Cheap chinese E3D replica print head

I was very skeptical when i saw a replica E3D head on ebay for £9.99 (free delivery), surely it couldn't be complete, properly assembled or any good. so i bought one to find out!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/231470333128 (seems price has gone up to £12.99)

It did come complete and assembled with a heater, thermistor and pneumatic push fit type bowden type attachment, so i knocked up a quick mount for it, wired it up and ...

Well blow me down, it works great!! unbelievable for under a tenner.

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Limited Edition Red RS Ormerod 1 #144 of 200 - RRP 1.09fw
iamburnys Ormerod Upgrades Github
Follow me on ThingiVerse My Designs

Do you really see a big improvement in print quality with the E3D style head?

I've been looking at their two color solution, thinking it might be nicer than the RRP kit; but it'll be a while before I think I jump to two filaments.

It has a 0.4mm nozzle on this one so the detail is slightly finer.
I think the more pointed shape of the brass tip helps too, overhangs and bridges might be slightly better because of this, the brass tip is a bit longer so there is also more room for cooling ducts (my next development )

On the down side the nozzle does heat up slower, this might be the cheap heater cartridge or the hole in the aluminium heat block is slightly to large so surface contact with the heater is reduced.

I have a genuine E3D with the mini kossel I am currently building, the construction and parts are unsurprisingly far superior, this is obviously reflected in the price.

I kind if decided that i'm going to skip the multi-nozzle/colour and wait out the development of a release grade colour filament mixer, I recently read a student end of year project (from 2012) by James Corbett on the subject, a very interesting read, also see this forum thread [forums.reprap.org]

Matt

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/10/2015 05:14AM by iamburny.

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Limited Edition Red RS Ormerod 1 #144 of 200 - RRP 1.09fw
iamburnys Ormerod Upgrades Github
Follow me on ThingiVerse My Designs

Quote
iamburny
I kind if decided that i'm going to skip the multi-nozzle/colour and wait out the development of a release grade colour filament mixer, I recently read a student end of year project (from 2012) by James Corbett on the subject, a very interesting read, also see this forum thread [forums.reprap.org]

Matt

I'm intrigued by the idea of a mixing hot end, However I believe that a 'perfect world' printer setup would still have to have 2 nozzles, 1 of them mixing and the other for soluble supports or larger nozzle size for infill. I think it's fairly clear that soluble support material could never be used in a mixing end.....

However, I'm not convinced that any of the mixing ends I've seen so far will work very well. I know E3D is designing one, but I know little about it. RRP is talking about a 3 filament mixer, but to get 'true' full color range, I think you'd have to have a minimum of 4 (Cyan, Yellow, Magenta, and white), and since Cyan Yellow and Magenta are rarely 'perfect' they probably won't make a good looking black, so you'd probably need 5 filaments feeding into the mixer, and sadly that will max out the number of supported extruder drives with the DueX4, and is impossible with the duet shield..... and if you need some sort of a stepper motor for the mixing action...... well you're not going to have a second nozzle, but if I got full color range, I'd live with having to print standard supports.

Also, I don't know that any filament makers currently make 'true' CYM filaments for this purpose. You don't necessarily need to have CYM, you could use RYB or any other primary color scheme (one would probably work best, but I'd have to think about which), but you'd have to get pure colored filaments. They'd have to be precision made specifically for mixing, with the dyes in the right ratios to mix proportionally. Right now many primary colors have other dyes mixed in to get a color that is visually appealing, because that's what sells, i.e. reds and blues tend to have black added to make them a little darker, which people like.
That said, if mixing hot ends become more mainstream, I'm sure someone will start making filaments for it; but it'll probably be expensive. I imagine color calibrating such a printer would also be difficult.

Don't get me wrong, a 3 mixing end would be great; you can do gradients and all kinds of cool stuff. But I think the true pipe-dream of mixing ends (in a RepRap price range) is the ability to drop a fully textured 3D model into slic3r and get a full color print, no hand painting required.

Quote
shadow651
Don't get me wrong, a 3 mixing end would be great; you can do gradients and all kinds of cool stuff. But I think the true pipe-dream of mixing ends (in a RepRap price range) is the ability to drop a fully textured 3D model into slic3r and get a full color print, no hand painting required.

