90 Gram Extruder Stepper

I built a Kossel about three years ago and loved it. Awhile back I built a bowden based CoreXY and so far haven't gotten the finish results the Kossel is capable of. After running the CoreXY for awhile I realized the size and design didn't lend itself to running bowden quite as well requiring twice the tubing length as before. I am just now finishing a test run using a round variant Nema 14(same spacing as 17) and Greg Wade reloaded extruder. AUW is around 220g. I know the Titan extruder is available and would be even lighter but for the money I would expect aluminum and carbon fiber not plastic.

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Everything is just thrown together and rushed so no judgements, yet! Looking at the Greg Wade design I see no reason why it cannot be half the weight so really I think we could see 150 grams with locally sourced items. Getting rid of that M8 bolt and going to something like 5mm round aluminum stock with a MK7/8 drive gear with a gear half the size(same gear ratio though) with a set screw and maybe an aluminum collar vs a heavy M8 nut. Smaller bearings, one tension screw ect would all greatly reduce weight.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/09/2017 01:59PM by ChrisT88.

I recently made a belt driven stepper to replace my Greg-Wade's using this this NEMA 14 stepper. I can't remember exact weights but IIRC the entire extruder (hotend included) weighed about the same as just the NEMA 17 stepper that came off the Greg-Wade's. I used a piece of 8mm linear shaft to mount the MK7 extruder gear and GT2 pulley, but using aluminum might be a good spot to save a bit of weight without having to make any compromises.

The specs on that motor look great too (maybe too good to be true?). Nearly the same power as the one I picked but half the weight. Let me know how it performs. Though looks like yours would like a higher voltage than mine.

I wouldn't discount the E3D titan so quickly... It's injection moulded and much stronger then a printed part. All the important bits of the design have bearings, metal or delrin and It couldn't be that light if it was made of aluminium, and I'm not sure it could be done in carbon fibre? It's been an absolute workhorse for me.

Saying that though, I've been looking into redesigning it. I've bought a lightweight nema 14 of similar power to the nema 17 pancake Steppers that are often paired with the titan. My plan is to utilise the titan gears, but remake the mount to fit the nema 14. Should shave off around 50grams in the end off the gantry, but also be a really minimal design.

Maybe a bit OT, but I've build a 300x200 CoreXY printer with a 350mm Bowden tube. Can't get much shorter IMHO.

See a short video of my swinging extruder adaption.

A while ago I took the round 90g nema 14 stepper and have been building a lightweight version for my CTC. Total weight of the contraption as you see it in the video was just under 200g.

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I don't know how I'd be able to shave off a whole 50g without going to another heater block/cooler than the E3D V6. Already using 5mm aluminium stock for the drive gear shaft and the smallest bearings I could find.

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 08/02/2017 05:26AM by jerryjs8.

Looks like 3+ years later and things have come full circle with the Sherpa and Sherpa Mini. Just researching my options on a new printer and found out the community is finally catching up with us! I personally like the looks of the Orbiter/Galileo but may also try the Sherpa's.

My biggest issue is finding steppers that run cool. I find some that run absolutely cold and have plenty of torque and on the same driver another stepper will heat so bad it warps my PLA mount. Doesn't seem to be an issue of torque or setting the current correctly but possibly the combination of voltage/driver/ohms though I am far from a EE so I can't quite put my finger on why and the community seems to put little concern past "does it have enough torque and is the current set correctly".