Extruder (3D printing)

On a Bowden design, the feeding mechanism (here indicated with two roller wheels) often sits relatively far away from the hot end part of the extruder.
Figure of a direct drive extruder mechanism, an alternative to a Bowden extruder.

A 3D printer extruder is a filament feeding mechanism used in many fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printers. There are several types of 3D printer extruders. A Bowden extruder is a type of extruder that pushes filament through a long and flexible PTFE (Teflon) tube to the hot end.[1] An alternative type of extruder which is also widely used in filament 3D printers is the direct-drive extruder, which sits closer to the extruder hot end.

  1. ^ Landry, Taylor (2016-03-15). "Extruders 101: A crash course on an essential component of your 3D printer". MatterHackers. Archived from the original on 2021-01-27. Retrieved 2021-05-19.