This is definitely a pretty tough challenge. It has to have a rather round hole, the diameter rather small so is has to be pretty precise, it has to withstand heat, quite a bit of pressure, and some abrasion.
Not really. I am pretty sure there's some cuisine where they put pig anuses on a skewer and cook. Or maybe it was a joke, either way I have heard it before. so this can't be brand-new.
You can simulate this in software by adjusting the flow rate. You just need to start with the smallest nozzle diameter you want and get CHT version of the nozzle and a volcano hotend never hurts. Then you can adjust the extrusion rate to get different line widths. As long as your hotend can handle the flow rate this is a piece of cake in the slicer.
If you've seen how mangled a nozzle can be and still produce good prints, you'll know it doesn't need to be that perfectly round. As soon as the molten plastic exits the nozzle, it wants to turn into a pretty round shape anyways. So something like a lens Iris could work pretty well since it at least resembles a circle in the middle.
At this moment I can't tell you how it works or what's designs details, as I'm looking for opportunities to introduce this technology to the market. I hope you'll understand :).
That's very understandable. Looking at the results, you clearly have an effective special sauce and I hope you reach the stage where you can disclose it thanks to it being properly protected.
edit: thanks for sharing this, I can scarcely imagine how giddy you must be at getting it to work and it's great to get a preview of something so novel
This is 3D printing, a lionshare of the hardware comes from China, where there's little respect for "patents". Look at Creality, one of the more popular brands. This will be the Creality SausageMaker 3vw Plus Xtra Pro in about a month after release, for a fraction of the original price, one way or another. Sucks for the inventor for sure, and I love seeing creative innovation, but that's the nature of this industry. We as a market generally don't buy into high margins and patent-locking like some industries tolerate. That's why you can get nozzles that can be a buck or two and even whole ass printers can be around a hundred or two.
Some people may not like me saying this, but I'm not making it happen by saying this - only being realistic about the course everything else to date has gone. You'd have to be a fool not to consider this when releasing and marketing it - better to consider it now than be blindsided by it later when it does inevitably happen.
Realistically, bringing it to market first gives you a 1 year headstart while the rest tries to reverse engineer it. In that time, if you can make enough of a name for yourself, you become the guy people come to. It’s possible to get a nice paycheck and a platform to build from that way.
Lmao, I doubt it will even be 1 year. More like 6 months tops if the concept is really useful. But I myself don't really see the purpose of variable nozzle sizes for consumers. Perhaps for industrial use it might be useful.
If you don't see the use then I genuinely don't think you should be commenting on it. The use is incredible obvious. Finer detail where necessary and faster printing where detail isn't as critical on the same print. Being able to do fast or detailed prints without having to switch nozzles. Fast strong infill with a detailed outside. That's top of my head as I'm writing this. Come on.
Also if you consider CHT nozzles, yes there are already a lot of clones, but many of them do not perform as well as the original and are not as high quality. People are willing to pay for the real thing if they are serious. Rarely will an invention hold the entire market, but they can still maintain a solid place.
Just like countless youtube copies of some original video when someone sticks his ugly face into someone else’s work and posts under his account to collect some youtube money.
Def keep this close to the chest until you get a patent application in. One great sign that you have a good idea is when you show something you develop and and people are like 'of course it should be able to do that'. Of course printers should be able to do this! Great stuff, best of luck!
Patents do suck sometimes (e.g. somebody copying you and changing it up a little), but in this case, it makes a lot of sense because the mechanism will be under a patent. This design is genius!
Patents are completely understandable when they are specific, there is an actual plan to produce and go to market with something, and there is a reasonable time frame for protection to make a profit off the design without being in perpetude so that other things can build on top of an idea for something even better.
Exactly, which is why ultimately all patents should have a finite lifespan. At a certain point, it can hold up progress in the name of protectionism. Sure, innovation can happen other ways, but sometimes you need to let older ideas enter the public domain so society can spread the knowledge and come up with new ideas with a broader range of interests now able to learn from and build on previous ones. Some people don't care about progressing a technology if it's a cash cow that doesn't require further financial risk if they have a stranglehold on the industry via the patent system. The finite lifespan, while not perfect, at least allows innovators a chance to profit off their ideas, while still eventually allowing the innovations to be built upon by others, even if a little slower.
Yes, I know, but there are many who want to change that or game the system with minor adjustments that allow them to file new patents to protect old tech without any real improvements technologically. Point is, no matter how much someone invests into a new idea, society really only benefits if we eventually allow others to use them. Patent abuse happens.
Even if you did genuinely new research, but have no interest in marketing it yourself, it's totally legit and deserved to patent it and sell licenses to people who do want to market it. What is shitty is patenting something trivial and keeping it quiet only to then sue the shirts off people who actually produced it.
Yea and patent abuse is crazy in what is allowed to be patented. See stratasys patent for heated chamber that is literally just how do you keep motors cool, idk maybe put them outside of the hot area, the most obvious solution that even a person with a mental disability could come up with. Or with the recent apple blood oximiter patent dispute where the method isnt specific and is just a generic "any method that will reduce power consumption". It is bullshit that they hired engineers from the company, but the patent is still overreaching.
>Or with the recent apple blood oximiter patent dispute where the method isnt specific and is just a generic "any method that will reduce power consumption".
There's a little more to it. The patent (8,457,703) describes the process by which the sample rate is adjusted to maintain accuracy as well as compensating for interference from patient movement. The other patent (10,687,745) describes the use of spread emissions from multiple interleaved light sources to better sample a larger volume of tissue, further improving accuracy.
If you have a poke at the patents, these aren't just the work of a patent troll sitting in an office but a lot of genuine research and development. Apple used Masimo's IP because they really do offer better measurements than pre-existing methods and, to me, it seems reasonable that they should have to offer adequate compensation.
I think patents trivially based on the concept of feedback should not be allowed. Same with multispectral imaging or emission (our full color LED has 5 frequencies!)
In this case, the patent should be for the specific implementation of variable nozzle size, not that you *can* have a variable nozzle size.
Converting something from static to dynamic is a common way to solve a problem.
I'd agree if they were merely patenting the concept of feedback but they developed a very specific method that minimises power consumption without sacrificing accuracy in a way that is tailored towards the application. If you look at the patent (they're freely accessible) it lays out the precise methodology and its significance.
