Repurpose your old MK4 Plastruder into a Plastic Welding Gun!
So you’ve got the brand spanking new MakerBot MK5 Plastruder and now you have your old MK4 kicked in the corner.
Dust it off and transform it into a Plastic Welding Gun designed by Donutman_2000! MakerBot a handle and trigger and your set to use the MK4 as an awesome tool for fixing up your models!
Is your MK4 sitting unused and lonely since you’ve upgraded to the MK5? Give it a new lease on life and turn it into a handheld welding gun! Use it to patch up any holes or loose threads in your prints or to glue broken plastic parts back together. You can see me welding the lid of a very poorly printed and particularly dangerous teapot shut to prevent accidental use.
The STL files include parts for a hand grip that slips over the DC motor, a finger guard so you don’t burn yourself on the retainer washer, and a trigger bracket for a push button.
This kind of thing makes me so happy! Repurposed plastruder for the win!
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4 Comments so far
What am I supposed to do with all of these obsolete parts? | MakerBlock
[...] love love love the idea of repurposing a MK4 plastruder into a plastic welding gun. Although, you could probably build a reasonable welding gun out of scrap parts even if you had [...]
donutman_2000
Yay! The first thing I made is on the makerbot blog!!
True, you probably don’t need all the parts of the MK4 to make it. If I didn’t have a spare motor or the acrylic parts I would probably make a trigger mechanism similar to that in a hot glue gun to advance the filament.
plastic welding caribbean
well that’s one way to keep it busy…
innovation and creativity working hand in hand to make the future brighter, better, and more economical… Armageddon is true!!!
How to get better results from your 3D printer – Part VI - MakerBot Industries
[...] can use a welding gun from the parts of an old extruder. I have to admit that I’ve actually held two broken parts [...]