Ender 3 Direct Drive Mount

thingiverse

I designed this direct drive mounting bracket to use the stock extruder and mount it on the x carriage so I could print TPU without any purchased modifications. I did use a short length of Capricorn tubing between the extruder and hot end, the stock bowden tube should work just fine. I just wanted to be able to go back to stock if I wasn't happy with the experiment. So far, it's worked flawlessly. I've printed TPU, PLA, PLA+, and PETG without issue. Retraction settings need to be adjusted a bit depending on material and what you're printing, but that's all I've done and I'm getting great quality prints. I also took the stock X cover from the Ender 3 CAD model and modified it to mount some drag chain that I also designed based on a model from McMaster-Carr. I made it a bit more print-friendly, fewer supports, and open sided with a pin so that you can lay the wires into it and cap it, instead of feeding them through a hole. This way you don't need to disconnect the wires to install it. However, if you do route the extruder cable through the chain, you'll need to extend it to access the full Z height of the printer. I rarely print anything that tall, so I haven't gotten around to extending it on mine yet. This limits me to 1/3 of the available Z height. If I need to go higher, for now I just take the extruder wire out of the drag chain. If you want to see a short clip of it in action, comment or message me for a link to my Instagram. Print list: QTY 1 - Direct_Drive_Mount_v4_SF QTY 1 - X_Cap_SF QTY 18 - chain_pin QTY 18 - drag_chain_SF Installation Guide This installation guide is intended for an audience with basic mechanical skills and knowledge of their printer. These are not intended to be precise step-by-step instructions. Proceed at your own risk. 1.) Remove filament from the machine using your normal method. Turn off, disconnect power, and wait for the hot end to cool. 2.) Remove the bowden tube and set aside. Unplug and remove the extruder from the Z carriage and set aside. Remove the extruder cable from the stock cable management, and pull back through the hole in the frame so that it is loose. I had to cut zip ties to pull it through the protective sheathing and access hole in the frame. Route this wire up through the notch in the cover, where the Z switch cable comes through and replace the cover. 3.) Remove the screws holding the the fan shroud/mount to the X carriage, carefully set aside. remove the hot end and carefully set aside. Be cautious not to disturb the power cables/heat shielding for the hot end. 4.) The Direct_Drive_Mount_v4_SF is attached using the two axle screws on the top side of the X carriage. Remove and reinstall them one at a time, holding the wheel and spacer against the X carriage plate to keep the alignment. When reinstalling the screw, place the appropriate hole of the Direct_Drive_Mount_v4_SF bracket in alignment on the outside of the X axis plate and tighten enough to hold in place, but loose enough to turn the bracket down into alignment with the second axle screw. When Direct_Drive_Mount_v4_SF bracket is in place mounted to both axle screws, re-tighten all the way and check that the X carriage is moving properly without too much resistance, or is not so loose that it has play in the Y direction. 5.) Re-install your hot end to the X carriage. Then carefully insert your bowden tube into the coupler, and make sure it is fully seated inside. Some people like to loosen the nozzle a quarter turn or so first, and re-tighten to ensure no gaps between bowden tube and nozzle. Now take the coupler from the extruder and set it against the hot end coupler, flange to flange, and cut the bowden tube so that it sticks past the coupler. This is intentionally too long. Insert the extruder coupler onto this shortened bowden tube, and measure the distance between flanges. Remove the coupler, and cut off the amount you measured from the end of the tube. The goal of this is to have the bowden tube fully seated inside the hot and and the extruder couplers with no gaps, while the flanges are close to touching. I used Capricorn tubing, just so I could go back to the stock setup if I wanted to in the future, but it's not necessary. 6.) Install the extruder to the Direct_Drive_Mount_v4_SF bracket using the original hardware. Note that the connector on the extruder stepper should point toward you when you are at the front of the machine. Re-install the fan/shroud assembly. 7.) Remove the X axis cover and switch, remove switch from cover and set aside. I kept my stock cover in case I ever want to go back to the stock setup. Install the X switch on the X_Cap_SF bracket and re-install onto the gantry. Install the drag chain pieces to the appropriate mounting points on both the X_Cap_SF and Direct_Drive_Mount_v4_SF brackets. Place the hot end/fan cables and extruder cables inside the drag chain, and install the chain_pins. Note the orientation of the chain_pins , the 'hat' section should be facing away from the drag chain. NOTE: the stock extruder cable is too short to reach full Z axis height when running through the drag chain. You will need to splice or buy a new longer cable to get back to your originaly max Z height. I bought a set of 4 for $6 on Amazon. 8.) Double check for any loose hardware or wiring, and reconnect power and turn on. Check E steps and calibrate using your normal method. Your retraction settings will also likely need to be adjusted to get quality prints. 9.) Enjoy!