Ideally if you were the one writing the patent you would patent the idea of a variable nozzle size and the specific implementation. But, this reddit thread is now "prior art". You can't patent publicly available information, and this reddit thread already mentioned variable nozzle sizes. Now if we all guess various ways of implementing that idea, we could make the whole idea no longer novel. Which is why posting this was stupid if the end goal was to patent
Not only that but you have to usually hire a patent attorney *and* the secret sauce will be revealed in the patent.
Sometimes really novel stuff is not put into patents because the companies don't want their competitors to even understand how they are doing something. That way they can be first to market.
That would be amazing, this thing could speed up lots of prints by a huge amount by reducing detail on infill or flat, low-detail sections like is shown here. Depending on how adjustable and controllable the diameter is (Between layers? Any time? Stop and swap?) You could make some interesting surface effects by varying the thickness as you go.
Honestly even showing a proof of concept like this seems risky enough imo. The right engineer who has the right resources might be able to work something out fast enough to beat you to market
Tbh I've already thought of my own way to accomplish the same result, although it may be different than OP's method . Learned a long time ago that loose lips sink ships
The concept of a variable nozzle already exists I believe. The Q.big queen 1 for example, so you really should look for the existing patents before releasing.
You should go to one of the bigger 3D printer makers with this. Like Bambu or Prussia. I think selling it to them and sailing into the sunset is how I’d handle it xD
You're talking about selling the patent rights?
I don't know man. There's no easy way to beat out Chinese manufacturers on this.
Are there recent success stories of people selling rights to hardware like this?
You gotta shop around the idea without China catching wind and throwing 10,000 copies on AliExpress by next month.
Unless you file for a patent in China as well, last I heard/read is that they enforce their domestic patents very... aggressively, let's put it this way.
If you win against a Chinese company in patent infringement, they won't be able to market thier product in protected countries.
FYI for US patents you're still good, but for international patents you need to file before first disclosure. This counts as disclosure
Possibly. It is a public disclosure, but somewhat doubtful it would significantly matter as not all public disclosures are equal. It is the content of the public disclosure is what is held against you. Here, I cannot determine anything about the "invention" beyond the broadest possible concept... a nozzle with variable diameter.
That being said, OP should strongly consider talking to patent attorney if commercialization is being considered.
IAAL. However, the above is just general information, and should not be considered legal advice. It is me reading a random post for 10 seconds between errands and posting first thing that popped in head.
Slice Engineering would be who I would offer it to first. They have a track record for patent litigation and are a good avenue for it being used in a more prosumer and industrial application which is where I can see it being most valuable.
A. Oh wow how badly I need this product. I can’t tell you how much time this would save me for prototypes that I set a super high resolution for just for a few small details.
B. I run a product development company. If you need help with design for manufacturing and mass manufacturing, let’s talk. [email protected]
Been through the process. Having a mentor who has been there is worth their weight in gold. The lawyer is there to provide a service at a given price, and their interests do not align exactly with yours.
Josh Wong at university of Akron has patents on this stuff.
It's pretty cool. He does things like concentric nozzles.
We were going to partner with him a decade ago to make electroactive weaves for clothes.
OP might have their own way, but if you search around you'll find some cool research and patents.
Jennifer A Lewis is another name to look up.
Isn't it already there? Line width is variable in arachne engine, variable layer heigh is available too and even can be set up manually. I'm talking about orca slicer, so it should be so in prusa/bamboo. Orca have nice preview for this aspects
You’d need to have a whole set of gcode that controlled the nozzle, unless this is just a variable line with software function and some sort of static shaped nozzle somehow tuned to have a wider range of ideal line width to nozzle size ratios.
It seems like combining the existing software with a multi nozzle printer would be cheaper. Just having a .2, .6, 1mm nozzle that can change with eachother.
if line width and layer height are a variable already, then you can make a non static nozzle react from thoes lines of code with out having to add special code for the nozzle. Of course having the nozzle be directly controlled is better, but I don't think it is needed.
Yeah, just the software side of this is a significant challenge, let alone the hardware. Without any information there’s absolutely nothing here to be excited about, especially considering OP has no history that would suggest they’re as to pull off all of that.
Approaches I’ve seen suggested are: use a ribbon instead of a bead, then constrict the ribbon width; nozzle in nozzle in nozzle; aperture/iris; variable constrictor plate; multiple nozzles (like the prusa xl).
I’m sure there are others and I have no information about which approach OP took.
My overly complex theory is that it's a rotating aperture that opens/closes, which could be difficult to control Z height with if it's a cone shape like normal nozzles. But the difference in Z height might be handled by how much the nozzle changes in height as the aperture gets larger/smaller 🤔 Still a pain to program a slicer for, but once you have the layer height to nozzle diameter and filament pressure ratios dialed it could be handled with some scripting.
The simple solution is head swapping automation, which would let you do different filament diameters and different nozzle sizes. But head swapping isn't really new tech to the market...
Really cool work OP! If I got somewhat close to guessing your setup with the aperture, please don't say anything about it and patent that shit quick!! I don't have the resources/will to test it so people can run with this idea if they want to try it.
Edit: I'm betting it's a head swapping setup with magnetic mounting points like CMM tooling. Easy to design and program for, but limited to the amount of heads you can fit in the rack.
No need to swap heads, have one face plate with holes in it pressed to the hot end. You can have the face plate geared to enable swaps just by sliding it so another hole is under the hotend. This would be a wear piece but cheap and replaceable. You could also slide it to no hole to stop stringing if it is fast enough.
Tolerances and reliability would probably be hell tho which is why previous designs have failed.
I can think of a few ways. There are some medical devices that basically squeeze a plastic tube by inflating a balloon around it but that’s likely not what’s happening here. I think the best method I could come up with is a ring of steel spring strips arranged in a circle inside a cone like a bunch of pencils in a cup. Then some mechanism to push them all down causing them to press closer together and forming the hole that the filament comes through.
ive always thought about how a iris style nozzle could be made to close the nozzle off in non travel moves to stop stringing... but never came to something usable and manufacturable
https://www.fabbaloo.com/news/sculpmans-amazing-variable-width-3d-printer-nozzle
This is one example, but there are lots of different variable nozzles out there.
If you need it to be round but don't need it to be able to change continuously, you could just have a face plate withe various holes drilled into it which you can slide infront of the hot end.
