Dual Extruder PB+ Project: Step 1, Bowden Conversion

[Tdeagan]

[REPRAP SQUAD]

Im taking the same path but with the plus V2. I ordered RAMPS on ebay as well. I got my bowden extruder setup and im getting the 2nd one ready as we speak. I made a Z axis stiffiner crossbar and it also will serve as a mount for my dual bowden extruders. Ive used RAMPS in the past but it was a long time ago and it was set up for me. Im not sure how to set up the new RAMPS 1.4 with SD card on my PB so, maybe you can be of some help. I POSTED a few pics so you can see what im talking about. My electronics should be here anyday.

[Tdeagan]

Nice! Positioning the extruders on the cross bar is definitely the way I want to go. It adds stiffness to the Z shafts, it gives good position for the tube bends and it allows for a pretty optimal tube length.

[REPRAP SQUAD]

Ya I did a lot of testing before deciding on a final location for the bowden extruder mount. This location or near here is the best. I love this extruder design as well. I have a full write up on my WordPress blog on my signature. For the dual mount I will mount one on the left side of the stiffiner and one on the right.

I also extended my z axis to 16 inches from the top of the bed to the end of the z rods. I lost about 3 inches or less mounting the bowden under the bar instead of on top. This still leaves me plenty of room. Youll have to help me with setting up my ramps if thats ok. Ive done a few mods that work well and you can see them on my WordPress site.

[Tdeagan]

Wow! Great ! I am totally jealous of the sweet stand/case you've built for your Printrbot.

I read through the link to the creation of your extruder, are you now using the one he describes, the ? I need to print a second extruder and was looking at the , but I haven't used anything except the Wade's Extruder that came with my Printrbot. Do you like the Huxley? Any pros or cons over a Wade's?

I've got bunches of various stepper motors around from CNC projects (NEMA 17 & 23,) but I sure would like to buy another Kysan to match the ones I'm already using.

My Ramps 1.4 kit left Shenzen on 6/17 (5 days ago,) so it could show up any minute. I've been looking at various cases for it:




But your custom case is pretty sexy, I've been doing a bit of fiberglassing lately and may have to start thinking about upping my game and doing something fancier.

Luckily it looks like Ramps 1.4 is happy with Pronterface, I've grown accustomed to it and switching slicers has been enough for me on this project. I'll keep careful notes while setting it up and am glad to help any I can!

[Tdeagan]

[REPRAP SQUAD]

Rich's Bowden Geared Extruder for 3mm filament is the one im using now. The black one, and I love it. They make a 1.75mm version as well and if I remember right you have a 6mm od bowden tube which is the same as mine works perfect. My extruder is the best one ive ever had. Thanks so much forr the compliment s on my site. Its much appreciated as I work very hard on my site and improving Printrbot products etc.

[drawcut]

Dual extruders in two different filament sizes is a good idea. I have been holding off on doing a Bowden set up since I've been using a lot of Nylon which has oozing issues that I fear would be worse with a bowden. But I do like the flexibility this would give.

[REPRAP SQUAD]

Down the road I will be designing a Bowden extruder that will feed 1.75mm and 3mm out of the same extruder. Its the hotend that will make it complicated. Ill prolly cdeate a quick swap mount for changing hotends.

[Tdeagan]

Quick change is rapidly rising on my 'must-have' list. The more I print with the Bowden setup the more I realize that I'd really like to have the the stock extruder available for 'high-quality' prints. I've been considering the . My ideal setup would be the dual-extruder bowden rig for multi-color and dissolvable support, but rapid change out for hi-rez. Of course, that requires a third extruder...

Wow. As I type this, it occurs to me that it would be super sweet to have the original 3mm extruder in place with a second 1.75mm bowden driven hot end beside it! Freaky hybrid! Best of both worlds! This will undoubtedly need a new extruder mount to reposition the stock extruder and make room for the bowden hot end. I am so going to start modeling this today!!

It would lose some of the lovely speed advantages that the Bowden conversion has brought me (I'm running better than 50% faster than I was with the stock extruder.) But the majority of my printing is single material parts, so optimizing for that makes sense.

[REPRAP SQUAD]

My goal wjich is obtainable is to have high quality prints with a dual bowden setup. This will be obtained through a custom extruder that ive designed. I will be heading to the machine shop soon.