That's not going to be attainable with a mixing head due to the fact that colour changes are not instantaneous. So at best you could have different large discrete areas in different colours (like a cartoon) - and that only by printing each colour as separate islands with their own perimeters which will result in a non-smooth surface. Full CYM mixing is necessary only if you want photo-like reproduction with gradations of colour. For solid colour blocks it should be sufficient to find the mix needed to achieve the few block colours that you want.

Dave

All very valid points, I'm sure someone will get there.

I wonder if anyone has explored coloring a plain natural colored filament with ink at extrusion time?

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Limited Edition Red RS Ormerod 1 #144 of 200 - RRP 1.09fw
iamburnys Ormerod Upgrades Github
Follow me on ThingiVerse My Designs

Quote
iamburny
All very valid points, I'm sure someone will get there.

I wonder if anyone has explored coloring a plain natural colored filament with ink at extrusion time?

I heard someone mention the possibility at one point, but I don't think anyone's tried making a prototype.


I almost think a pellet extruder would be ideal for that type of coloring.... just have 4 hoppers with concentrated dye pellets, and 1 with polymer pellets above the feeder for the extruder..... color changes would probably be gradual by default... Might have to purge (probably just dump unwanted colors into the infil) The only difficulty would be the delay between hopper action and actual extrusion, the firmware/slic3r would have to know the purge rate of the extruder and mix ahead of time....

Quote
dmould

That's not going to be attainable with a mixing head due to the fact that colour changes are not instantaneous

Just occured to me as I was writing the above, that isn't necessarily an issue, if at color changes we purge the nozzle by working on infill or a non-visible internal perimeter.... or more wasteful we just purge wrong colors over an empty corner of the bed. Sure we'd have to know the 'purge volume' of the mixer, but that shouldn't be too hard to figure out by experimentation.
Again, slic3r or firmware would have to be giving mixing ratios ahead of when it's actually needed.... so software side it might be complicated.
Of course your print might have many more seems, but you'd only have it happen at a border between substantially different colors, which might make it less noticeable....

Quote
iamburny
All very valid points, I'm sure someone will get there.

I wonder if anyone has explored coloring a plain natural colored filament with ink at extrusion time?

When FFF printing was in it's infancy that was the only way to get coloured prints (coloured filaments were not readily obtainable). The usual way was to mount one or more felt tip marker pens so that they were in contact with the filament as it entered the extruder. It can be used instead of stocking different colours - I have never tried it but I should think it is (a) expensive in marker pens and (b) does not give a consistent colour throughout the print.

see [reprap.org]

Dave

Quote
iamburny

It did come complete and assembled with a heater, thermistor and pneumatic push fit type bowden type attachment, so i knocked up a quick mount for it, wired it up and ...

Could you make the stl file available for the mounting adapter?

Thanks

Peter

Quote
pantau

Quote
iamburny

It did come complete and assembled with a heater, thermistor and pneumatic push fit type bowden type attachment, so i knocked up a quick mount for it, wired it up and ...

Could you make the stl file available for the mounting adapter?

Thanks

Peter

hear ye hear ye

i orderd one to, should be deliverd in a month

Quote
pantau
..Could you make the stl file available for the mounting adapter?

There's one available on thingiverse, its marked as a V6 though so dunno if it will fit..

E3D V6 Hot end Mount for Ormerod:
[www.thingiverse.com]

Erik

did you need to do any commissioning of the hotend or was it a straight swap?

Interesting when I look at my ebay purchase history for the hotend it now states:

"We had to remove this listing from the site and you're not required to complete the transaction. If you've already sent payment, the sale should process as normal and you don't have anything to worry about. If you have any questions about delivery, please check tracking or contact your seller. If you run into any trouble along the way eBay is here to help. Please visit the Resolution Centre to help resolve any problems you may encounter."

Mine arrived earlier this week, maybe I was lucky.

Ezwul

Quote
ezwul
Interesting when I look at my ebay purchase history for the hotend it now states:

"We had to remove this listing from the site and you're not required to complete the transaction. If you've already sent payment, the sale should process as normal and you don't have anything to worry about. If you have any questions about delivery, please check tracking or contact your seller. If you run into any trouble along the way eBay is here to help. Please visit the Resolution Centre to help resolve any problems you may encounter."