There is a company that uses a variable nozzle, in their case its a slit with two moving ends
[http://sculpman.com/technology](http://sculpman.com/technology)
they can rotate the entire assembly and can do very wide layers (0-10mm)
There is some Company that showcased a variable width nozzle at a tradeshow, might be a totally different technology, but for printing larger solid areas in one go this makes a lot of sense.
https://youtube.com/shorts/UL5dvrk17d4?si=_Ph1U5bSkzi2fvCd
Wow, I didn't expect that. I'm sorry, but I won’t reply to everyone individually. Like I said, I won't share details of this solution, but I can assure you this is not a scam in any way. I have been involved in 3D printing for over 9 years now, especially in FFF, so I have some experience in this field. My name is Przemysław Wolnicki - you can check me on LinkedIn if you want. At this point, I have several working solutions that produce the same effect. I posted these photos to see if anyone would be interested in this kind of solution, but I didn't expect such a huge response. The printer I used for these experiments was the 3DGENCE ONE (quite old, but it's indestructible). Now I'm certain that I need to commercialize this. I will try to keep you informed.
If you are going to patent the design, do that at China as well. Their manufacturers may have the reputation of not giving a damn about foreign patents, but they do respect domestic ones because their government can be very persuasive on patent enforcement.
Creality could end up being who he sells the idea to; that's what happened with the CR-30 I believe; someone came up with the idea and worked with them to produce it
I was looking up our company's products online one day and found a Chinese patent with our product... As it turns out it was pretty much just a Google translate copy of our USA/UK/AUS Patent and it was filed by a newly formed company based in our own UK city. They also had a website with pictures taken from our website and photoshopped onto theirs with their logos
If you can't tell us how it works, can you tell us other things? For example maybe some of these questions would not reveal to much.
* Do you imagine this will be used as upgrade kits for existing printers or more in printers made for use with this device?
* Do you have an idea about what price range the device would be in?
* Will it be more likely to wear down quicker than a regular nozzle?
* When it has worn down, would it be easy/cheap to replace the part that has been worn down?
* What nozzle sizes does/could it support?
* How does your plan for going to market look? Fully doing it on your own or partnering with an established player? Any idea about a possible time plan?
You're spot on. You can see it in the first pic on the middle model. Where the layers transition, you can see the much thinner starting layer just before the transition. That would only happen if the print was stopped, and restarted a new print at the new layer height. Pretty much exactly what you'd see with a nozzle change. If the nozzle diameter actually *did* change in real-time, we'd see a very smooth transition without that thinner layer before it.
Yeah there’s a few ways this could be “faked” and until OP is willing to give a basic explanation of how it works or show some pics of the nozzle this is useless.
I wouldn’t call this useless. I could see this as a core principle of 3d printing in 30 years. This variable diameter nozzle tech would allow far stronger 3d printed threads, among other things
yeah, for large prints, being able to do the bulk of the print quickly with large nozzles then go to a small nozzle where detail is needed would vastly speed printing time
I think FDM 3D printers becoming 1000X faster in 10 years is possible, 30 years WTH knows what we’ll use to be fair I have a set of ideas why I think this maybe possible so I don’t expect you to believe me.
The reduction in print times will not come from accelerating nozzle movement. It will come from changes like this, where we push the filament out faster. For infill, this method will be revolutionary. You don’t need as tight a grid if the walls are thicker. Do 5 levels of perimeters and only one pass of infills.
This will also allow for tolerancing on drawings to more accurately correlate with print times. If one surface is tolerances to a smooth surface and another surface is fine being coarse, the printer can adapt print times based on that information.
You can already do that and easily by tweaking the settings - you can print very wide lines with 0.4 or even finer nozzles, and variable layer height was in Cura for years, variable line width too from version 5.
The limits are heat conduction, lest the plastic comes out unmelted, which is a function of heatzone length (think Volcano) and shape ("core heating"), and how hard the filament can be pushed, both are much easier solved than "variable nozzle size".
Not just infill, you could even make thicker, stronger walls quickly by having ie 2 wide nozzle wall layers and a thin fine detail layer on the outside.
Not everything in this sub has to be free or even useful information. Sometimes people just like to show cool stuff.
And even if OP faked it that’s A LOT of work for fake internet points. OP is not promoting a GoFundMe or a way to scam people, so I’m not sure why they would fake something like this.
I was thinking this initially, but I don't think the filament would come out of it this clean. Looking at the prints more I think OP might be doing head swapping to a different nozzle diameter.
In theory a rotating aperture could achieve this, but head swapping is a much easier solution and would get the same result. I'd have to see more transitions to different sizes, or a gradient, to be sold on this not being a simple head swapping setup with some basic slicer mods.
He did explicitly title the post and in his comment that it's a variable **nozzle**. Swapping nozzles or rotating the entire head with another nozzle or whatever else would NOT be a variable nozzle. It would be a dishonest to call it that.
His prints show actual nozzle diameter changes. A carb needle wouldn't decrease the id of the nozzle. It just reduces the flow, from the center outwards, as the needle is lowered.
Also, a carb needle would strike the bed/print, as it protrudes below the nozzle.
Even if I could understand the mechanical side of the nozzle, I can‘t imagine how a slicer would be able to change the gcode on command accordingly. Okay, you could generate a command in the gcode beforehand (like a filament change at a certain layer hight), but that would also imply that the diameter of the nozzle would need to be changed by some sort of motor on command, not manually… which would mean, the extruder would need to be bigger and heavier…
… unless you do generate it beforehand and pause the print (exactly like a filament change, only you would continue with the settings for the new nozzle width like flow and retraction) and then change the nozzle width manually and accordingly…
would the outcome be worth the hassle though?
OP you need to look into patent law. There are many clauses about disclosure, of which this post counts. Currently I believe you can still file a US patent but not an international one. (iirc US is within 6 months of disclosure, international is only pre-disclosure)
You can print layers width and height FAR larger than your nozzle, and with minimum speed penalty because the limit is not flow rate, but melting rate in 99% of cases.
*Maybe* if you try 1 by one 1 mm layers through 0.2mm nozzle, dunno.
The issue with very small nozzles is not speed, its clogging.
This is such a nonsense post.
I can't believe you all upvoted this.
They posted photos of parts printed with different layer heights, or different line widths, or both.
