Universal 3in1 Extruder Upgrade

[DHeadrick]

Now that Makerbot Operators Group is frozen as an archive, I wanted to continue the discussion here if necessary.  The previous discussion can still be found here (who knows for how long).  You may also check out the original design which is where it all began.

Orders/manuals/downloads and inventory status can be found here:
www.devilsinthedetails.ca

To check available inventory, click on "Current Status".

This upgrade is purchased in modules so that you can customize what you want to order.  You can order just the hardware and print out the extruder parts to try them (Hardware modules are $12 per extruder).  Then, if you like it but want the durability and performance of the aluminum version, you can buy the extruder parts (Extruder modules are $88 per extruder) and swap the hardware over.  Or you can buy everything all at once and be done with it ($100 per extruder and the kit is pre-assembled and checked for fit on a NEMA-17 stepper for quality control).

This is what you will need depending on which printer you have:

Single extruder printers (Replicator 2) = 1 Right Extruder Module + 1 Hardware Module.
Dual extruder printers (Replicator 1, Replicator 2X) = 1 Right Extruder Module + 1 Left Extruder Module + 2 Hardware Modules.

Spare PEEK parts are also available to add to your order (though they should never wear out)

Note, this also works on Wanhao & FlashForge printers.

[DHeadrick]

Just to clarify, this upgrade is NOT compatible with the new Gen5 Makerbot printers (unfortunately).

[Ryan Carlyle]

For anyone who isn't familiar, this is a really great extruder. I use it with my high-temp polycarbonate printing rig.

[Jetguy]

In fact, this upgrade is so good I used it last year on the Ulti-Replicator demonstrated at Maker Faire last year and using it again this year for public demonstration on the "Ulti-Replicator 2"

 

It looks great and performs even better.

[Gian Pablo]

Just to chime in, this is a fantastic upgrade, easy to install and corrects a lot of issues.

[Steve Johnstone]

Love mine... Fit and forget :-)

[DHeadrick]

Thanks for all the awesome feedback!

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am currently out of stock again (I have left side parts if people only want to buy left sides).  I will likely make another run of parts soon as there seems to be a surge of interest in upgrades lately.  It will take about 4 weeks before they are available again.

Inventory Status

No matter how I try to order unequal quantities, I ALWAYS seem to run out of one side first.

Dave

On Monday, 18 August 2014 09:10:47 UTC-4, DHeadrick wrote:

[DHeadrick]

Due date for new parts is Sept 15 (tentative).

[DHeadrick]

Just confirmed I can pick parts up this Saturday.  Kits will start shipping on the Monday.

[DHeadrick]

All kits which have been paid for have just been dropped off at the post office.

Thanks.
Dave

[John Barkan]

Got mine, did a test print, it seems to be working well!

[Kenneth Jamieson]

I am pretty interested in this upgrade - can anyone give me an idea of the sorts of issues it helps with? Granted, a full troubleshooting is out of the scope of an email but essentially I get a lot of "air prints" and I can absolutely stop my filament long before the stepper skips (even using the printed replacement extruder block). 

I assume this has a better grip?

Ken

[Kenneth Jamieson]

Never mind, the testimonial from Jetguy was good enough, I placed an order :)

Edit: Of course now waiting for it to ship will kill me :)

Ken

[DHeadrick]

For the second time in over a year, a customer had difficulty removing the hobbed drive gear from the stepper motor shaft.  Even though it rarely happens, I want to offer a solution to those who experience this problem.  Included in the Download-Kit.zip is a jig to aid in removal (it will be on Thingiverse shortly).  Once the jig is printed, it can be used with a #10 bolt and nut to act as a gear puller to easily separate the parts.  Here are some photos to explain:

One thing he pointed out (which I agree with), is that 3D printing can really be a great tool for making the world a better place.  He had a problem...  I had an idea to fix it...  I send him an email with a file to print and, despite being 3500km away, his problem is solved.  It really is an awesome tool for collaboration.

On Monday, 18 August 2014 09:10:47 UTC-4, DHeadrick wrote:

[Ryan Carlyle]

That's pretty clever.

[Kenneth Jamieson]

To follow up...

I just wanted to mention that my 3-in-1 showed up today, and this thing is AWESOME. I cannot say enough good things about the quality, fit and finish of the parts. The whole experience has really had a feeling of quality and professionalism.

Though my Makerbot is currently down, I was able to get it running long enough to install this and check the action. I might try adjusting the tension then the stronger spring. If hold the filament still during load while it pulls much harder than my stock makerbot extruder I can still feel the hobbed gear chewing into the filiment long before the stepper stalls.

