Dual feed extruder by rcmonitor

thingiverse

This text appears to be a set of instructions or guidelines for assembling and maintaining an open-source 3D printer extruder, likely the "X-Carriage" from the X500 series printers. The instructions cover various aspects of assembly, such as drilling holes, crafting bolts and axles using a lathe, pre-assembling parts, and final assembly. Additionally, there are detailed steps for tensioning the extruder and calibrating it after assembly. Here's a summary of the main points: **Assembly** * Drill required holes with specific drill bits (e.g., 3mm for M3 bolts). * Craft hobbed axles using metal blanks or DIN 439 nuts. * Assemble motor, driven gear, and big driven gear. * Attach hotend to extruder body. **Pre-assembly** * Place nuts in locks (M3 for motor drive gear and clamp plate, M2 for clamp plate fixer axle). * Hobbed bolts/axles should fit tightly in gears to decrease backlash. **Assembling** * Motor with driven gear attached should be placed after big driven gear. * Fix motor with M3 bolts but not completely to allow its movement. * Push the motor slightly down and tighten M3 bolts. * Ensure that the big gear and driven gear on the motor spin freely without backlash. **Tensioning** * Assemble extruder, heat it, load filament, and fix clamp plate with a latch (up to 3/4 of latch travel). * Fix latch with fixer axle and try to extrude some filament. * Open extruder, remove filament, and check notches from hobbed axles on both sides of the filament wire. * If the notches are unequal, adjust the clamp plate tension accordingly. * Calibrate the extruder after making the notches equal. **Calibration** * The text mentions that for the author's setup, 885 steps per unit is required at 230C @ 100mm/min. This suggests that calibration may require adjusting the number of steps per unit based on the specific printer and material being used. Overall, these instructions provide a detailed guide for assembling and maintaining an open-source 3D printer extruder, highlighting the importance of precise alignment, tensioning, and calibration to ensure optimal performance.