SOLVED - E3D V6 fan duct placement ("Sturdy" Mendel90)?

Just got my E3D-V6 hotend last night, which I am hoping will give me less trouble and better performance than my troublesome J-head Mk. V-BV (as well as expending the variety of feed stock I can use! ).

Since I built the "sturdy" model, which uses 8mm threaded and 10mm smooth rods, finding E3D-V6 accessories to print out on Thingiverse has proven to be a challenge. I printed out a new X-carriage and extruder block that are supposed to be used with the E3D and the "sturdy" Mendel90, along with a fan duct that is supposed to screw onto the new X-carriage.

As it turns out, the extruder block is fine, same as Nophead's except the "socket" in the bottom is shallower for the E3D. Problem is, the fan duct that goes with the X-carriage turned out to be for the longer (and fatter) V5, so it won't work with the V6. I am having trouble figuring out where to put the cooling duct for the V6 where it won't interfere with anything underneath the X carriage or to the sides. Has anyone else put a V6 on their "sturdy", and what did you do for the fan duct?

EDIT: I found that if I re-orient the fan duct so that the "lip" is down instead of up, I can fit it to the right side of the hotend. There is JUST enough room for the bolt and wing-nut, although if I want to remove my extruder I will need to unsnap the fan duct from the hotend. Having the "lip" downward gives me a bit more purchase for that (though my original reason was to provide clearance on the X carriage). Now I need to find a print cooling fan duct that will fit the "sturdy " AND the E3D-V6 so I can print PLA...

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/20/2015 04:32PM by Rich K..

You might find these useful as a replacement for the wing-nuts: [hydraraptor.blogspot.co.uk]

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

Neat idea, Nop! The clearance issue is more from the top of the fan duct to the bottom of the bolt, though, rather than a side-clearance issue. The end of the bolt just barely clears the top of the fan when I have the duct "inverted" from what the assembly instructions suggest. I'd have to unsnap the fan duct when removing the extruder anyway, since the hole in the X carriage isn't big enough to remove the whole thing at once. The hole, in fact, is BARELY big enough to fit the fan and duct through when detached from the hotend.

Other than that, thus far I really like the E3D-V6. It seems to make a more even line than the J-head Mk. V-BV, and flows better, too. I've lost about 11mm of Z height (it's about 187.2mm right now), but I don't print really tall prints so it's not a major issue right now.

On my sturdy I swapped in a shorter bolt on the fan side. I also have a thiner version of nophead's knob nut but which I made by being ham fisted. I nocked it of the bed at the point u insert the nuts... But it works perfectly.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/2015 06:14AM by ElectroWomble.

While we're on the subject of fan ducts, this looked like a neat way around the clearance issues on the E3D, as far as a print cooling fan goes:

Flexible hotend cooling fan duct - Thingiverse

Only thing I am wondering is, where would I aim the air stream when printing PLA? At the nozzle? Or at the print next to the nozzle? Or someplace else?