Ultimaker quiet retraction

thingiverse

This upgrade significantly reduces noise from the extruder motor as the wooden backplane resembled a drum. To measure the difference, disconnect and hold the feeder while printing. The result is substantial! Update 1 involves improved holder for bowden coupling and other adjustments. Update 2 focuses on enhancing upper hook's resistance to PLA creep. To assemble, print "feeder_suspension" twice (for middlepiece and coupling holder), and "feeder_suspension" thrice (for the top hooks). Slicing can be done with Cura, using 2 walls and 20-30% infill. Clear PLA is best for spring properties, but gray works too. Sandpaper may be needed to refine bearing holes due to printer blobs. A slight tilting motion of the new material feeder eases bowden cable tension, but it might introduce clicking noises and filament rattling when not feeding straight. PLA creep over time can cause upper hooks to slide out after a few months; re-tightening motor screws is necessary post-use for the first few weeks. The latest version should improve this issue, but use zip ties or packing cords to secure upper hooks if needed. The design was created in Blender from Ultimaker's laser-cut drawings and considered public domain. It can be laser-cut from the .blend file, and attribution is appreciated but not required.