Remixed Nema 8 Adapter for Zesty Nimble V1

thingiverse

The Nimble's a super light and awesome direct drive extruder, but what often goes unmentioned is that you also need to account for the weight and potential resonant vibrations from the drive cable. Wouldn't it be great to ditch the cable in favor of the lightest stepper motor that Nema makes? You can! This remix uses ZestyTech's experimental adapter geometry as inspiration, but with a few tweaks. The mount is fully parameterized in Fusion 360, so you can easily tweak it to fit your needs. It could even be tweaked to fit a larger stepper motor if you wanted to. Be aware that the Nema 8 doesn't have nearly as much torque as a Nema 17, but thanks to the Nimble's 30:1 gear ratio, it still works just fine. On my modified Ender 3 Pro, it's topping out at around 55c, which is well below the rated temperature rise of 80c. If you think you're going to be pushing more difficult filament that needs a little extra torque, consider using the slightly longer 0.6A Nema 8 in favor of the ultra-light 0.2A Nema 8. The 0.6A has about 2.5x the torque. Note that I've only included a left-handed model. If your Nimble is mounted in the right hand orientation, just mirror the STL in your slicer. You'll also need one of the shaft models which you can get from the original thing that this remixes. Print the shafts horizontally in PETG and they should hold up to the stresses just fine. I've modified the original mount to better accommodate M2x4mm screws and washers, making it easier to assemble. I've also added a small filament guide which can be attached onto the top of the Nema 8 by backing out one of the case screws and then using the case screw to attach the filament guide. This should help with keeping the filament off your warm stepper motor.