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Stock Robo3d to bowden

Discussion in 'Mods and Upgrades' started by Galaxius, Feb 5, 2014.

  1. Galaxius

    Galaxius Well-Known Member

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    The Robo3d is my first 3d printer and I'm totally new to the field. I'm thinking about upgrading mine to an E3D hot end but am wondering what would be involved in changing the Robo3d to work with the bowden version by using the stock parts. I'm assuming I can move the extruder and mount it to the external of the case, with some additionally printed brackets/parts, and then connect a bowden tube to the bowden version of the E3D or alternative print a bowden connection for the stock J Head to use.

    The problem is I don't know where to start. Ideally I'd like to start by printing a bowden connector plate to use with the stock J Head as a proof of concept before buying an E3D. It would also prove to be a valuable resource for other Robo3ders.

    On a side note, I've been looking for a fan shroud design for the stock Robo3d to cool the cold end and only the tip/plastic of the hot end as I'm experiencing too big of a temperature drop (10ish degrees C) when the fan kicks in on the 2nd layer along with the slight intended temperature drop. I'm currently printing with PLA but want to get that down pat before moving to ABS.

    Sorry if this is the wrong thread to post this but I'm hoping it will turn into a great mod(s) for the stock Robo3d.
     
  2. Melody Bliss

    Melody Bliss New Member

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    Hi Galaxius. Is there a particular reason you want to switch the Robo 3D to Bowden instead of direct drive? Are you having a problem? Or is this just a proof of concept you can do so?

    To convert to Bowden you will need a different hot-end. The stock Hot-End is NOT designed to be Bowden compatible. If you get an E3D, you'll need to get the Bowden version versus the direct drive version. As to other changes, you'll probably need to talk to Mike or Tesseract who've converted their printers to Bowden as part of their dual extruder project.
     
  3. Galaxius

    Galaxius Well-Known Member

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    Hi Melody. The reason I want to go bowden instead of direct feed is to reduce the weight on the X axis meaning less wobble when changing direction for more accurate prints, and should be able to wind up the speed. I also think it would be a good exercise to learn and prep for Tesseract's and Mike's dual head bowden setup. I might flick Mike/Tesseract a message too thanks.

    I should still be able to use the stock J Head by printing a bowden adapter, there's plenty on Thingiverse but one would have to be designed to fit the robo.

    I forgot to mention in my first post that 3D CAD has been a fairly steep learning curve and I have much to learn (Blender and Rhino 3D trial). Any other software suggestions?
     
  4. Melody Bliss

    Melody Bliss New Member

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    Take a look at OpenSCAD too. It's a programmatic 3D modeler and it's free.

    On thingiverse, the customizer app uses OpenSCAD.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  5. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    well, we are using solidworks... (once in a while we may use blender)

    [Yea, pricey, but if you can swing a student edition it is not too bad. Still worth it IMHO]
     
  6. Mike Kelly

    Mike Kelly Volunteer

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    The hardest part of going bowden is finding a place to mount the cold end. We can probably get you the j-head bowden mount we've worked out that fits the old gregs wade extruder mounting points.
     
  7. Galaxius

    Galaxius Well-Known Member

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    That'd be awesome thanks Mike. I'm assuming I can move the stock extruder to the side of the case by printing a bracket and bowden connector?

    I'm about to start work on a fan shroud to mount on the stock x carriage that will direct air flow to the print and the cold end (stock J head) to try overcome the big undesired temp drop when the fan kicks in. I've been trolling thingiverse to make a franken shroud. I also have an idea for a standalone/robo3d mountable spool holder as well. I can't wait to share my designs, could take a while with the learning curve though lol.
     
  8. Mike Kelly

    Mike Kelly Volunteer

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    Galaxius mind messaging me on skype? That'd be the best way for me to help out, it's in my profile.
     
  9. tesseract

    tesseract Moderator
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    Hi Galaxius I will be putting my j-head mount on thingiverse a bit later today under my super x carriage part today so you can find it there it was specifically designed for the E3D but should work just fine for the j-head design. The Super X is a new x carriage made for the Robo with a removable central plate so that switching to a completely new design can be achieved by printing out out a new plate and simply swapping out the existing one. This has the benefit of not having to replace the sleeve bearings in a completely new carriage assembly for every situation. Here is the link to the super carriage assembly

    http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:217326

    It is currently listed as a work in progress as there were some other thing I was working on but the mount is stable. so look for it a bit later today
     
  10. Galaxius

    Galaxius Well-Known Member

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    Thanks tesseract, though it would appear that the Super X carriage is no longer on thingiverse.
     
  11. Galaxius

    Galaxius Well-Known Member

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    Thanks Mike. I'll be in touch soon, working on a universal fan duct mount and duct for the Robo3D. Should allow for the remixing of other fan ducts for easier fitting to the Robo. I really want to contribute to the development of the Robo and fan ducts are in short supply, and I need one :)
     
  12. tesseract

    tesseract Moderator
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    Yes I pulled it down so I could update the entire thing
     
  13. Denys Dmytriyenko

    Denys Dmytriyenko Active Member

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    tesseract, do you have any updates on your Super X carriage? I'm interested in that mod for my RoBo 3D. I'm also interested in just a fan shroud for making the airflow more direct towards the print, and I'm hoping your carriage can provide some inspiration for that :)
     
  14. tesseract

    tesseract Moderator
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    Incorporating a new belt attachment so no zip ties are needed but keeping the adjustment aspect as well
     
  15. Galaxius

    Galaxius Well-Known Member

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    Denys, life has gotten in the way of my bracket and fan duct/shroud progress but i should be able to get it moving again now and will hopefully have something to share in the coming weeks.
     
  16. Galaxius

    Galaxius Well-Known Member

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    Hey guys. Please checkout my X carriage bracket and fan duct post I added to
    http://forums.robo3dprinter.com/index.php?threads/fan-shroud.1792/#post-13949

    This is my Thingiverse bracket and fan shroud link I posted on the other thread for convienence
    http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:270506

    Tesseract, do you think adding a mounting loop to your X carriage design, like on my X carriage bracket, to have an adjustable mount available right on the X carriage would work?

    I'll be able to start dreaming of that Robo3D bowden extruder again soon. I'll be in touch Mike :)
     
  17. allted

    allted New Member

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    I gave this a quick try a few weeks ago, with the goal of speed in mind not print quality, I'm happy with that.
    I'm sure things could have been tuned for better results, but over all not worth the effort.

    Huge increase in "strings/spider webs", retraction would help this or smaller filament tube (mine was too big). The print speed couldn't be increased much because the bed still has to move. I have one more Idea to try when I get some free time. Over all I was happy with decreasing acceleration and jerk in the firmware and turning up the speed in my slicer.
     

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  18. Galaxius

    Galaxius Well-Known Member

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    @allted. I like what I see. I noticed you've updated a number of other things on your Robo. Would you be able to direct me to, or post, the things you modified and their associated STL's please?
     
  19. allted

    allted New Member

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    My biggest, baddest upgrade was the extruder latch with the thumb post. it's from the official robo files.
    http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:69794

    The spool holder and smooth rod support (not necessary) are my design and found here.
    http://www.thingiverse.com/Allted/designs

    If you want the bowden files I can send it to you but it's really not good for printing. I have the parts to try it one more time the right way, but I lost my new extruder gear. That thing is tiny.
     

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