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Print In Place Pump Pushes Limits Of Printing

3D printing and intervention

3D printing has taken off into the hands of almost anyone with a knack for wanting something quick and easy. No more messing around with machining or complex assembly. However, with the general hands-off nature of most 3D prints, what could be possible with a little more intervention during the printing process? [Ben] from _Designed to Make_ represents this perfectly with an entire centrifugal pump printed all at once.

The catch

This project may not entirely fit into the most strict sense of “print in place”; however, the entire pump is printed as one print file. The catch is the steps taken during printing, where a bearing is placed and a couple of filament changes are made to allow dissolvable supports to be printed. Once these supports are dissolved away, the body is coated with epoxy to prevent any leakage.

Testing and freedom

Testing done by [Ben] showed more than impressive numbers from the experimental device. Compared to previous designs made to test impeller features, the all in one pump could stand its own against in most categories.

One of the greatest parts of the open source 3D printing world is the absolute freedom and ingenuity that comes out of it, and this project is no exception.