This time the MakerGear Plastruder with a hybrid PEEK/PTFE insulator (forgot to mention the hybrid in the previous post) was heated to 220C with a combination of ABS and PLA in the barrel. That mix was allowed to bake for a couple of hours and was then cooled. Once cool the filament drive motor was turned on and PLA filament was rammed, full-speed, into the cold barrel. The acrylic creaked and moaned from the pressure but the acrylic didn’t break. I backed out the PLA and rammed it in two more times – I kept the motor running each time until some kind of failure occured. Each time the acrylic creaked and strugged but ultimately the filament stripped. I then heated the barrel to 200C and printed this pulley (broadcast live on uStream) using PLA 4042D at 60mm/s. After the pulley printed I took the Plastruder apart to see if their was any damage. I replaced a cracked insulator retainer and found the idler wheel had been pushed to the side of the bearing – that means the pinch wheel was barely getting a grip on the PLA filament while the pulley was printing.



If you have any suggestions for testing the durability of the hybrid, please let me know.