Ender 3 Side-Mount Direct Drive Extruder (yet another)

thingiverse

Direct Drive Extruder Mount * Press fits over the X-Axis Gantry Bearing Sleeves/Spacers. * M3 side mount holes spaced 10mm apart for attaching whatever you want, I've attached a cable tie down loop (visible in the photos) for velcro-tieing my cable bundle to. * Doesn't reduce the X or Y bed size. * Might shorten the max Z by 10mm but honestly I'm not sure. It's been a long time since I used the bowden tube, but in general I'd say I saw a small improvement in quality when I switched to DD. I originally switched to the [SpeedDrive](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3816051) but didn't like the bed-space reduction, plus I wanted different cable attachments etc... so I just decided to make my own. I did not notice a print quality reduction switching from SpeedDrive to my design, even though it's technically inferior. This is the 3rd iteration I've done on the design. The biggest "problem" is that the mount would flex based on the force applied by the extruder. The extruder would bob up and down a bit depending on whether it was extruding or retracting. This didn't actually seem to have any consequences on the print, but it bugged me so I've been working to improve it's rigidity. Honestly, this DD mount is totally fine and I enjoy having it. I printed it in PETG, and I use it with my [zero-clearance extruder base](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4842483) and [BLTouch mount](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4842512)