Mine arrived earlier this week, maybe I was lucky.

Ezwul

sounds wierd.. i got mine today.

You normally see that message when someone has complained to Ebay that
a copy or imitation is being sold . It gives you the right to back out of the deal
if you were expecting the real mcCoy

Don

Quote
ezwul
Interesting when I look at my ebay purchase history for the hotend it now states:

"We had to remove this listing from the site and you're not required to complete the transaction. If you've already sent payment, the sale should process as normal and you don't have anything to worry about. If you have any questions about delivery, please check tracking or contact your seller. If you run into any trouble along the way eBay is here to help. Please visit the Resolution Centre to help resolve any problems you may encounter."

Mine arrived earlier this week, maybe I was lucky.

Ezwul

Quote
denshine
did you need to do any commissioning of the hotend or was it a straight swap?

No commissioning needed, just had to trim the supplied cables and crimp compatible terminals on. simples!!

Quote
pantau
Could you make the stl file available for the mounting adapter?

Thanks

Peter

I'll post my STL and SCAD on thingiverse an link it here shortly.

Quote
ormerod168
There's one available on thingiverse, its marked as a V6 though so dunno if it will fit..

E3D V6 Hot end Mount for Ormerod:

This head is not the same size as the E3D heads, just looks similar, so this wont fit.

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Limited Edition Red RS Ormerod 1 #144 of 200 - RRP 1.09fw
iamburnys Ormerod Upgrades Github
Follow me on ThingiVerse My Designs

As promised, this thing -

[www.thingiverse.com]

is the mount pictured in the first post, in the picture it is attached to my custom carriage, however i have added holes to attach it to the RRP carriage but i haven't printed or tested this.

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Limited Edition Red RS Ormerod 1 #144 of 200 - RRP 1.09fw
iamburnys Ormerod Upgrades Github
Follow me on ThingiVerse My Designs

FYI - this looks like the one i bought, obviously I cant be 100% it is the same.

[www.ebay.co.uk]

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Limited Edition Red RS Ormerod 1 #144 of 200 - RRP 1.09fw
iamburnys Ormerod Upgrades Github
Follow me on ThingiVerse My Designs

Looks like cheap chinese E3D replica has just been reduced on ebay.

its now £8.98 for all three nozzle sizes 0.3mm 0.4mm & 0.5mm and it is free delivery from China.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171728412436

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Limited Edition Red RS Ormerod 1 #144 of 200 - RRP 1.09fw
iamburnys Ormerod Upgrades Github
Follow me on ThingiVerse My Designs

my cheap chinese replica setup works really well.

Hi denshine,

also bought one of these. Now I see you have a double fan setup: Could you please direct me to a link where I can find the according stl files?

Thanks for your help.

Best,
Chris.

Hi Chris,

I am also working on a design at the moment. From where did you get your replica? It seems that the dimensions are not always the same.

Regards,

Sven

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Slicer: Simplify3D 4.0; sometimes CraftWare 1.14 or Cura 2.7
Delta with Duet-WiFi, FW: 1.20.1RC2; mini-sensor board by dc42 for auto-leveling
Ormerod common modifications: Mini-sensor board by dc42, aluminum X-arm, 0.4 mm nozzle E3D like, 2nd fan, Z stepper nut M5 x 15, Herringbone gears, Z-axis bearing at top, spring loaded extruder with pneumatic fitting, Y belt axis tensioner
Ormerod 2: FW: 1.19-dc42 on Duet-WiFi. own build, modifications: GT2-belts, silicone heat-bed, different motors and so on. Printed parts: bed support, (PSU holder) and Y-feet.
Ormerod 1: FW: 1.15c-dc42 on 1k Duet-Board. Modifications: Aluminium bed-support, (nearly) all parts reprinted in PLA/ ABS, and so on.

Check aliexpress ... you will find tons of them!

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----- Making the world smarter @ www.xetal.eu
----- Helping entrepreneurs @ www.fralke.com

You did not get it. I asked to See if he could have the same type or if his nozzle may differ.

