Extruder motor planetary gearbox

thingiverse

Assemble your extruder with this 4.36:1 gearbox upgrade! This planetary gearbox is designed to be placed between a NEMA 17 extruder motor and its mechanism, allowing the use of an existing Airtripper or similar extruder and MK7 drive gear with a 5mm bore while preventing motor overheating. The design is based on a custom gearhead extruder but features a face-mounting plate for easy attachment to your current extruder setup. Additionally, it uses metric bearings and bolts instead of an assortment of mismatched parts from the original design. To assemble, remove your motor from the extruder while saving its mounting hardware. Insert two 625 bearings into each 'Planet' gear and push the 40mm M5 bolt through the 'Carrier' piece. Thread a M5 hex nut onto the bolt and tighten it against the plastic. Push one 625 bearing into the carrier's cavity, then thread three M5 hex nuts into the three hexagonal pockets of the Carrier part and secure with 25mm M5 screws. Install the Sun gear on your motor's output shaft using M3 hex nuts and set screws, ensuring tightness once the entire gearbox is assembled. Attach the 'Rear Plate' to your motor with four 10mm M3 screws, followed by the 'Ring Back' piece, aligning the flatter side away from the motor. Insert three planet gears between the ring and sun gear, ensuring proper orientation and spacing, then lock them in place using the carrier. Attach the 'Ring Front' part to the assembly with 20mm long M3 screws, tightening the screws for a secure fit. Finally, slide the 'Front Plate' over the M5 bolt, aligning it with the mounting holes and securing with 50mm long M3 screws. Adjust alignment as needed for smooth operation. Replace your existing motor with this gearbox assembly on your extruder, attaching it using the four M3 hex nuts on the front plate and ensuring proper support with an additional 625 bearing on the output shaft of the drive gear. The provided source files include both scad and Autocad designs for easy customization.