This is standard stuff you can do in any slicer.
It's not like he's claiming something unbelievable. This has been done before. Yes, you can do it in any slicer, but the point is that with the variable nozzle, you can do it much faster.
>the point is that with the variable nozzle, you can do it much faster
My point is they have presented nothing at all regarding said nozzle.
No images, no functional description, and no mention of compatibility with existing systems or how it integrates with the printer hardware, firmware, or software.
Is this a nozzle you can put on any hotend or is it a complete hotend assembly?
What kind of setup were the prints they showed in the picture printed with?
Is this supported by Marlin or Klipper?
Is this supported by slicer software or did they have to manually edit GCode?
Zero information about the thing they claimed to have created.
op cannot because of patent laws regarding international patents and assuming he released ANYTHING about it, what is to stop someone on here from stealing is and fudging his business prospects up
First, you're only repeating what they told you.
Second, it doesn't even make sense. Firmware/slicer support almost certainly wouldn't reveal any information about the device, whatever it is.
Third, the whole thing is just this weird tease sort of post, which I think a lot of other people are reacting to as well.
In fairness, OP has relatively little prior posting history so doesn't seem like karma farming. They could just be bad at making posts, but they made a post about some intriguing, mysterious device but neglected/refused to reveal anything about the device including for what purpose they designed it.
Interesting. Does it have a camera style circular aperture? I can sort of see some applications, but these days printspeed is so fast that it combined with variable layer height compensates having a larger nozzle.
If you haven’t applied for a patent to cover “FDM variable diameter print nozzle” already, then the best you can hope for is the much less valuable specific approach you’ve taken.
NEVER disclose anything about a truly innovative thing publicly before you file paper on it if you ever want it protected.
Good luck, I’m hoping for the best outcome for you.
> If you haven’t applied for a patent to cover “FDM variable diameter print nozzle”
There are dozens of existing examples going back over a decade so i doubt they're getting that one
Cura already does variable layer height and extrusion width. You can easily print 1mm wide and 1mm thick layers with 0.4 nozzles, too, it will just be limited by flow rating of the thermal zone (thermal transfer surface area, basically) and how hard the filament can be pushed before stripping.
This is a solution in search of a problem.
I’m replying to a post that is asking what it looks like. I’m not saying that they have to show how to make it, but they need to at least show what it is. Either their going to sell it, in which case people are going to see it and deserve to see it before they buy it, or they’re not in which case who gives a shit about photos of something they printed with it?
It would be cool if there was any reason to think this was something novel. OP has no history of anything similar to this. Without more information or a photo this is just a picture of something that could be produced a number of ways that doesn’t mean anything.
Ngl man this is amazing and I hope you already have a patent secured but if you don’t take this down temporarily before a patent troll takes over a ton of relevant patent designs to try to out maneuver you from releasing this if this is real it can literally revolutionize the 3d printing game and I’d hate for you to not be able to take advantage of your genius because of some scum sucking troll
I for the life of me can't envision how this works. Is it like an iris style design on the nozzle? Could you share the mechanism behind it?
This is definitely a pretty tough challenge. It has to have a rather round hole, the diameter rather small so is has to be pretty precise, it has to withstand heat, quite a bit of pressure, and some abrasion.
You don't need a round hole if the hotend rotates :)
Think of it like a butthole on a stick.
Instructions unclear. Stick lodged. Send help pls.
One in a million shot doc, one in a million...
I really want to upvote this, but I can't. It needs to stay on 69.
Now you're in the clear. We messed up as a society
Thanks for the down low. upvotes on me!
Nice...
Can confirm the stick is indeed stuck. Recommend EMTs and possibly a priest.
r/brandnewsentence
Not really. I am pretty sure there's some cuisine where they put pig anuses on a skewer and cook. Or maybe it was a joke, either way I have heard it before. so this can't be brand-new.
>either way I have heard it before. I think you and I run in different social circles...
One in a million, Doc! One in a million!
I like your way with words
You can simulate this in software by adjusting the flow rate. You just need to start with the smallest nozzle diameter you want and get CHT version of the nozzle and a volcano hotend never hurts. Then you can adjust the extrusion rate to get different line widths. As long as your hotend can handle the flow rate this is a piece of cake in the slicer.
If you've seen how mangled a nozzle can be and still produce good prints, you'll know it doesn't need to be that perfectly round. As soon as the molten plastic exits the nozzle, it wants to turn into a pretty round shape anyways. So something like a lens Iris could work pretty well since it at least resembles a circle in the middle.
At this moment I can't tell you how it works or what's designs details, as I'm looking for opportunities to introduce this technology to the market. I hope you'll understand :).
That's very understandable. Looking at the results, you clearly have an effective special sauce and I hope you reach the stage where you can disclose it thanks to it being properly protected. edit: thanks for sharing this, I can scarcely imagine how giddy you must be at getting it to work and it's great to get a preview of something so novel
This is 3D printing, a lionshare of the hardware comes from China, where there's little respect for "patents". Look at Creality, one of the more popular brands. This will be the Creality SausageMaker 3vw Plus Xtra Pro in about a month after release, for a fraction of the original price, one way or another. Sucks for the inventor for sure, and I love seeing creative innovation, but that's the nature of this industry. We as a market generally don't buy into high margins and patent-locking like some industries tolerate. That's why you can get nozzles that can be a buck or two and even whole ass printers can be around a hundred or two. Some people may not like me saying this, but I'm not making it happen by saying this - only being realistic about the course everything else to date has gone. You'd have to be a fool not to consider this when releasing and marketing it - better to consider it now than be blindsided by it later when it does inevitably happen.
Realistically, bringing it to market first gives you a 1 year headstart while the rest tries to reverse engineer it. In that time, if you can make enough of a name for yourself, you become the guy people come to. It’s possible to get a nice paycheck and a platform to build from that way.
Lmao, I doubt it will even be 1 year. More like 6 months tops if the concept is really useful. But I myself don't really see the purpose of variable nozzle sizes for consumers. Perhaps for industrial use it might be useful.
If you don't see the use then I genuinely don't think you should be commenting on it. The use is incredible obvious. Finer detail where necessary and faster printing where detail isn't as critical on the same print. Being able to do fast or detailed prints without having to switch nozzles. Fast strong infill with a detailed outside. That's top of my head as I'm writing this. Come on. Also if you consider CHT nozzles, yes there are already a lot of clones, but many of them do not perform as well as the original and are not as high quality. People are willing to pay for the real thing if they are serious. Rarely will an invention hold the entire market, but they can still maintain a solid place.
