i guess you could run the clay through a tube but that'd be unreliable

you really want the augur right up nearly against the nozzle

I mean... couldnt you get thinner clay

more diluted

i guess not

then you'd have to wait for each layer to try before laying another one down

you'd be looking at several weeks not several hours to finish a print

dry*

maybe if you heat the nozzle to dry it as it comes out, but again i'd be concerned about it clogging if there's any inconsistency to the clay

you could maybe use a static mixer but those are Expensive

Wont the heat plate cause the clay to dry?

and would wear out pretty quickly with clay

the first couple layers, sure

layers above that not so much

also: clay is abrasive as fuck, you would be replacing the nozzle very often no matter how you designed the thing

To be honest clay sounds like a bad material

for printng

what about glass

unless you got a solid corundum nozzle or s/t i guess but $$$$$

glass would be easier, but it'd take hella power

It would just need a standard crucible, feeding glass to an extruder

i'd be worried about it cooling too quickly and making a horrible clog

no, heat it right there before the nozzle just like thermoplastics

still not the best idea, but i'd have an easier time accounting for the issues glass brings to the table than clay

you can basically treat it like a thermoplastic with a really high melting point

problem is that

glass doesnt behave

a really heavy thermoplastic

like plastic

It's still semi-solid even in molten form

this is also true of thermoplastics

if your plastic is going down fully liquid you're printing _way_ too hot

i'm not even sure how you'd manage that without burning it first

The thing is that glass seems like it would need a fuckton more heat

it definitely would

before being finely printable

like Tungsten hot

that and the rigidity of cold glass are the main issues you'd need to tackle for a glass printer

you would definitely have to print in a heated chamber

for sure

you aren't gonna print glass off a normal printer, just