About this 3D model

This is an alternative extruder hot-end design for the makerbot, though it may work for other 3d printers as well. The big advantage is that it does not require an insulator (usually PTFE or PEEK), which causes problems for some (or perhaps many). Instead, a stack of washers and nuts is used as a heatsink to reduce the temperature. It worked really, really well for me, no more stalled extruders, stuck filaments, half-way prints. It heats up rapidly less than 1 minute from 25 to 220 degC), and I haven't had any problems with it (yet..). I've only printed ABS so far, so I have no idea if it will work with other materials. My original version used an aluminum heatsink (bottom image), but I thought that might be a bit hard for others to duplicate, so I built this one. Works just as well, just looks a little less fancy. You'll need a small fan, stainless steel M6 bolt as well as a stack of M6 nuts and 25mm M6 fender washers in addition to asome components from a standard makerbot extruder.