Clay Extruder Enables Printable Pottery

Joshua Bird built a ceramic 3D printer capable of printing functional pottery. The core challenge was designing a clay extruder using an air compressor and auger mechanism that could handle clay's unique rheological properties — soft enough to flow but stiff enough to bridge without collapsing. Standard 3D-printed plastic augers wore out in under an hour due to clay's abrasiveness; a stainless steel auger solved the longevity problem. The full workflow involves mixing clay, loading, printing, drying, firing, glazing, and re-firing, with significant shrinkage causing many failed prints. Despite these hurdles, Bird successfully printed a double-walled cup, a decorative cup, and a chain-mail mesh. The printer uses a polar motion system adapted from an earlier non-planar printer design.

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