Monoprice Mini (MPSM) WK9.1 extruder base with access to set screw

thingiverse

I've been using my Monoprice Mini pretty heavily, and started experiencing issues with inconsistent prints that seemed to be linked to extrusion problems. Investigating further, I discovered that the teeth on the extruder gear were worn out, so I ordered a replacement from Gigdigit. When I received it, it took some time to remove the old gear, and research revealed that heat was necessary for this process. A quick application of a heat gun allowed the old one to come off easily. I've been utilizing Wileykyoto's excellent MPSM V2 Improved Extruder (WK9) for a while now, and I wanted to trim the PTFE tube to an exact shape to get it to follow the rollers, but realized I needed access to the set screw while the extruder gear was installed. Unfortunately, the WK9 design slightly obstructs this area, making it impossible to tighten down when it's in the correct position. I attempted modifying the original STL file in SketchUp, with no luck. I also tried using MeshMixer, but some decent results weren't enough for me. So, I got busy and redrawn it in Fusion 360, creating a proper parametric model that allowed me to work with it more effectively. Although this is drawn from scratch, it's essentially a direct copy of the WK9 base, with a slot added to allow access to the set screw so I could install or remove the extruder gear with the base installed. In case you're wondering, yes, you could achieve the exact same result by printing the original WK9 base and working on it with a hacksaw, a file, or a small drill. Like most of my projects, I'm more about the journey and the learning process than taking the quick route to the destination.