[REPRAP SQUAD]

Im about $300-$400 invested in my Printrbot plus but, I did a lot of recycling. My 1st pb original only cost me about $120. I re-used a lot of those parts for this build and I have a healty stock of extra electronic parts laying around at all times. With the modifications I have made on my v2 it is now rock solid. A lot of people think it may be top heavy but it is definitely not. I have also built a locking rail system for my Printrstand that keeps the v2 in place. I have spent extra time on an extensive cooling system for every electronic part involved. That way they will all have a long happy life performing at the best of their abilities.

The Printrstand also makes for a great portable setup as I use it to teach classes to kids. They are always wowed by the abilities and add ons of my Printrbot. Dual extruders will be happening soon as all I need is an extra motor, a few gears and hotend with modified mount. I will be making a few more modifications to the x axis rod mounts, z axis nut mounts, acme rods and the new 1.75mm and 3mm all metal hotends ive designed. The hotends have a very sharp melt zone and can be used in very high temp printing. Also a side note the ubis hotends were originally designed with a triple extruder in mind so they should be a good choice for you.

[REPRAP SQUAD]

Have you received your RAMPS Kit yet. Mine just came in yesterday and they forgot my endstops. I had a couple ramps related questions for you also.

[Tdeagan]

[REPRAP SQUAD]

Let me know when you get it I have a couple questions that you would have to look at your board to answer.

[Tdeagan]

Ramps 1.4 kit was waiting for me at the house

All parts accounted for in the kit. Let me know what I can look at (photograph, whatever,) on whichever of the boards; Ramps 1.4, Arduino Mega, Smart LCD.

[REPRAP SQUAD]

Did yours come with sd and lcd headers or pins installed? Mine did not. Would you take some quick pics of your ramps board. I also had solder bridging on my 5amp to my 11amp fuse. Make sure you checkk all solder joints before hooking up any board. Mine would of fried if I hadnt checked it first.

[Tdeagan]

I got header pins that I'll need to solder in place for the LCD & aux3. The smart lcd board includes and SD card slot so it apparently makes the sdramps daughter board redundant. I'll inspect carefully for solder bridges, I noticed that a couple of the thru-holes for the LCD are soldered over. The bug yellow F1 fuse is away to high and gets in the way of the fan mount I'm using, so I'll need to desolder it and get it closer to the board. I also had to trim the leads on the bottom of the power input terminals to get it to sit flush on the arduino. Let me know what other shots would be useful.
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[REPRAP SQUAD]

How are you going to mount your sd/lcd with no headers? Mine is exactly like yours. Do you know how much space is between the headers? I guess we have to order our own and solder them on.

[Tdeagan]

There was a 1x18 SIP (for AUX4) and 2x4 DIP (for AUX3) set of pin headers included in the kit. I'll be soldering those onto the board tonight. They're standard 0.1" breakaway style (). Oddly enough, I can't find links on adafruit or sparkfun for the dual row headers. I also didn't find links on the Radio Shack site, so I'm not sure what local options you might have. I'm not sure where I buy them, I almost always pad orders from sparkfun, adafruit, mouser, etc. with stuff like this.

Here's at least one link and one .

[Tdeagan]

[REPRAP SQUAD]

Nice, your a few steps ahead of me when it comes to the dual plus v2. I cant wait to order some new parts. I think eventually ill switch over to kysan motors. I have them on my z axis as of now and im very impressed with them. I found them for a little nit cheepef than pb has them but as long as pb keeps them at $15 I'll order them from them. I want to perfect my single Bowden before I move on to the dual.

.im also taking time to redo all my wiring and label everything. I upgraded all the wire to heavier gauge. I also just ordered over 1, 000 nuts and bolts in variations of sizes as well as 100 different springs. I also upgraded my tool shop with all new tools. So I have to recoup some of that cost and get my ramps all dialed in before dual bowden time. Im glad you got your stuff ordered and im excited to see your setup.

[Tdeagan]

[REPRAP SQUAD]

Hey buddy im finally at the final stages of my dual extruder Printrbot plus. I just need to get my new board which should be here any day now. My other one was DOA. So I thought I would show you what I have so far. I've made some modifications to the standard Printrbot dual extruder beta. Im sure I will need some advise from you for calibration.

[Tdeagan]

like all your setups, it looks great! (I especially like the micro-fire extinguisher!)

[REPRAP SQUAD]

Ya that little extinguisher is perfect for my printer. That way I just put out any fire instead of drowning my Printrbot and room in something that will be a pain to clean up. I also have a full size one for the off chance that it is a major fire.