Aero Direct Drive Tension Idler Lever

thingiverse

I found my Aero Direct Drive clone had issues with filament slipping and tracked them down to the hole surrounding the extruder motor axis that keeps it in place. Since this motor axis has a flat area for securing gears or pulleys with grub screws, it also scrapes against the plastic hole, slowly enlarging until there's so much play that the pressure bearing no longer aligns with the extruder gear. Ideally, this problem could be resolved by using a fully round motor axis. However... I sat down at Sketchup and took out my caliper to quickly design an alternative looking extruder idler lever. The first test in PLA worked fine, although I think it might deform over time because the motor axis can become quite warm and the hole will then expand. I also printed one in ASA, which should last much longer. Update: After several attempts and new versions (numbers 7 or 8), I believe this is a usable version. I incorporated another bearing with a flange into it, slightly larger than before. This bearing came from the original CR-10 extruder and prevents the filament from jumping out of the gear.