Ender 3 Pro Direct Drive using stock parts, including cable chain and BL bracket

thingiverse

##Why yet another DD mount! This will allow you to mount your stock extruder drive and stepper onto the stock Ender 3 hot end. The only modification required is to extend the extruder stepper motor wires. This builds on other work that people have done (see sources) to combine into one package Direct drive with BL Touch compatibility and clean cable management with a cable chain. ##Tips for mounting I found that the best route for the cables was to be along the X-axis, in front of the main frame. But without the bowden tube to act as a fairly rigid guide they would get dangerously close to getting pinched in the frame. The cable chain ensures that the cables can only move in one axis and also prevents excessive bending. A good length for the chain is 18 links. The holes in the base of the chain connectors are for a cable tie to prevent relative movement of cables at the head. There is a guide slot for the extruder cable to route down to the cable chain entrance that also has a cable tie hole to prevent cables coming loose. When mounting I would recommend that the stepper motor is orientated with the connector facing upwards for simplest routing and to prevent any cables catching. The PTFE tube needs to be cut to length, it is best to cut fractionally long whilst it is inserted into the hot-end and trim 1 mm at a time until there is a little bit of pressure exerted downwards as you bolt on the extruder gears. ##Printing Tips I would recommend printing at 0.12 layer height and minimum 5 wall thickness to ensure a suitably strong part with accurate holes. The X-Axis end bracket is a complex shape that has no easy way to print. The default orientation using tree supports in CURA seemed to work well, the supports will leave a bit of a rough finish, but it is not too noticeable behind all the cabling.