Micron All Metal Extruder Upgrade

[sthone]

MicronV4Mount.JPG (87.55 KiB) Viewed 13839 times

I don't know if anyone will ever use this info but here's the specs on the mount I made for the V4.

V3BMount.jpg (74.04 KiB) Viewed 13839 times

Seeing as I've gone this far..... and I was swapping out some screws on my extruder mount I test fit the V3B hot end and it fits almost like the extruder was made for it.

V3BMount1.JPG (34.78 KiB) Viewed 13839 times

The mount for the V3B is probably a little harder to make as you would definitely need a mill to make the stepped section so the hot end would slide fit into the mount. The bad part is you can't just slide it out to remove the hot end without unbolting the entire extruder because of the way the bottom of the extruder is cut. (unless you mill that out too.)

MicronV3BMount.JPG (71.34 KiB) Viewed 13839 times

But just encase someone is really brave and wants to try it here's some quick dimensions that might help. (looking back at the first picture, a step on the top part of the mount might be necessary also as it looks like the hot end doesn't quite sit flush in the extruder. I really didn't notice it when test fitting it.

Anyway if anyone else is crazy enough to try it hopefully some of this info will help.

-Steve

[jsc]

Wow, honest to goodness drawings. What do you use?

[sthone]

Solidworks, I even pretend to know how to use it sometimes too.

-Steve

[jimc]

funny, by looking at the picture of the mount above i could tell it was solldworks. it has a unique look to the models when displayed on screen. almost cartoon like.

[rsilvers]

I would like a metal filament drive, but I want it to be light weight and easy to service. Something like this:

http://printrbot.com/shop/printrbot-alu-extruder-2/

I have an E3D which is 16mm diameter, and that UBIS is 0.627 inches which is the same. So I bet I could get the $55 Printrbot metal drive and use it with my hot end.

But then again, the design looks like it does not support the filament, so it may not be good.

[SouthSideofdaSky]

sthone,

Thank you so much for all of this information! I was looking at this as an alternative to the stock v3b setup (like you, I've had a few issues with cracking the printed mounts). It seems like the v4 upgrade should mostly eliminate this problem even keeping the plastic filament drive piece, but this is still an interesting option as well...it would be nice to go all metal for the filament drive and motor mount.

[pyronaught]

Where do the printed parts typically crack? I can't imagine what kind of situation would create enough force to crack one.

I think the printed extruders have a weight advantage over metal. I know if you are coming from a CNC background you are used to seeing everything built like a brick sh1t house to reduce vibration, backlash etc. but those force simply aren't there in 3D printing and you are adding unnecessary mass that makes your motors work harder and mostly likely adds to the ringing phenomenon, which I believe is directly proportional to the mass of the print head.

[rsilvers]

I am pretty happy with my current filament path printed in PETG. My previous ABS version cracked where the adjustment tension screw is, but not the PETG one with 98% infill.

[sthone]

Where do the printed parts typically crack? I can't imagine what kind of situation would create enough force to crack one.

I don't think it's that much of a problem anymore (at least on the motor mount) as MG has changed the design. The old mount seen HERE had a hole in it and that was the weak point on that piece.

-Steve

[SouthSideofdaSky]

Where do the printed parts typically crack? I can't imagine what kind of situation would create enough force to crack one.

I don't think it's that much of a problem anymore (at least on the motor mount) as MG has changed the design. The old mount seen HERE had a hole in it and that was the weak point on that piece.

Mine has cracked there too, and I also had one that cracked on the opposite side - about 180 degrees away from where the hole is on that image. I think I may try eburt's thicker motor mount.

I've actually had the filament drive crack too a couple times. I know you're supposed to be able to cut the filament using the tiny hole in the front but there have been a few times that I've still wanted to take the extruder assembly off of the filament drive to clean out a jam. In my experience the extruder assembly will only press fit nicely into the filament drive a couple times before the filament drive breaks around that point (that was what I meant when I said it seems like the v4 upgrade will go a long ways towards eliminating the problem). I didn't help my cause by trying to print replacements in PLA though.