Convenience

That’s some 7/11 convenience right there.

With filament extruders, you buy a bunch of pellets, throw them into the machine, and within minutes you’ll have some fresh, clean filament to use for 3D printing. It’s like having a 7/11 outside your house – if that 7/11 sold pre-heated gourmet food. The convenience factor is a tough one, though, as many people find it easier to simply drive to their nearest store that sells filament.

Time To Buy – If you find yourself in a constant struggle with having the wrong filament, your filament is old, or your don’t have time to order some new stock, then a filament extruder may be for you.

Stay Away – If you’ve been buying filament from the same place for years and trust your filament brand, or you have enough filament to last you for some time, then buying a filament extruder may not be the best option.

Price

Pellets can save you a lot of money in the long term. They also look neat.

Now this will vary according to the filament you buy, and the filament extruder you are thinking to buy. This is actually split into three choices ranging from buying a filament extruder, making your own filament extruder or just carrying on with buying your regular filament. I’ll help you out a bit with determining if buying a 3D printer will be a cost-effective alternative.

When you buy filament from a store it is naturally more expensive than making your own, as you don’t have to factor in rent and business operating costs when making it at home. However, and this is the BIG ‘however’, making your own filament means that you’ll either have to buy a seemingly expensive device or troubleshoot your way if building your own.

This will vary depending on the type of filament and extruder you want to buy.

The graph is just a simple indication of the money you’ll save once you have purchased your filament extruder. However, this doesn’t mean everyone will save.

Time To Buy – If you’ve used my rough template or something similar and found that after a while making your own filament is more cost effective, think about buying one. It’s initially somewhat expensive, but if you do a lot of printing, need specific colors (see below) or a combination of all the factors in this article, it may be your best purchasing decision yet (besides your 3D printer, of course).

Stay Away – After using my rough template, if you find that you don’t buy a lot of filament, or you’re able to find great deals, then a filament extruder won’t be for you.

Customization

One of the great benefits of buying your own 3D printer is that you are in control. You decide what components go where and what your overall print will look like. Remember, you are making the filament. Whether you’re a university student that wants to include some type of nanomaterial into the filament, or a new company that wants to make a skin-friendly prosthesis filament, the variety is immense. Currently, you only have limited options to achieve this. Either you use industrial experimentation (very expensive), hire a lab extruder (not that much cheaper), or choose a filament extruder.

Time To Buy – If you enjoy mixing colors or want to create your own type of filament, then a filament extruder can be a good option. It’s great if you’re an artist, designer, or someone wanting to push the boundaries of what your store-bought filament is capable of. Some extruders offer better methods to analyze material properties, so take this into account before making a decision.

Stay Away – If you’re not fussy the color you use for printing, then continue with your regular filament. Yes, it may be great having the options to choose what type of filament you want to use at that moment, but if you’ve been happy with the results so far, then outlaying a lot of money for a filament extruder might be a bit extravagant.

If you are interested in rubber extruder, welcome to contact us!