Rebuilding Rep 2X hot end

[Qtrain23]

So i've gotten my first major jam on my 2X after some 1600 hours. I could remove the nozzle and replace it, but I'm debating just changing everything out to Carl's stuff (cooling block, t-blocks). What all would I need to do that? just the t-blocks, cooling bar, and nozzle? or do i need new heater cores and thermocouples?

[Ryan Carlyle]

Cooling bar, t-blocks (comes with threaded thermal barrier), probably new extruder drive to deal with different hole spacing. You don't actually have to use the T-blocks if you want to reuse the existing hot blocks. The same heaters and thermocouples will work either way.

[Qtrain23]

Well I figured I may as well change them out and open it up to other materials should I ever need them (i really only print abs though I keep telling myself I'll use PLA someday). Good to know on the thermocouples and heaters. 

I thought you could just shim the drive to move it over for the new cooling block

[Ryan Carlyle]

I'm not sure offhand about whether the stock superstruders can be shimmed or not to line up with Carl's cooling bar.

[Qtrain23]

I'm using a printed spring arm set up. 

[Qtrain23]

well tried to take it apart last night and broke the nozzle off as expected. I'll probably be ordering carl's t-blocks, but are there any other that you guys recommend? I see some people are using E3d. Do I need to change out the cooling block for other sizes since they're all m6, or can i just modify mine to hold an m6 shaft?

On Tuesday, May 5, 2015 at 7:51:10 AM UTC-5, Qtrain23 wrote:

[Scott Booker]

It's unfortunate that you broke off your nozzle.  Frankly, I'm a bit surprised that it happened.  I've had the nozzles off of my (multiple) R2X's a few times without incident.

What do you hope to achieve via changing out the whole setup?  While not "ideal", the R2X setup works pretty dern well for ABS (and PET+ and a few other materials).  It doesn't work all that well for PLA.... but without adding a print cooling fan you're not going to get much in the way of PLA performance with Carl's rig either (not to bash Carl's stuff... it's top-notch).

My concern is that you'll go through a lot of work and a few $'s, and just end up where you started.

[Ryan Carlyle]

E3Dv6 blocks are good if you also use an E3D nozzle. They have a lovely heater clamping method. Carl's blocks are perfectly fine too, but are a hard shape to apply insulation. 

Main thing you want to look for is M6 thread for the thermal barrier/nozzle and M3 thread for the Makerbot style thermocouple (brass thermowell). If you damage the thermowell tip and want to use a "strip, twist, and tape" style TC termination, Carl's blocks are convenient for doing that because you can clamp the tip between two set screws to get an "internal" temp measurement that is more accurate.

The real benefit to Carl's setup is that you replace the stock straight-tube thermal barriers with a threaded thermal barrier that has better heat dissipation for printing PLA. For high-melting materials like ABS, there's really no difference between Carl's gear and the stock R2x setup. 

On Thursday, May 7, 2015 at 7:46:57 AM UTC-5, Qtrain23 wrote:

[Qtrain23]

Well I figured I'd switch it out to Carls which from what I've read will open me up to PLA. 

I'll try removing the broken nozzle from the block (I have the proper tools), but saying that fails, where can i get a new heater block thats a direct swap in for the stock ones? Does one exist?

On Tuesday, May 5, 2015 at 7:51:10 AM UTC-5, Qtrain23 wrote:

[Qtrain23]

Quick searching, I think I'll just get a rep 2 hot block, and drill out the clamping diameter on the stock cooling block to hold m6 sized shafts. Then I can use my stock cooling block with all kinds of aftermarket hot ends. Should be easy to get parts, and it'll a quality proven design. 

Any issues with that train of thought?

On Tuesday, May 5, 2015 at 7:51:10 AM UTC-5, Qtrain23 wrote:

[Scott Booker]

The hole in the stock R2X cooling block (the clamp hole) is already ~6mm.  Not possible to tap that for an M6 thread.

[Qtrain23]

I don't plan on tapping it. I didn't measure, I just assumed it was 5mm. Even better that its 6. I just plan to clamp them in the same way the non theaded ones were. 

[Qtrain23]

hm. Also found these. May just go this route, unless switching over to Replicator 2 hot ends would be a better move. 

http://www.amazon.com/MakerBot-Replicator-Silicone-Heater-Block/dp/B00UQX5TRU/ref=aag_m_pw_dp?ie=UTF8&m=A2BMMRRPFQT55M

On Tuesday, May 5, 2015 at 7:51:10 AM UTC-5, Qtrain23 wrote:

[Scott Booker]

That will probably give you dismal results.

The "beauty" of the threaded thermal barrier is that the actual threads give you a lot of surface area contact to the cooling block..... and that's why they tend to work better than smooth-bore cooling block setups.  Clamping a threaded thermal tube into a smooth bore will reduce the surface contact even more.. and the heat transfer will suffer dramatically.  You'll probably be fighting constant heat-creep jams, regardless of the build material.

Translation:  don't do it.

[Qtrain23]

Yea on further thought I arrived at the same solution. I was just hoping for an easy solution lol. I'll just get some replacement stock blocks and call it a day. They worked for 1000 or so hours on that side without issue, and really, it's been a great machine overall

[Joseph Chiu]

IIRC, the Imperial MakerBot Hot Block is 6.4 mm diameter.  I've had several "Makerbot style" hot blocks from various sources that would not accept the larger diameter heater cartridge.

[adam paul]

That's the beauty of the e3d heater block. Their clamp is much more universal.

[DHeadrick]

It looks like Carl recently revised his cooling block to maintain the same spacing from the stepper motor mount face to the thermal barrier hole.