Even so, this is an awesome upgrade.

Ken

On Monday, September 22, 2014 12:58:42 PM UTC-4, Kenneth Jamieson wrote:

Never mind, the testimonial from Jetguy was good enough, I placed an order :)

Edit: Of course now waiting for it to ship will kill me :)

Ken

On Monday, September 22, 2014 12:56:05 PM UTC-4, Kenneth Jamieson wrote:

[DHeadrick]

Our Replicator2 is bulletproof.  Fire and forget.  The printer just stopped this morning after printing a file which took almost 32 hours.
The only upgrades it has installed are the 3in1 extruder and a glass build platform.

On Monday, 18 August 2014 09:10:47 UTC-4, DHeadrick wrote:

[DHeadrick]

I was recently fooling around with Google's mapping API, so I updated my map page today.
It's now dynamic and you can pan/zoom around to see where kits have been sent.

The direct link is here:
http://www.devilsinthedetails.ca/locations.html

You can also get to it from the link at the bottom of the page.

On Monday, 18 August 2014 09:10:47 UTC-4, DHeadrick wrote:

[delsydsoftware]

I wish you had just used zip codes and not full addresses for that map. I say that because the pin for my order is sitting right above my house. It would be very easy to use that map for less-than-legal purposes.

[robo...@gmail.com]

Mine is only pointing at my neighborhood. But it shows that someone within 5 minutes walking distance probably has a Rep 2! Pretty cool.

[Joe Soap]

I concur with this - I do not want to advertise that I have expensive
equipment installed in my home.

---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
http://www.avast.com

[DHeadrick]

I understand completely.  Try now.  I've limited the zoom level so that people cannot zoom in enough to see street names (only neighborhoods).

Let me know if this is acceptable.

On Monday, 18 August 2014 09:10:47 UTC-4, DHeadrick wrote:

[robo...@gmail.com]

To be honest I think it's still a little too close. I can still see street names and recognize the area where I live. Could you try something wider?

Also, I recently had to make a custom map just like this for a client, so I know it's kind of a pain to configure it just right. Appreciate you following up!

[DHeadrick]

The more feedback, the better. I don't want anyone to feel like it's an invasion of privacy, but I do want to show how many are out there. I can remove street names. And tweak the zoom levels.

I'll work on it later tonight. Keep the feedback coming.

[DHeadrick]

Check now... I've removed a lot of the text so that it's more difficult to pinpoint anyone.

[Kobus du Toit]

If I had too much time on my hands I would open two browsers, one with your map and one with Google map. Zoom in the same amount on each one and then I can get the addresses

[DHeadrick]

With enough effort anything is possible.  :)

I can even spend some time making that more difficult by including a scaling to the map which means that my map zoom levels would differ slightly from google's.

[DHeadrick]

Another thing I could do is introduce a "jitter factor" to the marker placement so that they are out of position by a set distance in a random direction each time the map page loads.

[Kobus du Toit]

That is a good idea. Then it will never be at a house of someone that bought an item. I would also add that as a note explaining the marker is approximately placed and not at a specific address

[DHeadrick]

Completed.  Now, a customer's marker will never be over their actual house.  The only way a marker will end up over your house is if someone purchases a printer and is located the exact distance of the randomly generated jitter value in the opposite direction as the randomly generated jitter heading (very unlikely).  These random jitter values are changed every time the page loads and seeded each time.  I will post up a sample page to demonstrate this in the next week or so.

Someone asked me why not just post a marker in the country.  Well, the google maps API will only show the most recent marker if more than one exist on the same point.  That would mean that everyone in the US would show up as only 1 marker (which defeats the purpose of this map trying to show how many upgrades are in the field).

I hope that I have now satisfied everyone who is concerned for their privacy.  For those who are curious, the marker locations are loaded server side and then the jitter is applied with PHP before the browser even gets the data.  So there is no chance of someone getting the "un-jittered" locations.

[DHeadrick]

Here is the demo I mentioned... the address shown is the White House.
http://www.devilsinthedetails.ca/demo.phtml

[DHeadrick]

Happy New Year everyone.

Just wanted to let everyone know that, as long as people still want this upgrade, it will be available.  I am currently out of stock, but as soon as enough pre-orders are paid for, I will order another run of parts.  If not enough people order/pay to enable another run, I will refund money to the people who have paid.  I will continue to update the inventory status page... negative values indicate pre-orders.  Once I get 10-15 paid pre-orders, I will kick off manufacturing of another batch.  The important point here is that if you want a kit, pay your invoice so that manufacturing can start sooner and your kit gets to you earlier.

