Despite still being quite crude at the moment, the prototype injection barrel has been attached to the frame and the plunger lapped to it. We are getting close to melting some plastic!
Next up is the nozzle, these are often highly engineered components that are meant to flow lots of plastic with little resistance. Mating this nozzle to the mold without leaks is extremely important. I believe I have found a low-cost solution that will do the trick for this! But you’ll have to wait to see that when the tooling comes in to put it all together.
I was able to get 2 tools that I somehow (despite having every tool you could ever need) never purchased; a benchtop drill press and a miter saw. Believe it or not, this is going to work wonders in increasing the precision of this prototype and hopefully helping to lessen errors due to high tolerances. I now have the ability to precisely cut and drill aluminum and especially t-slotted aluminum extrusions! While a lathe and a mill would be nice to have, bootstrapping this project doesn’t allow for it at the moment.
Aside from all this prototyping business, please check out some of our other products on our store page! We are striving to brainstorm, design, and manufacture tools that are suited to the maker, crafter, and small business. Please reach out with any ideas or product suggestions, they are always appreciated!