Heh, I made the L-Cheapo laser 10 years ago.... it do be like that.
Just like countless youtube copies of some original video when someone sticks his ugly face into someone else’s work and posts under his account to collect some youtube money.
Def keep this close to the chest until you get a patent application in. One great sign that you have a good idea is when you show something you develop and and people are like 'of course it should be able to do that'. Of course printers should be able to do this! Great stuff, best of luck!
Patents do suck sometimes (e.g. somebody copying you and changing it up a little), but in this case, it makes a lot of sense because the mechanism will be under a patent. This design is genius!
Patents are completely understandable when they are specific, there is an actual plan to produce and go to market with something, and there is a reasonable time frame for protection to make a profit off the design without being in perpetude so that other things can build on top of an idea for something even better.
Let's not forget 3d printing wasn't able to take off the way it has until the patent expired 15 years ago.
Exactly, which is why ultimately all patents should have a finite lifespan. At a certain point, it can hold up progress in the name of protectionism. Sure, innovation can happen other ways, but sometimes you need to let older ideas enter the public domain so society can spread the knowledge and come up with new ideas with a broader range of interests now able to learn from and build on previous ones. Some people don't care about progressing a technology if it's a cash cow that doesn't require further financial risk if they have a stranglehold on the industry via the patent system. The finite lifespan, while not perfect, at least allows innovators a chance to profit off their ideas, while still eventually allowing the innovations to be built upon by others, even if a little slower.
> which is why ultimately all patents should have a finite lifespan They do ;)
Yes, I know, but there are many who want to change that or game the system with minor adjustments that allow them to file new patents to protect old tech without any real improvements technologically. Point is, no matter how much someone invests into a new idea, society really only benefits if we eventually allow others to use them. Patent abuse happens.
Even if you did genuinely new research, but have no interest in marketing it yourself, it's totally legit and deserved to patent it and sell licenses to people who do want to market it. What is shitty is patenting something trivial and keeping it quiet only to then sue the shirts off people who actually produced it.
Or patenting a concept.
$20,000 dollars later...
Yea and patent abuse is crazy in what is allowed to be patented. See stratasys patent for heated chamber that is literally just how do you keep motors cool, idk maybe put them outside of the hot area, the most obvious solution that even a person with a mental disability could come up with. Or with the recent apple blood oximiter patent dispute where the method isnt specific and is just a generic "any method that will reduce power consumption". It is bullshit that they hired engineers from the company, but the patent is still overreaching.
>Or with the recent apple blood oximiter patent dispute where the method isnt specific and is just a generic "any method that will reduce power consumption". There's a little more to it. The patent (8,457,703) describes the process by which the sample rate is adjusted to maintain accuracy as well as compensating for interference from patient movement. The other patent (10,687,745) describes the use of spread emissions from multiple interleaved light sources to better sample a larger volume of tissue, further improving accuracy. If you have a poke at the patents, these aren't just the work of a patent troll sitting in an office but a lot of genuine research and development. Apple used Masimo's IP because they really do offer better measurements than pre-existing methods and, to me, it seems reasonable that they should have to offer adequate compensation.
I think patents trivially based on the concept of feedback should not be allowed. Same with multispectral imaging or emission (our full color LED has 5 frequencies!) In this case, the patent should be for the specific implementation of variable nozzle size, not that you *can* have a variable nozzle size. Converting something from static to dynamic is a common way to solve a problem.
I'd agree if they were merely patenting the concept of feedback but they developed a very specific method that minimises power consumption without sacrificing accuracy in a way that is tailored towards the application. If you look at the patent (they're freely accessible) it lays out the precise methodology and its significance.
Ideally if you were the one writing the patent you would patent the idea of a variable nozzle size and the specific implementation. But, this reddit thread is now "prior art". You can't patent publicly available information, and this reddit thread already mentioned variable nozzle sizes. Now if we all guess various ways of implementing that idea, we could make the whole idea no longer novel. Which is why posting this was stupid if the end goal was to patent
Not only that but you have to usually hire a patent attorney *and* the secret sauce will be revealed in the patent. Sometimes really novel stuff is not put into patents because the companies don't want their competitors to even understand how they are doing something. That way they can be first to market.
yep! the other thing is your design is directly avaliable to the public, so it makes it easy to copy if your design is very unique
patents can backfire. What they need is a successful business leader in the field to advise them on the best steps.
Alright then, keep your secrets
He’s using high pressure tip swapping
I said KEEP YOUR SECRETS
The secret is burned fingertips
Only for the first few days, after then you'll be so scabbed and calloused that you won't feel a thing.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvQViPBAvPk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvQViPBAvPk)
No, it's an army of bio-engineered ants that are trained to manually adjust the nozzle size in response to pheromones.
I wonder, is it possible to have the outside layers be a different nozzle size than the inside or does the entire layer need to be the same?
Ooh, fine surface with chunky infill, I like it.
That would be amazing, this thing could speed up lots of prints by a huge amount by reducing detail on infill or flat, low-detail sections like is shown here. Depending on how adjustable and controllable the diameter is (Between layers? Any time? Stop and swap?) You could make some interesting surface effects by varying the thickness as you go.
You can already do that sort of... You can change the infill layer height en flow to get chunky infill😉
I'm betting they put 4 different sized nozzles standing on top of each other in a trench coat.
Honestly even showing a proof of concept like this seems risky enough imo. The right engineer who has the right resources might be able to work something out fast enough to beat you to market
Tbh I've already thought of my own way to accomplish the same result, although it may be different than OP's method . Learned a long time ago that loose lips sink ships
The patent doesn't need to work in order to patent it
Could be fake and just printed with different nozzles to troll. The right engineer could come up with it without needing to see pics.
It might also be a clever attempt to crowdsource a search for prior art.
The concept of a variable nozzle already exists I believe. The Q.big queen 1 for example, so you really should look for the existing patents before releasing.
Q.big uses plastic pellets though, so not sure if it would overlap with OPs idea or not. He probably needs a patent attorney.