Also, I will soon have an FAQ up to help answer questions people may have.  It will be available from the site: www.devilsinthedetails.ca.

Cheers.

[3Dproto]

How do these do with the NinjaFlex filament?

[DHeadrick]

They work well if you print out the filament guides that add support and prevent buckling.  Here are some discussions on the topic...

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/makerbot/j6hlVxFX0-U/ViQCep8axqkJ
https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups=#!starred/makerbot/BqUc2sSeyuI
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/makerbot/SuzXohTGeZs/_8Sd5pDMSUIJ

Also, printing a bit slower than normal can help.

[DHeadrick]

I just placed an order for a new run of parts.  It should take 3-4 weeks and then I will ship out kits which have been ordered/paid.

Thanks

[DHeadrick]

I just received an update on the estimated completion of the manufactured parts.  Friday, Feb 20.  This means that I will package up kits and send them out over the weekend.  Everyone's kit should be in the mail by Feb 23.

Thanks for the orders and sorry for any inconvenience.

[DHeadrick]

All kits are shipped as of this morning.  When you get your kit, you'll notice that there is an extra spring included.  It is a weaker spring which could be handy printing flexible filaments.  Use wisely... with great power comes great responsibility!

Thanks for your orders everyone.

[DHeadrick]

Stock is once again running low.  Once parts run out, I'll take pre-orders and begin manufacturing once there is enough interest.  The machine shop I use is quite busy at the moment, so fitting my job in might take some patience.

The FAQ on the website is up...

On Wednesday, 31 December 2014 10:49:06 UTC-5, DHeadrick wrote:

[DHeadrick]

I recently received a request for filament guides made out of aluminum.  These are prohibitively expensive to machine from aluminum, however... I have uploaded them to Shapeways where you may purchase them in different materials (Plastic & Bronze).

https://www.shapeways.com/shops/ditd

I am also planning to upload all the printable parts I offer as an option to those who need them but have a non-functioning printer.

[DHeadrick]

Parts are back in stock once more.  All pre-order kits have been sent out.  I just wanted to thank everyone who has purchased a kit over the past 2 years!

Dave

[Gian Pablo]

Thanks for this, but why not enable it in stainless steel? Cheaper than bronze, and the reduced thermal conductivity is probably a plus in this application.

[DHeadrick]

Stainless steel is not an option from Shapeways.  Of all the metals they offer, bronze has the best tolerance.  Thermal conduction is not really a concern in this location as it is touching the cooling bar which should be doing its job of keeping things cool.

[tramalot]

if you want a one off, pm me, any length, any bores, any thread. exchange possible

[Gian Pablo]

Yes it is, I just ordered some parts in stainless steel. Not sure why it is not showing for you. I even uploaded your filament guides to check, no problem, cleared to print in steel.

[DHeadrick]

My mistake... it is there, under the steel section.  I've enabled it as an option, but don't recommend it because of tolerance:

"± 5% of any dimension (and one layer thickness of 0.1mm)

The bronze infiltration of each steel part makes this material less dimensionally accurate than other Shapeways materials. Shrinkage is more prevalent, especially on small holes and inner diameters. Accuracy and tolerance can vary greatly depending on the model, and are hard to predict because they are so geometry specific."

Also, since it is infused with bronze anyway, you may as well choose the bronze version which has better tolerance:

"Accuracy ± 0.125 mm"

These parts in stainless could vary by +/- 1 mm, where the distortion in bronze is an eight of that.  Thermally, I don't know if there would be much performance difference (Shapeways Bronze is 90% Cu, 10% Sn):

[Gian Pablo]

You are 100% correct, I am wrong. Tested some parts on a machine I have access to (identical to the one Shapeways uses), and the stainless steel is well out of tolerance. The bronze is fine.

Your initial setup on Shapeways is correct, taking out steel is probably a good idea.

[DHeadrick]

Thanks for testing that out.  I will remove steel as an option right now to save headaches.

[DHeadrick]

Parts are running low (single digit quantities remaining).  Just a heads up.

Thanks,
Dave

[DHeadrick]

Parts are out of stock.  A new batch is on order.  I will update with the expected date as soon as I know.

www.devilsinthedetails.ca

[DHeadrick]

It should be about 3-4 weeks to get new parts.

[adam paul]

You can add the wanhao duplicator i3 to you list, with the caveat of losing~3mm of x width.

[DHeadrick]

Parts will be back in stock tomorrow (Friday, Oct 16th, 2015).

[DHeadrick]

Inventory has dipped below the halfway point... FYI.

