I think about the cost of those chintzy little thermistors compared to the brass m3 brass thermistors. You can get a bundle of the chintzy ones for the price of one brass one with a quick disconnect. But they certainly can’t be that much more to make. What is anything worth? whatever people will pay.
Yes, but there’s ethical marketing and unethical marketing; forward looking marketing & short-sighted marketing. According to my late father-in-law, who was a professor of marketing, charging the max you can for a product you plan to sell for years is short-sighted, because it invites competitors.
To be fair, quick disconnects are much more complicated than simple thermistors. I can see them costing 10 times as much. Let’s not forget, brass is a relatively expensive metal. Its compensating factor is it’s pretty easy to machine.
I used to buy bog sheets of brass to make brass earings etc. The amount of brass in a thermistor could not be 5 cents even these days. I could weigh one and check it out on the internet but it’s not worth it.
I’m comparing the cost of the brass to the tiny little non-disconnect thermistors. I’m betting the brass is a significant portion of the cost. And don’t forget the machining.
I must look up a youtube video on how they mass produce machine screws or any screws for that matter. It is fascinating the technology that goes into mass production.
I can tell you a little about machine screws. One technique involves using plates. A rod of relatively soft steel/iron is inserted vertically between 2 plates. I can’t remember exactly, but at least 1 of the plates has a thread pattern on it. The rod is pressed into the start of the thread pattern and then the rod is rolled across the rest of the thread pattern. At the end of the threaded plate the rod is dropped onto a converyor, fully threaded. It only takes a second or 2 and is amazing to watch. I just looked on YT: [U]Bolt Nut manufacturing process - YouTube. (it appears the plates have the thread pattern on both sides. Calibration of the plates must be a trip.
I just watched one too. It is an amazing process. I’d like to know how the put a hexagonal indent in the end. I didn’t catch that in the video I saw. No wonder screws cost so much, you have to make a lot of screws to pay for the machines that make them.
As far as the head goes, it’s done in stages. First the end of the rod is thinned down a bit by the 1st punch. A 2nd punch then thins it some more. The 3rd punch squishes the thinned metal into a rounded over flat. A fourth punch refines the squished end into the hex shape and prints the pattern on the end (if there is one). Some machines do all this with only 3 punches. You can see it in the video I posted.
They have some very bright people designing these mass production machines that is for sure.
…thinking of building my own CNC lathe…
Just grab a cheap E3D Clone (they are open hardware). You get them for less than 20 Euro and incl. heat break fan and mount, thermistor and heating cartridge and they usually come with at least 8 nozzles in different sizes and different heat breaks (all metal/teflon) and two bowden couplers for both ptfe outer diameters available.
From china I guess you can get these upgrade sets for less than 10 bugs.
It is the same as with HDMI cables. You can get OelBach Cables for 59,99 or get a cheap one for 2,50. If you want more build quality you get the once for 10 Euro. They simply work all the same.
If I didn’t live in a small third floor apartment I would be very interested in CNC because I used to be a builder …general contractor whatever.
All my E3D are clones and cheap of course. I bought also many throats too. I have more than 3 meters of 3mm PTFE tube for throats. I’ll make it even better with what i have in my mind!
A bit of a dilemma: I don’t want filament sticking in an all metal hotend, but I’d rather avoid having to replace PTFE tubing on a regular basis. I wonder if many people have clogging issues with Micro Swiss hotends (they don’t have PTFE inside, do they?).
Believe me, if you have a CNC milling center and a SLS 3d printer,then you have almost everything to make almost anything. ( Personal opinion )
According to this dilemma, i’m going to upgrade my E3D hot end…
To what???
How much do you pay for a SLS printer that can do what you need to do? I realize that you are a pro but they look very pricey for any amateur.
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