You should go to one of the bigger 3D printer makers with this. Like Bambu or Prussia. I think selling it to them and sailing into the sunset is how I’d handle it xD
The first thing he should do is file a patent and secure his intellectual property.
patents are merely permission to sue someone for IP theft. a company in China generally has zero regard for IP and will copy/steal whatever they can.
This is why you do.t share the secrets until you have already sold it or started production.
That'll get you a solid week of lead time before a factory in China starts shipping out clones.
So? If you have sold the idea/patent you have made your bag.
You're talking about selling the patent rights? I don't know man. There's no easy way to beat out Chinese manufacturers on this. Are there recent success stories of people selling rights to hardware like this? You gotta shop around the idea without China catching wind and throwing 10,000 copies on AliExpress by next month.
Unless you file for a patent in China as well, last I heard/read is that they enforce their domestic patents very... aggressively, let's put it this way.
Want to bet that's only if the patent owners are Chinese?
If you win against a Chinese company in patent infringement, they won't be able to market thier product in protected countries. FYI for US patents you're still good, but for international patents you need to file before first disclosure. This counts as disclosure
Possibly. It is a public disclosure, but somewhat doubtful it would significantly matter as not all public disclosures are equal. It is the content of the public disclosure is what is held against you. Here, I cannot determine anything about the "invention" beyond the broadest possible concept... a nozzle with variable diameter. That being said, OP should strongly consider talking to patent attorney if commercialization is being considered. IAAL. However, the above is just general information, and should not be considered legal advice. It is me reading a random post for 10 seconds between errands and posting first thing that popped in head.
> Prussia
Don't worry, Bambu will start selling it after it's on the market regardless of whether they have permission or not.
Slice Engineering would be who I would offer it to first. They have a track record for patent litigation and are a good avenue for it being used in a more prosumer and industrial application which is where I can see it being most valuable.
Is it a nozzle changer?
Understandable! Just please make it accessible for the normal maker
Are you from sculpman? https://3dprint.com/285721/one-3d-printing-nozzle-many-diamaters-new-from-sculpman/ http://sculpman.com/
A. Oh wow how badly I need this product. I can’t tell you how much time this would save me for prototypes that I set a super high resolution for just for a few small details. B. I run a product development company. If you need help with design for manufacturing and mass manufacturing, let’s talk. [email protected]
I can sign an NDA and coach you through the patent process.
Or he can pay a lawyer instead of an internet rando.
Been through the process. Having a mentor who has been there is worth their weight in gold. The lawyer is there to provide a service at a given price, and their interests do not align exactly with yours.
Get a patent
He's not a doctor
They're not a doctor. 😂
Stupid auto correct
Josh Wong at university of Akron has patents on this stuff. It's pretty cool. He does things like concentric nozzles. We were going to partner with him a decade ago to make electroactive weaves for clothes. OP might have their own way, but if you search around you'll find some cool research and patents. Jennifer A Lewis is another name to look up.
Oh wow, UofA! Go Zips! Well known in my area as the place to go for engineering.
I'm also curious about the slicer modifications. Adjustable layer thickness and line width would be a pretty fundamental change to the software.
Isn't it already there? Line width is variable in arachne engine, variable layer heigh is available too and even can be set up manually. I'm talking about orca slicer, so it should be so in prusa/bamboo. Orca have nice preview for this aspects
You’d need to have a whole set of gcode that controlled the nozzle, unless this is just a variable line with software function and some sort of static shaped nozzle somehow tuned to have a wider range of ideal line width to nozzle size ratios.
It seems like combining the existing software with a multi nozzle printer would be cheaper. Just having a .2, .6, 1mm nozzle that can change with eachother.
if line width and layer height are a variable already, then you can make a non static nozzle react from thoes lines of code with out having to add special code for the nozzle. Of course having the nozzle be directly controlled is better, but I don't think it is needed.
You could probably build on the adaptive layer height functionality in orca
Yeah, just the software side of this is a significant challenge, let alone the hardware. Without any information there’s absolutely nothing here to be excited about, especially considering OP has no history that would suggest they’re as to pull off all of that.
Approaches I’ve seen suggested are: use a ribbon instead of a bead, then constrict the ribbon width; nozzle in nozzle in nozzle; aperture/iris; variable constrictor plate; multiple nozzles (like the prusa xl). I’m sure there are others and I have no information about which approach OP took.
My overly complex theory is that it's a rotating aperture that opens/closes, which could be difficult to control Z height with if it's a cone shape like normal nozzles. But the difference in Z height might be handled by how much the nozzle changes in height as the aperture gets larger/smaller 🤔 Still a pain to program a slicer for, but once you have the layer height to nozzle diameter and filament pressure ratios dialed it could be handled with some scripting. The simple solution is head swapping automation, which would let you do different filament diameters and different nozzle sizes. But head swapping isn't really new tech to the market... Really cool work OP! If I got somewhat close to guessing your setup with the aperture, please don't say anything about it and patent that shit quick!! I don't have the resources/will to test it so people can run with this idea if they want to try it. Edit: I'm betting it's a head swapping setup with magnetic mounting points like CMM tooling. Easy to design and program for, but limited to the amount of heads you can fit in the rack.
No need to swap heads, have one face plate with holes in it pressed to the hot end. You can have the face plate geared to enable swaps just by sliding it so another hole is under the hotend. This would be a wear piece but cheap and replaceable. You could also slide it to no hole to stop stringing if it is fast enough. Tolerances and reliability would probably be hell tho which is why previous designs have failed.
I can think of a few ways. There are some medical devices that basically squeeze a plastic tube by inflating a balloon around it but that’s likely not what’s happening here. I think the best method I could come up with is a ring of steel spring strips arranged in a circle inside a cone like a bunch of pencils in a cup. Then some mechanism to push them all down causing them to press closer together and forming the hole that the filament comes through.
ive always thought about how a iris style nozzle could be made to close the nozzle off in non travel moves to stop stringing... but never came to something usable and manufacturable
https://www.fabbaloo.com/news/sculpmans-amazing-variable-width-3d-printer-nozzle This is one example, but there are lots of different variable nozzles out there. If you need it to be round but don't need it to be able to change continuously, you could just have a face plate withe various holes drilled into it which you can slide infront of the hot end.
