Where to put the extruder on a delta?

I finally got my Kossel is up and running and I'm closing in on the "Tear it all down and rebuild it"-point. A few decision remain befor I pull out the allen-keys, one is the best placement of the extruder.
Today I have it in the middle of one side about 1/3 up with the bowden-tube in a nice U. It works well but many have the extruder on the top with the bowden-tube in a more Z-like shape.
Pros, cons, don'ts, dos, tips and views most welcome.

The discussion about extruder position for a Delta is a neverending story. There are many threads already, shall we repeat it all here or do you like to read?
Try searching for flying extruder or remote-direct-drive ( Flex3drive/Zesty Nimble ) or cycloidal geared extruder.

HI O!
I'm not going flying, remote or direct, I will stick to bowden. High, middle or low is the question.

I was able to chop 20cm from my Bowden by going low. I have still yet to print anything to take up the full build of my delta, but moving the effector around didn't pose any kinking issues with the tube. 565mm tip to glass after homed.

Quote
SlowFoot
HI O!
I'm not going flying, remote or direct, I will stick to bowden. High, middle or low is the question.

Even if you don't go the route, there are several designs for side mounted extruders too.
A rotating extruder mount eliminates a lot of stress on the tube ( and effector )

If you are certain you don't want to fly, remote or cycloid then just place it to give you the shortest tube possible. Effect of tube length on reducing print quality is not linear. A rotating bracket would also seem sensible. But seriously consider giving bowden the shove its a compromise when implemented in the best possible way.

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Simon Khoury

Co-founder of [www.precisionpiezo.co.uk] Accurate, repeatable, versatile Z-Probes
Published:Inventions

Middle may be difficult, depending on how your carriages attach to your pillars. So choose high or low to minimise the Bowden tube length whilst still keeping it reasonably straight.

Maybe go low with a short tube most of the time. On the few (I assume) occasions when you want to print something tall, change the tube to a long one>

Thanks for all the input! It looks like I'm pretty well of as it is then. I have to rebuild some to make room for ( much needed) structural reinforcements but it is only a set of new printed parts.
I will look in to a pivot for the extruder, that could probably shorten the tube by a third.

Cheers!

Assuming your tube needs to reach the top (during homing moves), the shortest distance is usually a hair above 50% between the bed and the endstops (the extra few percent are the bend required during homing), at the top requires a bowden length of 100% of the machine to reach the bottom, at the bottom requires 100 to reach the top during homing, half is the play. But seriously, for $5 worth of hobby baloons and some duct tape you could fly your extruder and get significantly better results. My flying extruder is literally balloon animal baloons tied to the carriages and then taped to the extruder, a 50mm bowden tube and thats that. Way better than stationary.