I built HydraRaptor in 2007 as a RepStrap. At first it was a milling machine made from high spec CNC components bought cheaply on eBay.
I used it to mill the parts for the RepRap MK2 extruder that Adrian Bowyer designed. My only change to his design was to add a shaft encoder for more accurate control of the DC motor.
It gradually replaced its own parts to evolve into a more reliable design by the beginning of 2009.
After nearly a year of experience with this extruder I designed my own from scratch using a geared stepper motor and threaded pulley pinch wheel. This gives much better results and is totally reliable.
With this extruder I printed the parts to make myself a RepRap Mendel in March 2010. I used Wade's extruder design.
To allow me to print warp free raft-less ABS objects I added a heated bed and a fume cupboard / heated chamber. This machine prints Mendel parts 24/7.
HydraRaptor is fitted with a 0.4mm nozzle so I use it to make the small parts that need to be accurate, like the pulleys, using 0.375mm filament giving 0.3mm layers. Mendel is fitted with a 0.5mm nozzle and I use it to make the larger parts in 0.6mm filament / 0.48mm layers. Not only is that faster but it produces stronger parts.
Together these two machines have printed more than 100 Mendel by December 2010. These have been sold around the world as shown below: -
