Concept Evaluations
Analysis for the Extrusion Method
The extruder head chosen for this project was the plunger extruder head. The results from the weighted evaluations show why the other concepts would not be as efficient. The compressed air extruder head would require another expensive system to keep the air compressed and the gear extruder would not be easy to clean as well as being the most expensive. The plunger extruder has the overall best average statistics according to our weighted features.
The chocolate chosen for this project was the Belgian dark chocolate. The Ukrainian chocolate was a solid option except for the cost and it did not have simple accessibility. The dense milk chocolate was cheap, however the cooling rate was not as reliable as the other two.
Analysis for Extrusion Bed
The decision was made to make an X-Y bed instead of the delta bed due to the team’s thoughts on only making a “2-D” printer. The following decision was to choose between the 2-axis bed or the bed and head moving simultaneously. The bed and head design, however would be more complicated to design because it would require twice the effort while our team has limited time on this project. The X-Y bed was the better decision because of its ease of manufacturing.