Continuous Clay Printer Requirements + Value Proposition
From Open Source Ecology
Requirements
- Continuous printing in clay starting from clay powder
- Powder allows for easy and continuous material flow with augers and pumps, and easy mixing into a fluid material
- Mixing chamber premixes clay and water
- Pump, probably peristaltic, pumps into a pressure chamber
- Pressure chamber operates by air pressure
- Clay print head has automatic flush with water, so maintenance is zero on print head
- Mixing chamber retains settled clay material, so cleanout/maintenance requirement is zero between prints
- Ability to print with common clays, found in many locations worldwide
- Includes ball/roller mill for powdering clays from local sites (rocks are turned to clay-size particles)
- 3D prints are kilned after printing to turn them into ceramic
Value Proposition
- Cups, plates, and pottery for plants
- Printing insulators for nichrome wire and other forms for heater elements
- Printing flameware for cooking
- Printing inert vessels for reactions
- Making cylinders for reactor vessels and pistons
- Making vessels for liquid metals
- Ceramic rollers and balls for bearings
- Scaled version: house printing
- If the tolerances can be acheived and material properties etc, ceramic ICE's that can "run hot" and thus be more efficient
- Ceramic inner linings for various combustors for insulation, and allowing them to run at a higher temperature without damage
- Open Source Charcoal Blast Furnace ?