We hope so too soon :)

Hi trentineer. Thanks for the comments! Yes, the low cost was an important requirement for this project 🙂 About the OD for the pulley axis, it is 36mm. In the video it is made from different parts (nuts and hollow bar), but it would work better if you make it from a single bronze part (as explained at the end of the video)

Thanks Friedrich! Very valuable feedback for El tornillo and anyone replicating this machine. Hopefully the switch doesn't fail us too often.

Hi Friedrich. Thanks for the feedback! I'm interested to know specifically what you mean by "tear down". Have you noticed any weak points in the machine that should be improved? About the volume, if the injection volume is less than the barrel volume, then the piston stops and the belt slips on the pulley leaving the motor to keep moving. At this moment the operator should stop the motor, keep the pressure a few seconds and then turn it back to release the pressure. About the limit switches, yes, they must be very well installed so that they are triggered. If they don't trigger, can damage the screws that hold the switches in place. Then, the screw will keep moving and stop on one of its ends. Then the belt should slide on the pulley avoiding further damage. On the other hand, we thought of the use of VFD's but those are a bit expensive and we wanted to keep the budget low. Also, they work only for speed control, which I think is not completely necessary for the injection, I think the faster, the better. So I'm using the motor to the maximum without any variation. Or you meant to use the VFD as a high voltage limiter to control voltage spikes? I would love to hear more about what you think. Best, Andrés

@@eltornillotaller6813 Hi Andrés - thanks for coming back! I think there are no weak points in the mechanics as far I can see. Only the drive system i have doubts about- "belt slipping" is not the most sustainable overload protection i think. Every VFD has a overcurrent limit which you can set and the motor will stop. If you set it as an output on the VFD you get a signal that can go into a delay timer and auto-reverse the motor. Also you can display the current used at the moment - which is very helpful to determine your injection pressure and find errors with the plastic/machine/mould. The cheap option is sth. like a GRI8-04 to stop (and reverse) the motor - its used in some shredders too.

Hi @@FriedrichKegel. Thanks for all that information! I'll search and study those components to see how I can include them in the machine. I think you are right, a belt slipping is not the best way to control the pressure/overload, for now it's working in this first design but definitely its something to be improve. Thanks again, Andrés

We use those type of screws on our Extrusion machine community.preciousplastic.com/academy/build/extrusionpro