The CEM Crown Extruder Invention

A German Engineer has come up with a revolutionary idea for a 3D printer extruder. It works similar to the way that the objective lenses on a microscope operate. The Extruder would feature different nozzle with different diameters for varying degrees of print detail. The nozzles will then turn to change the degree of detail. Read more about this at http://3dprint.com/4063/cem-crown-extruder/

http://crownextruder.files.wordpress...pg?w=615&h=389

What do you guys think? Would this work? Would it be worthwhile?

Would it work? Sure!
Worthwhile? Not so much.

I could see switching between a large tip for fill and a small one for outer edge, but what do you do with the two tips in between?

It's a interesting concept, might be ahead of it's time though.

How does it seal?
Would each tip be heated? Are the cold(yikes)?

Until it's put into production I don't give it much thought.

It's a nifty idea, but I see too many potential problems. For all the hassle, I'd suggest a second machine for a different nozzle size. If you're doing a huge model, then a large nozzle for infill and structure, and a finer outermost perimeter might be best. But a slicer would need to be made to do that. And there's still oozing and a question of how heavy that makes the carriage. Weight matters a lot. That big potentially heated bock could be a problem, very slow to heat and heating any unused nozzles will mean crusties.

Seems like more trouble than it is worth to be honest. On the surface, it's a good idea, but I don't know how much use it would get, for all the trouble and money it would cost to make.