I3 E3d X Bracket, Hotend Mount and Muscle Cooling Fan Kit

thingiverse

This kit was designed for my Wanhao I3 Plus and other I3 style printers with two round bar X axis rods. If your printer is one of the many I3 styles, but is not a Wanhao I3 Plus, such as Maker Select or Anet A8, here are some measurements that might help before you print anything or read any further: The distance between the two round bars on X axis is 45mm, center to center, and the round bars are 15mm diameter. If your printer's X axis round bars are the same diameter and distance from each other, this kit will probably work. Read details below for required bearings and other considerations. If you are looking for an E3d hotend mount that works with the original Wanhao I3 ribbon cable and breakout board, this is not it. This kit assumes normal FDM printer wiring and wiring bundle sheath from the controller board for its fans, heater, thermistor, and optional x axis endstop and BLTouch. This allows the final kit to have a very clean look, per the pictures above. The "Assembled" part is for visual reference only, and is not to be printed. If you decide to print and use this kit, I suggest you copy/past the entire text below (Summary, Print Settings, Post Printing) into a Notepad or WordPad or other document app, and print it for reference and checklist as you proceed. This is a remix of a similar E3d setup for open source FDM printers, which is also a remix of several other Things, all listed in the "Remixed From" area. But in the case of most if not all I3 style printers, it needs to be a Bowden extruder drive setup instead of direct drive to avoid major Z axis loss. The Bowden extruder mount I designed and use for this kit is here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5191463. But if you don't like my Bowden extruder mount, some other I3 Bowden extruder mounts might work. I am going to be working on and experimenting with a direct drive version of this kit, which will be for a BMG style extruder and 4023 "pancake" motor. If interested in that, log in and post a comment here and I will let you know when it is done and available. The X axis mount plate is specifically designed for Drylin 8mm polymer bearings, (link here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071RSDYW4/), but round cylinder ball bearings seem to also fit OK. It is not compatible with and does not work with the original large metal X axis bearing holders common on several I3 style printers. Because of its design and mount points, the X mount plate will only work with the E3d hotend mount in this kit. It incorporates built-in toothed belt clips, which makes it easy to get good belt tension with just a pair of pliers to stretch and hold the belt tag end while inserting. But if that doesn't work for you, there is also a provision for an optional belt tensioner part that can be added. The mount plate includes a wiring entry hole designed for 1/4" cable sheath, for entry of all of the wires into the hotend area above the E3d mount. This keeps them out of the way of the belt and other moving parts, greatly reducing risk of interference, as well as providing a slicker, cleaner overall appearance for the incoming wiring bundle and the kit. The X mount also has mount holes for a optional x endstop sensor and BLTouch ABL mounts. The E3d hotend mount itself is in two parts: back and front clamp pieces. The back piece mounts to the X plate. See post printing assembly instructions. The hotend and its associated heater block, heater and thermistor are inserted, then it is clamped in with the mount front piece. I use and highly recommend this complete E3d V6 hotend kit: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08R99BBRS. Completing the sleek look of this kit, are two optional custom front covers, one for a 4010 fan and another for a 4020 fan, plus left and right "fang" style fan shrouds from the Muscle v2.0 kit cited in the remix list. Pick one of the covers depending on your intended hotend front fan size. I have copied and included the only two specific Muscle v2.0 parts needed (left and right fan covers) here, so confusion is avoided and you don't need to go to the original Muscle v2.0 Thing to figure them out. I have also included other optional accessory parts: - A small custom cable bundle support piece for the back of the right side frame. It fits into two holes already there and not used on my Wanhao I3 Plus. See pics in the Post-Printing / Assembly area. - A X axis endstop switch bracket, which attaches to the front top left corner of the X mount bracket, and holds the original small endstop switch that was on my Wanhao I3 Plus printer. If your endstop is different, this may or may not work for you. - A BLTouch mounting kit, with two parts. It mounts to the same M4 holes in the X axis plate as the E3d mount, but from the back side. Mounting the BLTouch in the back means zero X axis nozzle offset, and only moderate Z axis offset. Exact nozzle to probe offsets are in the Post Printing instructions. If you are considering upgrading your I3 printer with a BigtreeTech SKR mainboard, as I have, then check out this mainboard case I designed for my Wanhao I3 with BTT SKR 2: