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Forum Thread Details
  • Replies 22 replies
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  • tbhs
  • design process
  • super glue gun
  • community feedback
  • anti-drip
  • trigger
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  • auto extrusion
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Related

Super Glue Gun Progress

makerkaren
makerkaren over 7 years ago

This week we're back to working on the Super Glue Gun. We've reviewed many of the comments and suggestions posted here on the Community and are factoring them into our design.

The first thing we are addressing is the motor location. Ben originally had the motor positioned so that it was sticking out the side of the gun, making the gun unevenly weighted. I suggested that we move the motor into the handle with the gear facing upwards to make the design more compact. While this solved some bulk and balance problems, it created new issues of the motor interfering with the auto stand and the trigger. Our new idea solution is in the photo below.

image

The proposed modifications here would also help another issue brought up by a community member, f5kn. We had the motor set farther back near the handle. However, this would make it so that there would be a significant time where the glue stick that was actively being melted would be past the point where it would be engaged by the motor gear, making the anti-drip function useless. By shortening the feed tube on the hot end and moving the gear as close to the hot end as possible, that drastically reduces the amount that the active glue stick would not be engaged by the gear. Hopefully negligible enough to not be too much of a design flaw.

We also want the end of the nozzle to be long and narrow to reach into tight places. We're hoping that by adding on a nozzle as shown, rather than having the normal small cone at the end of the plastic casing, will be enough to achieve that design feature. The concern with this is, will the smaller hot end be powerful enough to melt the glue within the the nozzle from a cold start.

Other suggestions we received said to make the stand mechanical and spring loaded rather than electrically extended and retracted by a servo. Others say to eliminate the stand all together in favor of a holster or cradle, or simply going cordless, using a heavy battery at the base as a stand like a cordless drill.

 

At this point in the design process, we're looking at, "What makes our glue gun better than what is on the market?"  Can we keep enough features in the gun to warrant making an entirely new product? Moving forward, we turn to our community members for help.

 

What features would need to be in the Super Glue Gun to make you want to buy it?

 

Our key features are the auto extrusion and anti-drip. Are those features alone enough?

Does it need an electrical auto stand? Or is a spring loaded stand, or is no extending stand a better solution?

Should it be battery powered and cordless?

Should it have an LED indicating when the hot end is up to temperature?

Should it have an auto-shutoff timer so it can't be left on accidentally for too long?

Are there other features we haven't considered that if included would convince you to buy such a product?

Should it use 1/4" mini glue sticks or does it need to have a larger capacity?

 

Please share your ideas and opinions below!

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Top Replies

  • shabaz
    shabaz over 7 years ago +5
    I've not used one in a very long time, but my main memory of it was the dripping Maybe some LEDs to illuminate the end would be awesome - usually the end was chunky, so you couldn't sometimes see where…
  • mcb1
    mcb1 over 7 years ago in reply to makerkaren +3
    heating elements require so much more power Proper engineering principles apply here. You need to understand what you're dealing with before creating a solution. What is the power demand? How long does…
  • dougw
    dougw over 7 years ago +3
    I'm not sure what has been suggested for this in the past so excuse any duplication, but how about: an auto-loader that can add in a new glue stick seamlessly as the old one gets depleted. adjustable temperature…
Parents
  • f5kn
    f5kn over 7 years ago

    Our key features are the auto extrusion and anti-drip. Are those features alone enough?

    I do think so, yes. That's what I expect as a bare minimum number of features it should have.

     

    Does it need an electrical auto stand? Or is a spring loaded stand, or is no extending stand a better solution?

    So far servo-powered seemed to be too slow. But if you go for battery powered/cordless, then you probably wouldn't even be able to make the gun stand at an angle. Then again, does it need to sit at an angle?

    I know this is a feature Ben is quite passionate about, so let's try to see it from another, well, angle: How would the anti-drip function work the best? If the gun is at an angle or if it's positioned horizontally? Also, if the stand happens to fail, would the gun still work well if it rested on its side?

     

    Should it be battery powered and cordless?

    That would be nice, IMHO.

     

    Should it have an LED indicating when the hot end is up to temperature?

    This seems like an important feature, and one I'd expect from an "electronic" hot glue gun.

    Perhaps the motor should only be activated when the melting temperature is reached? I mean, you should be able to load glue sticks into the gun, but if they don't melt as soon as they touch the hot end, then the motor might even fail. Thus I think there should be a safety feature to prevent the motor from trying to push a cold, unmelted glue stick through the nozzle.

     

    By the way, I still think one or two Archimedes' screws leading the glue stick to the hot end would work better than moving the motor closer.

     

    Should it have an auto-shutoff timer so it can't be left on accidentally for too long?

    How long is too long? Half an hour? Then maybe yes.

    It could lower the temperature after 5 or 10 minutes ("stand-by mode"), then shut off completely after 20. (these are just guesses.)

     

    Are there other features we haven't considered that if included would convince you to buy such a product?

    If there was something that would prevent myself from accidentally burning my hand... But I can't think of anything that could work and still not make it prohibitively expensive or overcomplicated.

    Have you considered an option to completely empty the barrel of the glue gun, making the motor run in reverse? I don't know if it would be that useful, but it would be a "free" feature.

     

    Should it use 1/4" mini glue sticks or does it need to have a larger capacity?

    Mini glue sticks might force you to refill the gun way too quickly.

    On second thought, that seems to be totally dependant on the amount of glue one would want the gun to "spit out" per second, if it's for heavy use or delicate work. It would be better if the two options were available, either by changing the nozzle or a second hot glue gun model. But if you could only make one, I'd say go for heavier use, thicker nozzle, bigger glue stick.

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  • f5kn
    f5kn over 7 years ago

    Our key features are the auto extrusion and anti-drip. Are those features alone enough?

    I do think so, yes. That's what I expect as a bare minimum number of features it should have.

     

    Does it need an electrical auto stand? Or is a spring loaded stand, or is no extending stand a better solution?

    So far servo-powered seemed to be too slow. But if you go for battery powered/cordless, then you probably wouldn't even be able to make the gun stand at an angle. Then again, does it need to sit at an angle?

    I know this is a feature Ben is quite passionate about, so let's try to see it from another, well, angle: How would the anti-drip function work the best? If the gun is at an angle or if it's positioned horizontally? Also, if the stand happens to fail, would the gun still work well if it rested on its side?

     

    Should it be battery powered and cordless?

    That would be nice, IMHO.

     

    Should it have an LED indicating when the hot end is up to temperature?

    This seems like an important feature, and one I'd expect from an "electronic" hot glue gun.

    Perhaps the motor should only be activated when the melting temperature is reached? I mean, you should be able to load glue sticks into the gun, but if they don't melt as soon as they touch the hot end, then the motor might even fail. Thus I think there should be a safety feature to prevent the motor from trying to push a cold, unmelted glue stick through the nozzle.

     

    By the way, I still think one or two Archimedes' screws leading the glue stick to the hot end would work better than moving the motor closer.

     

    Should it have an auto-shutoff timer so it can't be left on accidentally for too long?

    How long is too long? Half an hour? Then maybe yes.

    It could lower the temperature after 5 or 10 minutes ("stand-by mode"), then shut off completely after 20. (these are just guesses.)

     

    Are there other features we haven't considered that if included would convince you to buy such a product?

    If there was something that would prevent myself from accidentally burning my hand... But I can't think of anything that could work and still not make it prohibitively expensive or overcomplicated.

    Have you considered an option to completely empty the barrel of the glue gun, making the motor run in reverse? I don't know if it would be that useful, but it would be a "free" feature.

     

    Should it use 1/4" mini glue sticks or does it need to have a larger capacity?

    Mini glue sticks might force you to refill the gun way too quickly.

    On second thought, that seems to be totally dependant on the amount of glue one would want the gun to "spit out" per second, if it's for heavy use or delicate work. It would be better if the two options were available, either by changing the nozzle or a second hot glue gun model. But if you could only make one, I'd say go for heavier use, thicker nozzle, bigger glue stick.

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