3d printer with granule extruder

[xaphan]

hi peeps

so i'm thinking of getting into 3d printing just for a hobby.
I am looking for a 3d printer that it pretty cheap but doesn't need the use of material in the form of filament because it seems to me to be a pretty expensive way of buying material.

I work as a machine setter in the plastics industry doing blow and injection moulding so getting hold of plastic in granule form will be pretty much free and I can get hold of almost any material types be it glass filled or not

I'm struggling to find any printers that come with a granule extruder as standard can anyone point me in the right direction or recommend a printer that will be capable of taking granules?

something with a 8-10" bed would be nice and would cover anything large(ish) i might want to print

Thanks

[iDig3Dprinting]

I think that there has been various kickstarter campaigns and the like for FDM 3D printers that use pellets but I don't think that there is anything out that that is actually commercially viable for the desktop market. If yo do find something interesting please let us know.

The alternative is to try and build something your self, there are pellet extruders on thingiverse for example, however I am not too sure that there is the firmware to adequately back up the hardware configuration.

The alternative is to use a filament maker to extrude your own filament and then use this for your printer.

[xaphan]

I think that there has been various kickstarter campaigns and the like for FDM 3D printers that use pellets but I don't think that there is anything out that that is actually commercially viable for the desktop market. If yo do find something interesting please let us know.

The alternative is to try and build something your self, there are pellet extruders on thingiverse for example, however I am not too sure that there is the firmware to adequately back up the hardware configuration.

The alternative is to use a filament maker to extrude your own filament and then use this for your printer.

does the filament maker run it on to a spool?

[iDig3Dprinting]

Hi,
The filament maker does not run it onto a spool with out the spool holder. There are extruders out that will wind it on automatically, we had been interested in one machine that did this but the price tag was ~£3000. We thought that this would not be very viable. So at the moment the Strooder is about as good a bargain as you can get with regards to filament extruders. We are waiting to hear about availability of the spool holder.

[xaphan]

fair play... 3k is a bit much for what is essentially a heater with a screw/barrel

[iDig3Dprinting]

Keep us posted on how you get on with your hunt, we would be interested to know what the outcome of your research is.

[steveprinters29]

There are a large number of 3D printers that print with the help of printing powders and granules instead of filaments rolled in the spools. Though the technology is relatively new, it is bound to grow leaps and founds in the upcoming time period.

https://www.3dprintersonlinestore.com/reprap