[DHeadrick]

I had a mixup in parts and recently realized that I am running extremely low on parts.  Another batch is on order but will take 4 weeks.

FYI

[MrThoughtful .Thoughtful]

The max printing temp is only 250c?

[Jetguy]

It has NOTHING to do with the 3 in 1 upgrade.

This is about the filament feeder section, AKA cold end side of the extruder.

Since there are probably a dozen or more HOT END designs this can be attached to, then the SPECIFIC HOT END system you are adding this to determines the max temp.
As such, PTFE lined hot ends such as MK10 found in many current brands has a PTFE liner and generally, to prevent PTFE damage, the upper recommended limit is 250C.
ALL METAL hotends that do not have PTFE liners can sustain higher temps.

[MrThoughtful .Thoughtful]

Hey jetguy thanks for the info. Can you tell me if this seems reasonable: I want to print as high as I can on my rep2. I purchased the alu single extruder carriage and am thinking if I install this aluminum extruder feeder from Devils I should be able to take the rep2 up to the firmware max of 280c.

Thanks for any info.

[Jetguy]

Sure, why not, it's your house and your printer.

Personally, you won't generally see me printing at temps that high, but from a "can you do it" sure, you've surrounded the extruder heater with all metal parts, your risk of damage is low.

Keep a fire extinguisher near by.

[Ryan Carlyle]

Yep, the hardware can totally do 280C, just keep in mind that you're way hotter than an oven and over the auto-ignition point of many flammable materials at that temp. 

On Monday, January 25, 2016 at 3:09:37 PM UTC-6, Carl wrote:

Printing at any temperature capable of extruding molten plastic is a potential risk... the majority of the prints I have done over the past few years have been between 260 and 280 deg C. 

These temperatures are comfortably achievable with the correct precautions! :-)

[MrThoughtful .Thoughtful]

Hey guys thanks for the replies. I've been printing in the 242 to 255 range exclusively for the past 1.5 years on my stock rep2. I was given a sample of yet to be released filament and needs 280c to print. So that's why I'm asking. I already have the aluminum carriage and think I should replace the filament drive with the Devils upgrade.
Do you guys think if I'm going to print at these high temps it would be a smart upgrade or is the cold end seperate enough?
As far as fire, the parts I print are 1hr prints on average.

[Ryan Carlyle]

I would get a metal feeder for 280C. Two reasons:

• Higher hot end temps warm up the cooling bar, which may in turn warm up the extruder stepper hotter than usual (depending on spacers, current settings, enclosure temp, etc). If the stepper gets very hot, a plastic extruder will deform/warp.
• Most filaments that need to be printed at 280C (PC?) also require quite warm environments for good performance / low warping. Not always true, but it's a general trend. Warm enclosed printers have hotter steppers, see point above.

The stock plastic "superstruders" on my R2x eventually warped and became unreliable due to enclosure warmth and stepper heat. That's an unusually warping-prone design, but Rep2 style arms can definitely do the same thing. Switching to 3in1s really helped my printer do high-temp materials without feed issues. 

[MrThoughtful .Thoughtful]

Hi Ryan, thanks for the reply again.  this is what I was looking for, someone who's already gone where Im going! lol. 
so, yes with the rep2 I have no heated bed. what I've been doing is, I have the printer in an enclosure and I use a light bulb to heat up the "chamber".
I actually have been using a mini halogen flood light bulb and jeeze it heats the chamber up in minutes.  I also bailed on the stock build plate and use
glass the same thickness as the original. 
I have to turn the bulb off shortly into the print as it heats the chamber up too much and the residual heat from the lamp maintains the temp enough that
I can get away with the nylons and other non pla filament I've been using with absolute minimal warping.
the only problem I have had with this method is that I kept the halogen light on too long and slightly deformed the leading edge and one locking tab of the build plate bed.....

[DHeadrick]

Fresh parts will be in stock this Friday (Feb 19th).

[DHeadrick]

Parts are back in stock.  I made an improvement to the geometry of the PEEK bearing holder.  The feeder now applies smoother application of pressure.  Unfortunately, because of the inventory mixup, I only have the improved components for the right side... I still have left side components of the previous revision to use up.

There is nothing wrong with the original design, but the new design is noticeably smoother.  Fortunately, the aluminum block has not changed... and the PEEK components can be ordered individually if desired.

Just and FYI.

[DHeadrick]

Just a quick update.  Sales are waning and the inventory I have in stock will likely be the last batch.  I have about 10-20 kits remaining (depending on what type of kits get ordered - single or dual extruder).

Happy printing!!

[DHeadrick]

Just an update to let people know that this upgrade is still available.