There are many factors that go into customer satisfaction with a particular company. One is, obviously, the quality of the product. The willingness of the company to listen to customer feedback, however, is invaluable in terms of building a satisfied customer base, particularly with a newer organization.
Martin Bondéus of Bondtech has been developing the Bondtech Extruder since 2014, and has been using the feedback of customers and beta testers to steadily improve his design. We wrote about the second iteration of the extruder, the V2, in February of this year. Now Bondtech is releasing a new version, the Bondtech QR, or QuickRelease, which further improves on the design of the V2.
“The V2 version that have been out on the market for 8 months needed to be reversed in order to change filament and some users did not like that feature,” Bondéus tells 3DPrint.com. “So I have listened to my customers provided valuable feedback and developed a solution.”
The main difference that sets the QR design apart from the V2 is the QuickRelease lever, which makes it much easier for users to quickly change their filament. They can also control the filament pressure on the secondary drivegear with a selectable pretension feature.
The extruder, like its predecessor, can be easily converted to a Bowden setup in one of two ways: feeding the filament directly from the spool into the hot end, or using a direct to Bowden adapter that allows the inlet feed PTFE tube to reach as close as possible to the drive wheels to reduce friction. The adapter can be purchased for an additional $8.50.
Additional features and specifications include:
- Integrated mount for the E3D-V5 / E3D-V6 Hot End or others using groove mount standard
- DualDrive drive gears are CNC-machined in hardened steel for maximum lifetime and performance
- Index feature that aligns the extruder housing against the extruder mount, making sure the hot end stays perpendicular to the print surface
- Tool free easy access
- Feeds material in both directions
- Recommended motor current setting: 1.2A
- Recommended voltage: 24V
- E-steps setting: 490 steps/mm
“The thing behind this extruder is the dual-drive gears that gives very high feeding force, very high extrusion precision and a very reliable unit,” Bondéus tells us. “As it has its dual drive gears that clamp the filament from both sides it never loses grip, slip or grinds the filament as is very common with ordinary extruders.”
The Bondtech QR is being offered in both 3.0mm and 1.75mm filament versions, both for $130. One mount is included in the order; the customer has a choice of the eight different mounts currently being offered by Bondtech. More mount options are being developed according to the company.
The QR is currently available for pre-order, with expected delivery at about week 46. Bondtech, which is based in Sweden, also gives US customers the option to purchase any of its products from SMW3D. Check out the introductory video below for more details about the QR.
Have you had an opportunity to use this extruder? What were your thoughts? Discuss in the Bondtech forum thread on 3DPB.com.
