Printmate 3D and BQ Hephestos 1 E3D update

thingiverse

Some time ago, I had some issues with my Printmate that were causing subpar prints. The wooden Extruder/Hotend mount was loose, resulting in poor print quality. So, I tinkered around and came up with a brand new Marlin firmware, a fresh Hotend, a BLTouch sensor, and a completely redesigned Hotend/Extruder mount. What's funny is that this mount also fits the BQ Hephestos version 1 (I'm not sure if version 2 is identical). I also swapped out the stock Anycubic Extruder mount for a more standard one, and now I'm running a Bowden setup. You can attach the Extruder directly to the top frame on the Printmate, but for the BQ, I designed an extra holder that clips onto the back of the top frame using two cable-ties. Keep in mind that this setup only works with a Bowden configuration, but it's effective nonetheless! If you upgrade to a Bon Tech Extruder, you'll find that it performs even better – which is what I plan to do if time allows. You can find the "x" parts for both the BQ and Printmate on my website. There are two versions of the clamp available: one with a BLTouch mount and one without. I've also uploaded the hex files for the Printmate, including the Extruder Steps for the Anycubic. You can adjust these settings directly from the LCD menu if needed. The accelerations and jerks are relatively low, but you're free to increase them as desired – see the pictures for more information. Additionally, you'll find my configuration.h file for the Printmate on my website. One thing to note is that the BLTouch is secured to the clamp using one M3 screw with a nut and another "plastic-cut-screw" (a short M3 screw should also work). Please give it a try! The Firmware is specifically set up for the PRINTMATE and BL-Touch, so you'll need to add a G29 command after G28 (home all axes) in your starting gcode. Here's my starting gcode: G28 G29 G1 F4000 X0 Z30 G92 E0 G1 F300 E40 G92 E0 G1 F6000 Y100 Z2 My Printmate now has a retraction distance of 4.00mm with 45mm/s, and the Extrusion Multiplier is set to 1.04 for PLA. Next up: you see the 30mm and 40mm Fans mounted using two excellent fan holders that I downloaded from builda3dprinter.eu (check out their website under Information > download > 3D Files). The creator of this shop is a fantastic person with some amazing designs – I also have some Delta's from them, which I really like. However, these parts aren't mine, so I won't be sharing them. By the way, I've updated my X and Y axes with Nema17 Vibration dampers, and the Y axis now features drylin Igus linear bearings. Finally: you might need some additional screws (just in case).