Hello, 3D Printing Friends! Today on the BV3D Channel, we're going to upgrade the
stock plastic extruder parts on the Ender 3 and Ender 3 Pro 3D printer
to METAL, courtesy of Gearbest!
Stick around and we'll get into it right after this! I'm Bryan, and you... are watching BV3D!
Hi, welcome back! Hey, if you're new here, and you're wanting to learn about cool 3D
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OK, so several months ago when I reviewed the Ender 3 Pro, one of the issues that
I noticed had to do with the extruder. Specifically, the issue is that the loading
lever is made of plastic, and due to the angle that the filament feeds into the
hole in the lever, they rub together. And after several months, the filament had
worn a fairly significant groove into the lever. To solve this issue, my
friends at Gearbest were kind enough to send me, free of charge, this upgraded
aluminum extruder assembly for the Ender 3 and Ender 3 Pro 3D printers.
The retail cost of the part is US $15.44, with free shipping.
Now, I asked Gearbest if they'd be willing to discount that for
you just a bit, and they did! So check the description for a link to the part on
Gearbest's site, as well as a coupon code to bring the cost down to US $10.99.
And this coupon code is good through the end of August, 2019. Now, let's look at what
you get in the kit. It contains the two main metal pieces of the extruder
assembly, along with a new extruder gear, a pneumatic fitting, a spring, screws, and
a spare nozzle. Now, the kit does NOT include installation instructions, so if
you buy this kit, come back and watch this video if you need help getting it
installed. One more thing that the kit does not include is some method to
attach the mesh cable bundle that goes to the hot end. That's the one that's zip
tied to the Bowden tube. And this is something that the stock extruder DOES
have, so I designed this little clip to serve that function. it's on Thingiverse,
and the link to the part is in the description. Print this out before you start the
assembly. It shouldn't take more than about 10 minutes. Now, this should be a
straightforward process. We'll unload the filament, take the old parts off, put the
new parts on, and then we should be able to load up some filament and get
printing. So, what do you say we head over to the printer, and get started?
Here are the parts, all laid out. We've got the two red metal parts,
an idler bearing, a brass feed gear, a spring, a pneumatic fitting, and
the screws. So to get started, turn on the printer,
unload any filament that you've got in the printer, and then turn the printer
off. And I've already done that here. Then, we need to do a little bit of prep work
on the new extruder assembly. First we'll attach the new pneumatic fitting to the
extruder assembly. Then we'll screw the idler bearing to the new filament
loading lever, using the bolt and the lock washer. And then we'll add a button
head screw on the lever, which later will keep the spring in place. Okay, on to the
printer. Unplug the extruder stepper motor's cable. Disconnect the Bowden tube
from the pneumatic fitting on the extruder assembly. Compress the filament
loading lever a bit, and remove the screw at the lever's hinge point. Once the
screw is no longer holding the lever in place, carefully remove the lever and the
spring at the same time. Set these aside.
Remove the three remaining screws holding the extruder assembly in place,
and as you remove the screws, support the stepper motor from below, so it doesn't
fall. Set the original extruder assembly aside. Now, replace the brass filament
feed gear on the motor with the new one from the kit. Set the new extruder
assembly onto the extruder bracket. The exit side, with the pneumatic fitting,
should be facing the power supply. Insert the countersunk screw in the spot
provided for it. Then insert two button head screws on the exit side of the new
assembly. Hold the stepper motor in place on the underside of the bracket, making
sure the connector faces away from the power supply. Then tighten the three
screws. Screw a button head screw into the extruder assembl,y to act as a spring
retainer. Screw it in until it's flush with the far side of its hole.
Now, remember that cable clip that I told you to print out? You'll need it now.
Hold it on the side of the extruder, where that screw is going to come out, and then
finish seating the screw to hold the clip in place. Insert the sleeve into the
filament loading lever, and hold the spring in place against the button head
screw. Compress the spring into place while lining up the lever, and then screw
the lever onto the extruder assembly.
Connect the Bowden tube to the pneumatic fitting on the extruder assembly.
Add a collet clip to keep the fitting's collar extended, which keeps the Bowden tube from being pushed out.
Use the printed clip to hold the mesh cable bundle to the extruder. I included tabs
to keep a zip tie in place, so if you want, you can put a zip tie on it to keep
the cable bundle from sliding out. Oh and don't forget to plug the stepper motor's
cable back in. I forgot, and then I wondered why nothing was being extruded
when I tried to print. D'oh!
And that's it for the installation! Pretty easy to do, right?
So I want to talk for a minute about what could be improved on the kit.
I can really only think of three things that could have been better, and right
off the bat, I have to tell you that I had a problem with the included
pneumatic fitting. It didn't hold tight, and it was easy to pull the Bowden
tube out of the fitting. I even tried some spare Bowden tubing that I had laying
around, and that, too, was easy to pull out of the fitting. So clearly, I got a bad one.
Fortunately, I was able to reuse the fitting from the stock extruder assembly.
But if I hadn't been paying attention to the Bowden tube, this could have led to
some messy print issues. Also, it would have been nice if there had been some
installation instructions. There weren't any in the package, and there weren't any
on the product page. Now, I've had a fair bit of experience with 3d printers, so I
was able to come up with this installation strategy, but even I was
scratching my head at times, trying to figure out the best order to do things.
And I would have preferred that the kit include a clip to hold that mesh cable
bundle that goes to the hot end. I didn't mind having to design one; for me it was
a fun 15 minute adventure. But I think it would have been better if the kit had
all the functionality of the part it was replacing, and that includes the ability
to keep the cable bundle attached. Well, now that we've got the "I wish it did THIS"
part out of the way, I want to talk about how this improves on the stock part.
First, it's metal. And that means the filament isn't going to wear a deep groove
in it, as happened with the stock part. I mean look, this is after seven months of
average usage. That's a pretty significant groove! So that's not a worry
any longer. And second, the way the loading lever attaches to the stock part,
you have to VERY CAREFULLY manage the tightness of the screw that holds it in place.
If it's too loose, the arm is floppy, and if it's
too tight, the arm binds, and the spring can't keep the idler bearing tight
enough against the feed gear to consistently feed filament. On this new
metal one, you remember that sleeve that's part of the loading lever? With
the lever hinging on THAT, you're able to tighten that screw down, and the lever
can still move freely. Third, the spring that comes with this upgrade seems a bit
stronger than the stock spring, and that, combined with the freely moving loading
lever, it means I don't have to worry about filament slipping when it's
supposed to be feeding. Finally, from an aesthetics point of view, and my own
personal opinion, that shiny red metal part looks pretty sweet! So apart from
that one issue with the pneumatic fitting, I haven't had any problems with
the upgrade. It's solidly built, and I expect to have it installed for the life
of the printer. Or at least until I decide I want to convert it to a direct
drive extruder. Okay, thanks for making it all the way to the end! And thanks to
everybody who likes, comments on, and shares these videos! Remember, the link to
this Gearbest upgrade, along with that discount code, are in the description, and
that discount code is good through the end of August, 2019. And don't forget to
subscribe and click the bell, so you don't miss any cool 3D printing videos!
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cool videos for you! Alright, well now that I've got that extruder upgrade
installed, I'm gonna go print something cool! You do the same, and I'll see you next time!