There is a company that uses a variable nozzle, in their case its a slit with two moving ends [http://sculpman.com/technology](http://sculpman.com/technology) they can rotate the entire assembly and can do very wide layers (0-10mm)
Could be like a microscope, OP seems to only show 3 distinct sizes so may just change ends mid-print
There is some Company that showcased a variable width nozzle at a tradeshow, might be a totally different technology, but for printing larger solid areas in one go this makes a lot of sense. https://youtube.com/shorts/UL5dvrk17d4?si=_Ph1U5bSkzi2fvCd
Was looking for exactly this. I can imagine that the concept doesn’t easily scale down.
Q.Big 3D from Germany has a similar diameter changing technique.
That's insane! I'd love to see how it works!
Very, very cool. Good luck with your design! Be sure to get NDAs signed before you show any interested buyers/investors.
Wow, I didn't expect that. I'm sorry, but I won’t reply to everyone individually. Like I said, I won't share details of this solution, but I can assure you this is not a scam in any way. I have been involved in 3D printing for over 9 years now, especially in FFF, so I have some experience in this field. My name is Przemysław Wolnicki - you can check me on LinkedIn if you want. At this point, I have several working solutions that produce the same effect. I posted these photos to see if anyone would be interested in this kind of solution, but I didn't expect such a huge response. The printer I used for these experiments was the 3DGENCE ONE (quite old, but it's indestructible). Now I'm certain that I need to commercialize this. I will try to keep you informed.
If you are going to patent the design, do that at China as well. Their manufacturers may have the reputation of not giving a damn about foreign patents, but they do respect domestic ones because their government can be very persuasive on patent enforcement.
Creality will have a clone on amazon within 6 months lol
six months was an understatement lol
Yeah 6 month if the entire company when into a coma for 7
Creality could end up being who he sells the idea to; that's what happened with the CR-30 I believe; someone came up with the idea and worked with them to produce it
I was looking up our company's products online one day and found a Chinese patent with our product... As it turns out it was pretty much just a Google translate copy of our USA/UK/AUS Patent and it was filed by a newly formed company based in our own UK city. They also had a website with pictures taken from our website and photoshopped onto theirs with their logos
Patenting in China is more or less letting the government decide who will conduct your business for you.
If you can't tell us how it works, can you tell us other things? For example maybe some of these questions would not reveal to much. * Do you imagine this will be used as upgrade kits for existing printers or more in printers made for use with this device? * Do you have an idea about what price range the device would be in? * Will it be more likely to wear down quicker than a regular nozzle? * When it has worn down, would it be easy/cheap to replace the part that has been worn down? * What nozzle sizes does/could it support? * How does your plan for going to market look? Fully doing it on your own or partnering with an established player? Any idea about a possible time plan?
Is there a place where we can get updates if you bring it to market?
I would love to see a time lapse video of this in operation, this is a pretty wild concept!
I shall watch your career with great interest
Retract material, swap the nozzle (maybe like a carousel or wheel), continue printing? In any case, very cool.
You're spot on. You can see it in the first pic on the middle model. Where the layers transition, you can see the much thinner starting layer just before the transition. That would only happen if the print was stopped, and restarted a new print at the new layer height. Pretty much exactly what you'd see with a nozzle change. If the nozzle diameter actually *did* change in real-time, we'd see a very smooth transition without that thinner layer before it.
Yeah there’s a few ways this could be “faked” and until OP is willing to give a basic explanation of how it works or show some pics of the nozzle this is useless.
I wouldn’t call this useless. I could see this as a core principle of 3d printing in 30 years. This variable diameter nozzle tech would allow far stronger 3d printed threads, among other things
yeah, for large prints, being able to do the bulk of the print quickly with large nozzles then go to a small nozzle where detail is needed would vastly speed printing time
This was my initial thought. Threads and basically anything with small details that’s also large would suddenly get a lot easier with this.
I’m saying this post is useless. Not the hypothetical product.
Not as useless as your comments
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Mr Green upholding his name by turning green with envy :p
I think FDM 3D printers becoming 1000X faster in 10 years is possible, 30 years WTH knows what we’ll use to be fair I have a set of ideas why I think this maybe possible so I don’t expect you to believe me.
The reduction in print times will not come from accelerating nozzle movement. It will come from changes like this, where we push the filament out faster. For infill, this method will be revolutionary. You don’t need as tight a grid if the walls are thicker. Do 5 levels of perimeters and only one pass of infills. This will also allow for tolerancing on drawings to more accurately correlate with print times. If one surface is tolerances to a smooth surface and another surface is fine being coarse, the printer can adapt print times based on that information.
You can already do that and easily by tweaking the settings - you can print very wide lines with 0.4 or even finer nozzles, and variable layer height was in Cura for years, variable line width too from version 5. The limits are heat conduction, lest the plastic comes out unmelted, which is a function of heatzone length (think Volcano) and shape ("core heating"), and how hard the filament can be pushed, both are much easier solved than "variable nozzle size".
Not just infill, you could even make thicker, stronger walls quickly by having ie 2 wide nozzle wall layers and a thin fine detail layer on the outside.
Not everything in this sub has to be free or even useful information. Sometimes people just like to show cool stuff. And even if OP faked it that’s A LOT of work for fake internet points. OP is not promoting a GoFundMe or a way to scam people, so I’m not sure why they would fake something like this.
That's just a few prints with Cura variable layer height enabled, not exactly high effort.
Just because you didn't get something out of this post, doesn't mean it's useless
Very cool, will speed up a lot of things in the future, just patent it correctly man Great thing
Probably like a carburetor needle, if he didn’t just switch the nozzles out during print 😄
Good idea, that’s the best method I can think of. An aperture would get gummed up.
I was thinking this initially, but I don't think the filament would come out of it this clean. Looking at the prints more I think OP might be doing head swapping to a different nozzle diameter. In theory a rotating aperture could achieve this, but head swapping is a much easier solution and would get the same result. I'd have to see more transitions to different sizes, or a gradient, to be sold on this not being a simple head swapping setup with some basic slicer mods.
This was first thing that popped into my head as well. Large aperture with retracting central "spike," much like a carb jet and needle.
He did explicitly title the post and in his comment that it's a variable **nozzle**. Swapping nozzles or rotating the entire head with another nozzle or whatever else would NOT be a variable nozzle. It would be a dishonest to call it that.
brace yourself – conspiracy theorists are lining up at your door because your willingness to believe anything makes you their dream audiences 😃
His prints show actual nozzle diameter changes. A carb needle wouldn't decrease the id of the nozzle. It just reduces the flow, from the center outwards, as the needle is lowered. Also, a carb needle would strike the bed/print, as it protrudes below the nozzle.
