Anyone who has worked with a 3D printer understands the struggle of dealing with watching a print suddenly and without warning fail right before your eyes. Be it a slightly out of alignment axis, incorrect printing temperature, flawed g code or the looming and inevitable filament jam in the hot end, it is never fun watching hours of work explode into a mess of wasted filament. Not only is your time valuable, but let’s be real, 3D printing filament is not cheap.
The nightmare of dealing with jammed hot ends is what inspired maker Ho Leong Khit to create his OPAM (One Piece All Metal) water-cooled hot end. It was designed to print with temperatures as high as 350°C and yet be cool enough to the touch to allow you to actually hold it while it is extruding plastic. He has launched his new hot end on Indiegogo and is seeking a relatively modest $9,000 to produce the OPAM. Early birds have the option of getting one for only $60, while the retail price will be about $70.
The OPAM will be able to print using ABS, PLA, PC-ABS, and virtually any high temperature 1.75mm filament. The nozzle, heater block, and the heat sink have all been combined into a single piece, thus reducing the possibility of jams. The single construction has a 4mm transition from cold to hot portion making the extruder weigh only 40 grams, which can dramatically speed up printing speed and accuracy.
Take a look at Khit’s crowdfunding video here:
Khit spent over six months prototyping and testing the OPAM, going through a half dozen different prototypes and variations. Each of the prototypes was tested with well over 50 hours of printing time using both ABS and PLA filaments. His final prototype has printed multiple single object prints lasting over five hours with no jamming issues of any kind.
“I ran multiple thermal simulations to get the best estimation of the temperature within the hot end and verified the results by testing the actual prototype. While it allowed me to print without any jams, I felt that the design could be further improved to handle extrusion temperatures above 300°C,” Khit explained on Indiegogo.
Beyond the one-piece construction, the key to Khit’s simplified design is the water-cooling system that is considerably more effective and consistent than air cooling. He also removed any PEEK or PTFE material, which prevents leaks and jams and doesn’t allow galling of the nozzle because it is built in and has no threads to wear down. The hot end will be open sourced, and as soon as his funding goal has been reached and the first units shipped Khit intends to release the specifics and technical drawings.
You can check out all of the specific details about the OPAM over on the Indiegogo campaign page, and let us know what you think. Is the OPAM worth $70, or are there other options on the market that are better? Let us know on the One-Piece All-Metal Water-Cooled Hot End forum thread at 3DPB.com.