficult.

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Date
May 10, 2019