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Slicer: Simplify3D 4.0; sometimes CraftWare 1.14 or Cura 2.7
Delta with Duet-WiFi, FW: 1.20.1RC2; mini-sensor board by dc42 for auto-leveling
Ormerod common modifications: Mini-sensor board by dc42, aluminum X-arm, 0.4 mm nozzle E3D like, 2nd fan, Z stepper nut M5 x 15, Herringbone gears, Z-axis bearing at top, spring loaded extruder with pneumatic fitting, Y belt axis tensioner
Ormerod 2: FW: 1.19-dc42 on Duet-WiFi. own build, modifications: GT2-belts, silicone heat-bed, different motors and so on. Printed parts: bed support, (PSU holder) and Y-feet.
Ormerod 1: FW: 1.15c-dc42 on 1k Duet-Board. Modifications: Aluminium bed-support, (nearly) all parts reprinted in PLA/ ABS, and so on.

If you have the dimensions, ask the supplier.

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----- Making the world smarter @ www.xetal.eu
----- Helping entrepreneurs @ www.fralke.com

I am desperate. I have two replica here. I only would like to compare the offer from Chris with mine to see if he would be able to use my parts which I will publish soon.

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Slicer: Simplify3D 4.0; sometimes CraftWare 1.14 or Cura 2.7
Delta with Duet-WiFi, FW: 1.20.1RC2; mini-sensor board by dc42 for auto-leveling
Ormerod common modifications: Mini-sensor board by dc42, aluminum X-arm, 0.4 mm nozzle E3D like, 2nd fan, Z stepper nut M5 x 15, Herringbone gears, Z-axis bearing at top, spring loaded extruder with pneumatic fitting, Y belt axis tensioner
Ormerod 2: FW: 1.19-dc42 on Duet-WiFi. own build, modifications: GT2-belts, silicone heat-bed, different motors and so on. Printed parts: bed support, (PSU holder) and Y-feet.
Ormerod 1: FW: 1.15c-dc42 on 1k Duet-Board. Modifications: Aluminium bed-support, (nearly) all parts reprinted in PLA/ ABS, and so on.

Hi Sven,

sorry, for not responding - was out for business

I have bought that one:

[www.aliexpress.com]

I did not receive it so far (ordered like 3 weeks ago) and I am more than happy to test your setup! I was already working on some holder - but always doing double/triple work is also annoying.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/19/2015 09:42AM by cpbee.

That is cheap. I paid more than the doubled price. It seems that the heater cartridge my differ but the rest could be okay. I want to check one thing as I first wanted to add some additional guidance for the wires. Maybe this is missing at my model and I should add this.

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Slicer: Simplify3D 4.0; sometimes CraftWare 1.14 or Cura 2.7
Delta with Duet-WiFi, FW: 1.20.1RC2; mini-sensor board by dc42 for auto-leveling
Ormerod common modifications: Mini-sensor board by dc42, aluminum X-arm, 0.4 mm nozzle E3D like, 2nd fan, Z stepper nut M5 x 15, Herringbone gears, Z-axis bearing at top, spring loaded extruder with pneumatic fitting, Y belt axis tensioner
Ormerod 2: FW: 1.19-dc42 on Duet-WiFi. own build, modifications: GT2-belts, silicone heat-bed, different motors and so on. Printed parts: bed support, (PSU holder) and Y-feet.
Ormerod 1: FW: 1.15c-dc42 on 1k Duet-Board. Modifications: Aluminium bed-support, (nearly) all parts reprinted in PLA/ ABS, and so on.

I just published my version. It is not tested at the moment.
[www.thingiverse.com]

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Slicer: Simplify3D 4.0; sometimes CraftWare 1.14 or Cura 2.7
Delta with Duet-WiFi, FW: 1.20.1RC2; mini-sensor board by dc42 for auto-leveling
Ormerod common modifications: Mini-sensor board by dc42, aluminum X-arm, 0.4 mm nozzle E3D like, 2nd fan, Z stepper nut M5 x 15, Herringbone gears, Z-axis bearing at top, spring loaded extruder with pneumatic fitting, Y belt axis tensioner
Ormerod 2: FW: 1.19-dc42 on Duet-WiFi. own build, modifications: GT2-belts, silicone heat-bed, different motors and so on. Printed parts: bed support, (PSU holder) and Y-feet.
Ormerod 1: FW: 1.15c-dc42 on 1k Duet-Board. Modifications: Aluminium bed-support, (nearly) all parts reprinted in PLA/ ABS, and so on.