One of the reasons many of our customers choose to extrude their own filament is economy, and as more large format 3D printers hit the market - the math is particularly compelling.
Large format 3D printers can print some impressive items, like large scale prototypes, furniture, and even cars. The large format envelope is being firmly pushed into new territory, with multi headed printers like 'The Beast' from 'Cultivate3d', that can simultaneously print multiple objects ... or the 'Gigabot XL' from 're3D', that boasts a 16,417 cubic inch build volume... or the biggest of the big, the 'BigRep ONE' that has an unbelievable build area of 61,939 cubic inches. That is some serious volume! Thats also an awful lot of plastic - and at $10 - $40/lb for pre-made filament, the running expenses can add up quick.
Compare that to making your own filament at roughly $4 lb for a cost savings of anywhere between 60% and 90%. Of course, there is the up front cost of the Filabot and the Spooler to absorb, but the more you print, the faster the Filabot will pay for itself. This relationship makes the Filabot the perfect partner for large format printers.
It is also essential to consider the virtually boundless customization that one can achieve with the Filabot. Having the ability to extrude filament in a full range of plastics with a broad spectrum of properties is a very powerful capability!