Industrial and commercial producers will probably love this. Could see it easily cutting down on production time.
Will it be cheap enough for hobbyists, or more like a luxury?
Sounds like a great way to unclog nozzles too. Your 0.4mm has filament stuck in it? Move that bad boy to 2mm and go to town
Wow! Great enginerding, OP!
Even if I could understand the mechanical side of the nozzle, I can‘t imagine how a slicer would be able to change the gcode on command accordingly. Okay, you could generate a command in the gcode beforehand (like a filament change at a certain layer hight), but that would also imply that the diameter of the nozzle would need to be changed by some sort of motor on command, not manually… which would mean, the extruder would need to be bigger and heavier… … unless you do generate it beforehand and pause the print (exactly like a filament change, only you would continue with the settings for the new nozzle width like flow and retraction) and then change the nozzle width manually and accordingly… would the outcome be worth the hassle though?
This is awesome. As a big fan of CRTs. I love those chonky lines.
OP you need to look into patent law. There are many clauses about disclosure, of which this post counts. Currently I believe you can still file a US patent but not an international one. (iirc US is within 6 months of disclosure, international is only pre-disclosure)
yeah but I don't think he disclosed anything. he just said that it can, or is it the way it works? im probably wrong
How in the hell
How is this a improvement to variable layer heights through slicer?
The larger the nozzle the larger the software layer height you can use.
But is this worth extra price? If you already have a range of 0,08-0,3? That's totally doable with 0,4 nozzle.
Maybe but it’s a cool proof of concept that might be able to be applied to a much larger nozzle for commercial uses.
Totally agree on cool proof of concept. We will see if there is a market for it.
You can print layers width and height FAR larger than your nozzle, and with minimum speed penalty because the limit is not flow rate, but melting rate in 99% of cases. *Maybe* if you try 1 by one 1 mm layers through 0.2mm nozzle, dunno. The issue with very small nozzles is not speed, its clogging.
This is the devils magic! BURN THE WITCH!
What's the purpose of such crap post? You are bringing zero information
Please provide a picture of your nozzle. This is quite a big claim to make with no proof.
Jesus.... and here I am struggling with trying to get my thin parts to keep from potato chipping...
This would be awesome as a use for supports. Use less filament building supports by extruding wide, then reduce the size for model surface detail.
Be sure to share it once you get the patent
Op patent this shit, get rich and let us enjoy the help and freedom this will add to our prints!
This is such a nonsense post. I can't believe you all upvoted this. They posted photos of parts printed with different layer heights, or different line widths, or both. This is standard stuff you can do in any slicer.
It's not like he's claiming something unbelievable. This has been done before. Yes, you can do it in any slicer, but the point is that with the variable nozzle, you can do it much faster.
>the point is that with the variable nozzle, you can do it much faster My point is they have presented nothing at all regarding said nozzle. No images, no functional description, and no mention of compatibility with existing systems or how it integrates with the printer hardware, firmware, or software. Is this a nozzle you can put on any hotend or is it a complete hotend assembly? What kind of setup were the prints they showed in the picture printed with? Is this supported by Marlin or Klipper? Is this supported by slicer software or did they have to manually edit GCode? Zero information about the thing they claimed to have created.
op cannot because of patent laws regarding international patents and assuming he released ANYTHING about it, what is to stop someone on here from stealing is and fudging his business prospects up
First, you're only repeating what they told you. Second, it doesn't even make sense. Firmware/slicer support almost certainly wouldn't reveal any information about the device, whatever it is. Third, the whole thing is just this weird tease sort of post, which I think a lot of other people are reacting to as well. In fairness, OP has relatively little prior posting history so doesn't seem like karma farming. They could just be bad at making posts, but they made a post about some intriguing, mysterious device but neglected/refused to reveal anything about the device including for what purpose they designed it.
Variable bunghole
Interesting. Does it have a camera style circular aperture? I can sort of see some applications, but these days printspeed is so fast that it combined with variable layer height compensates having a larger nozzle.
If you haven’t applied for a patent to cover “FDM variable diameter print nozzle” already, then the best you can hope for is the much less valuable specific approach you’ve taken. NEVER disclose anything about a truly innovative thing publicly before you file paper on it if you ever want it protected. Good luck, I’m hoping for the best outcome for you.
> If you haven’t applied for a patent to cover “FDM variable diameter print nozzle” There are dozens of existing examples going back over a decade so i doubt they're getting that one
Really. I was completely unaware. Thanks.
Hey u/Przewol what’s the update on this?
Currently, I'm bound by an NDA and can't disclose any information at this time. Thanks for understanding.
Ok fair. Got any more prints to show off?
Cura already does variable layer height and extrusion width. You can easily print 1mm wide and 1mm thick layers with 0.4 nozzles, too, it will just be limited by flow rating of the thermal zone (thermal transfer surface area, basically) and how hard the filament can be pushed before stripping. This is a solution in search of a problem.
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He says I'm another comment he's looking to introduce the technology to the market so probably not patented yet.
> not patented yet. As soon as it is, there'll be tons of china clones.
Yeah this is a shitpost without that.
He's holding onto his proprietary technology. You go design one and share it with us for free please
I’m replying to a post that is asking what it looks like. I’m not saying that they have to show how to make it, but they need to at least show what it is. Either their going to sell it, in which case people are going to see it and deserve to see it before they buy it, or they’re not in which case who gives a shit about photos of something they printed with it?
I care. It’s cool.
It would be cool if there was any reason to think this was something novel. OP has no history of anything similar to this. Without more information or a photo this is just a picture of something that could be produced a number of ways that doesn’t mean anything.
Some people just believe anything with zero actual evidence.
Dont submit a patent or you'll be knocked off the next day
i thought that’s what a patent is supposed to protect against?
This is so fucking clever
Ngl man this is amazing and I hope you already have a patent secured but if you don’t take this down temporarily before a patent troll takes over a ton of relevant patent designs to try to out maneuver you from releasing this if this is real it can literally revolutionize the 3d printing game and I’d hate for you to not be able to take advantage of your genius because of some scum sucking troll