portabee-kit extruder mount

thingiverse

This bracket moves the extruder from the carriage to the side of the right base, making longer 6mm thread rods necessary depending on your actual Portabee setup. This design is tailored for the original Portabee kit. The Bowden tube mounting plate from the Printrbot conversion was modified and offset slightly to match the offset extruder's alignment. This bracket utilizes the existing extruder. To mount the Bowden tube, you'll need to create a custom mounting block that fits your stock hot-end. I used the Printrbot Bowden conversion hot-end mount, which had to be drilled out to accommodate an eBay-purchased hotend. As this is still a work-in-progress for a machine currently under construction, use it at your own risk. I will update this once testing has been completed successfully. Initially, printing was successful, but two issues arose. The offset for the Bowden tube was acceptable, but that section needed to be raised 10mm and more bracing added to prevent floppiness. Additionally, due to the lip on the extruder for the hot-end plate, a spacer plate had to be used between the extruder and this block. This bracket is still under development; do not use it yet. A second iteration of the bracket printed successfully and functions as intended. The extruder mount was raised 10mm, and additional width was added to the curved section to strengthen the angle joint. One potential drawback to note is that the extruders' spring tensioners point downwards, which may cause issues when changing out filament. However, this does not pose a significant problem for me; I simply wanted to bring it to your attention.