Mini 3D printer using old PC parts

Personally I think a build like this would be pretty cool and extremely useful for those who not only want a little project to do, but for those who want to have a 3D printer but don't want to invest the money into a full sized one. A tutorial for a  mini 3D printer built from parts laying around, just as that from CD Rom drives would be phenomenal.

The only problem  I think that would arise from this is the Extruder. This is a key component to 3D printers and I am not sure if they come in varying sizes. The ones I have seen in DIY kits and pre-built 3D printers are somewhat "big", in the sense they would be massive in a mini 3D printer compared to that of a full size printer.

Although there could be alternatives such as using the extruder of a hot glue gun, albeit this would also present the problem of no temperature control and I am not sure if a typical off the shelf hot glue gun would be capable of producing the temperatures needed. The standard for ABS is about 220-230C (428-446F) in normal 3D printers. PLA has a much lower melting point however, but without temperature control, you would run the possibility of over heating the PLA. Not sure about PVA and other plastics. Another problem that could arise is, I don't imagine the extruder of a hot glue gun would provide the precision needed that a 3D printer extruder provides.

Any other thoughts about this topic would be welcome.

Personally I think a build like this would be pretty cool and extremely useful for those who not only want a little project to do, but for those who want to have a 3D printer but don't want to invest the money into a full sized one. A tutorial for a  mini 3D printer built from parts laying around, just as that from CD Rom drives would be phenomenal.

The only problem  I think that would arise from this is the Extruder. This is a key component to 3D printers and I am not sure if they come in varying sizes. The ones I have seen in DIY kits and pre-built 3D printers are somewhat "big", in the sense they would be massive in a mini 3D printer compared to that of a full size printer.

Although there could be alternatives such as using the extruder of a hot glue gun, albeit this would also present the problem of no temperature control and I am not sure if a typical off the shelf hot glue gun would be capable of producing the temperatures needed. The standard for ABS is about 220-230C (428-446F) in normal 3D printers. PLA has a much lower melting point however, but without temperature control, you would run the possibility of over heating the PLA. Not sure about PVA and other plastics. Another problem that could arise is, I don't imagine the extruder of a hot glue gun would provide the precision needed that a 3D printer extruder provides.

Any other thoughts about this topic would be welcome.

Modification of a hotglue gun into an extruder is IMHO very difficult. The problem will be that you need a feeding mechanism of small diameter filament, and the gluesticks start at 7 mm. The part should be completely of metal and indeed the temperature should be as constant as possible.