E3D Installation Question

Got my E3d on Saturday, installed yesterday. Back in business. My first few prints were amazing (first print was the modified fan holder in ABS. Very clean prints. Firmware update was also working ok. Need to go printing now....

 

Does it print better with the E3d? If so, why?

 

Can't tell, maybe it's the angle of the nozzle. On the original on I always had some sort of blob around it and it winded up to the nozzle. I don't see that happening with E3D. It's also not dripping at all if you stop extruding, so this may also add to the "cleaner" prints.

 

I have a hypothesis. I'm probably completely wrong, but here it is.

Here are the two hot-ends side by side



On the Robo 3D stock hot-end you can see how close the nozzle is to the heater block since they use a monolithic block w/ nozzle. The E3D, however, is separate. In addition, the E3D nozzle has a very steep surface to the nozzle end whereas the stock one is more shallow.

Since many of us are new to 3D printing, we all had to learn as we went along. That means mistakes like digging into the printed object. This leaves plastic over the hotend which would later drip and ooze onto the prints. And memory being what it is, we remember the last set of prints, which probably had various issues with them, whereas the E3D, being new, left a very clean print.

My guess is the stock hot-end would also print well knowing what we do now. Also, the nozzle being a separate piece on the E3D, allows us to detach and clean it where with the stock hot-end, we'd have to pull the whole hot-end to clean it.

 

I might be able to show you the difference in a few minutes. Just about to print this little guy http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:139268 for comparison. I did it with the ootb hotend and and now with the E3D.

Here we go:

E3D on the top



So, you get much better resolution specifically on small parts.

 

Can one of you make a tutorial about how to install it properly .
I don't have my robo already and I'm far from beeing an engineer so it can be really helpful for me an other people.

 

Installation is actually pretty straight forward. You will, however, need to disconnect your PLA cooling fan and bracket. The E3D cannot fit with that there. Once you do that though you place the assembled E3D into the same hole and then when you screw it in, the screws will eat some of the metal on the bracket and secure it down.

The screws that you remove are the two on the side of the extruder. I don't have a photo handy here right now and the printer is running so can't really take a photo. However, save yourself some grief and get socket cap M3 x 25mm (.5 pitch). These are less likely to strip as you screw them in. Not a 100% guarantee of not stripping, but less likely and the stock phillips headed screws probably will strip on you.

The easiest way to install it is to remove the cover off of the Robo 3D printer. Remember to cut the zip tie that holds the black cable wrap to the cover before you remove it. Next, if you have filament in the extruder, remove it (this is done by heating the hotend and retracting the filament). Then, unscrew the X axis end stop (keeping note of its orientation) that's on one of the Z axis carriers. Then, pull the whole X assembly off of the threaded and smooth rods. This allows you to gain easy access to the extruder.

If you do not have the filament screws screwed in, remember to grab the nuts that are receeded into the extruder. When you flip the extruder over these WILL fall out! If you do lose them, you'll need to get replacement M4 nuts with .7 pitch (aka coarse pitch). Once the carrier is off the vertical rails, you have easy access to the fan, fan mount and the screws that hold the hot-end.

 

Thank you melody bliss, very helpful guide for when I get my E3D

 

If you want it the hard way, you can leave the extruder in place. Be careful with dropping your tools or any other heavy metal stuff, it'll break your borosilicate bed...
Melody's method is probably much safer, though.
Don't forget to print the fan bracket before you tear everything apart, otherwise you'll have to do it with the fan hanging around - not really fun


Gesendet von meinem Nexus 5 mit Tapatalk

 

Thanks you Melody

 

E3D recommends that the fan is always running on the fins. What do you recommend there?

 

It must always be on, or else clogging may happen

 

Let me form up this question more specifically. I already have an E3D on another brand of printer. How does the fan get wired in to always be on? What do you recommend? Just use the existing fan wire? Then, if that is the case, how is an PLA fan wired in? Thanks in advance.

 

You should run a wire to the 12v line on your printer. Check the Melodies FAQ for locations to wire it into.

 

just use the existing wire, it should be 12 volt always

The pla/abs fan should be wired to D9

 

John,
The "PLA" print fan is software controlled driven by a PWM waveform. Your slicer setting can turn it full on, full off or in between depending on the current layers characteristics. You do not want to use this signal for the E3D fan because it must always be on as mentioned above. You must wire it directly to a 12V supply. You need to run two new wires through the wire harness which is pretty easy to do. You can pick up 12V for this from a few places: either one of the switching supply pairs by piggy backing, either one of the RAMPS board screw terminals by piggy backing (these are labeled 11A and 5A on X4 on the RAMPS schematic), or the "12V-AUX" posts near the reset switch on the RAMPS board. The switching supply is a bit difficult to slide out but that is what I did. The "12V-AUX" posts may already be used for a RAMPS board fan already.

RAMPS schematic and connector layout:
http://reprap.org/mediawiki/images/f/f6/RAMPS1.4schematic.png
http://reprap.org/mediawiki/images/c/ca/Arduinomega1-4connectors.png

I took advantage of the 12 volts at the extruder to also drive a 12V LED module that points directly at the nozzle. I cut it out of this string:
http://www.amazon.com/LEDJump®-Modu...id=1394650931&sr=8-23&keywords=led+module+12v

 

Sorry, did not hit send on the above reply for a while and missed the other replies.

BjG - your comment "just use the existing wire, it should be 12 volt always" is kind of confusing. A new wire pair needs to be added to the harness.

 

I like this connection:



Just be super careful not to short anything and damage the PSU

 

LOL, I'm good.
The E3D fan is going directly off the PSU, with new wiring, with a 5A inline fuse. I use a smaller fan on my E3Ds - they're ugly but they work. The E3D just needs a breeze running across the fins, not a tornado. Sanjay might say differently but I haven't had any issues. The temp on my fins has never gotten above 100C.

The PLA fan (which I guess I'll print a shroud for on my Rostock Max) is going to stay on the same wire as what shipped.
I changed all the connectors out for the entire head unit.

Mike, you might like your connection but there are exposed ends by your plug.

BTW, the extruder head I used was a bowden mount-type. It's got a long conical center for no muss extrusion and easier filament feeds. I'm hoping it will work - or I'll switch it for the other non-bowden I have. Stay tuned.

 

That's not mine that was just a picture of what I did at first. I have terminal blocks on my underside now