https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...on-3d-printer/

I don't usually believe in anything that launches on Kickstarter, but Gigabot actually knows how to build 3D printers has a fairly solid track record of producing them. Using pellets (or failed prints, ground up into pellet-sized pieces) makes a whole lot of sense to me. For one thing, it's a lot (10x) cheaper to buy plastic in the form of pellets, and you can get all sorts of different materials that aren't usually offered in filament form. It also makes it possible to extrude a lot faster, with a nozzle that doesn't need to be sized to the common filament diameters.

When I asked about that here, I was told it wouldn't work, because the plastic needs to retract as well as extrude, so it's not dribbling material all the time. I guess the Gigabot folks have figured out a workaround for that. The auger-extruder they show looks a lot like what I had in mind. They don't show the feed chute and hopper that will also be necessary, though. Their first machine will have a volume of 24" cubed, but there's no reason they can't go even bigger, if the nozzle size is also increased. After seeing so many copy-cat machines launch, it's good to see some actual innovation.

Andrew Werby
computersculpture.com