Single E3D V6 Mount with Active Cooling (CTC/Makerbot/FlashForge)

thingiverse

Built for the CTC Dual (Converted to Single), but should work on Makerbots and Flashforges. After modifying everything about my CTC Bizer printer, which is a Makerbot Replicator clone, it became a real workhorse. However, the extruder began jamming frequently, making it impossible to finish prints. I also removed the second extruder since I rarely use it - simply disconnect the left motor, thermocouple, and heating element cables, and change the CTC settings to single extruder. There are other designs on Thingiverse for an E3D mount on a CTC, but none feature active cooling. I wanted to design something from scratch that allows me to use a silent 40mm fan for the E3D as well as active cooling. All within a small package, as other designs protrude and smack into the enclosure doors. The active cooling is split well and perfectly positioned so that my hotend doesn't cool down and overcool the print just right. My previous experiences with other designs applied too much cooling to one side and caused warping. It's also far enough from the hotend not to melt. I now use this for ABS, and it's better than any solution I've tried on Thingiverse - and I've tried many. I designed it using natural shapes for ease of printing and strength. It should print easily and requires a minimal amount of different screws. I also designed it to be relatively modular as I plan to redesign the cable guide to create a cable chain version. You must print frame.stl and e3d-mount.stl, but the rest is optional. I highly recommend printing the entire set over just the frame and mount though. To assemble this project, you will need: 1 x Bowden E3D V6/V6Lite (Metal only - you can reuse the heater block and thermocouple) 12 x M3 x 16mm Countersunk 2 x M3 x 40mm Socket Cap (The long black screws from the CTC's extruder/fan are perfect) 14 x M3 Nuts 2 x 40mm Fans The fan for the E3D is a 12V silent fan, which is powered by an additional 12V rail I added by wiring in an AC-DC step-down transformer. You can also use 24V fans and wire them straight into the power supply. After printing, you may need to give some areas a light sanding and the holes a small drill through using a 2.5/3mm bit. If you can't get the head of the screws down a cavity, carefully use a 6.5mm drill to clear it. Then install all the push-to-fit nuts by putting an appropriate-sized M3 screw in and fully tightening so the nut gets pulled into the M3-shaped gap. Then remove the screws. For the two long screws, I mounted the nut using a M3 x 50mm screw - the nuts for the fans were done with a M3 x 10mm screw. Start by installing the fans first. I couldn't fit the bottom two nuts on the E3D mount, but it's no big deal and still works perfectly. Then screw together the frame and E3D mount with the E3D mounted inside (Screws accessible through the fan). Then attach the entire active cooling part already assembled, and tighten against the frame. Now sort out the wiring - I've made small grooves towards the bottom of the frame to route the hotend cables. Zip tie together on the cable guide. I have the heater cartridge routed to the left and the thermocouple routed to the right. Then screw directly into the already existing X-axis carriage mount. Enjoy! Print Settings Printer: CTC Dual (Bizer) Rafts: No Supports: No Resolution: 0.2mm Infill: 25% Notes: Does not require supports, but will print better with cooling. I printed it without active cooling and it still worked perfectly.