New extruder/hot end

Im currently using one of those cheapo MK8 extruders (see link at bottom). I have replaced the drive gear, the fan, adjusted the stepper-driver and adjusted the tension. I spend hours and hours trying to get it to just do one print. I'm really tired of this. I am thinking that i just need a nicer extruder.

I have three questions:

1) Do i actually need a new extruder, or is this opperator error
2) What is the best budget extruder. budget is a big concern, i am a broke college student
3) Do i need a new hot-end? or can just keep using the same one?




[www.ebay.com]

1) It's a cheap Chinese extruder, hotend, fan and motor. Most likely the extender's fault. However, if the rest of your printer has just the same amount of issues, it could be the operator.
2) It depends what kind of printer you have. If it uses the standard X carriage than a Wade's Extruder will probably be your best bet. Hobbed bolt, some hardware, bearings, springs, and the printed parts and you can have yourself a nice new extruder. If the motor on your current extruder is fine you can use it for the new one.
3) If you go with a wades extruder you will need a new hotend. Look for a grove mount compatible hotend like E3D or J-Head hotends.

You still may be able to salvage the current extruder though. What are the problems you are having? Maybe the vast community can help you figure out the problem.

---

Prusa i3 Rework - Ramps 1.4 - E3d Lite6 - Full Graphic LCD Controller

I used this extruder with good results until I went for dual extruder.
You can't use a gear with a different diameter. The filament guide holes are out off line then.

IIRC, the gear is flat, but the idler bearing has a hub. make sure this hub is in line with the M6-heatbarrier.
I had to add a washer between housing and idler-arm to achieve this.

Also, I wasn't aware of the function of the screw on top of the arm.
It took a while to find out it was for adjusting the idler tension

You didn't describe, what problem you actually have with the extruder?
-Olaf

Hi guys,

To me, this extruder is close o be the worst ever.
The heatbreak reciever is directly mounted on the motor.
So the motor acts as a thermal mass ! This is not serious.
You need a very powerfull fan to make it work properly,
until you don't need to print ABS or do too loong prints.
Note the heatbreak is not a proper heatbreak, but simply a tube :
perfect to transmit the heat to the whole extruder !

Move to a proper feeder and hotend ensemble.
You should be able to reuse the whole idler part, the hobbed gear,
the heat cartridge, the thermistor, the fan, and possibly the heatblock and the nozzles.
Most of the issues you've got comes from the heatbreak and the heatsink system.
Maybe you can reuse a maximum of parts on a bowden extruder.
Try to find a friend with a printer to print the missing parts (or find help at the nearest fablab).

Personaly, I like the wade extruder, it works first time, anytime.
But you should buy the missing parts (mostly hardware : hobbed bolt, bolts, 8*20 shaft and 608 bearings).

Buying a proper hotend won't cost you a lot of money.
You can find E3D V6 or Lite6 copies on aliexpress.com for less than 10 bucks.

++JM

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2015 11:08AM by J-Max.

Thanks guys, I think I will go with a Wade's geared extruder.

Two more questions before I go buy one:

1) does it have to be ABS? I can save money by printing it myself, I have accses to acouple printers through my university, but i can only use [bright pink] PLA.
2) if i buy the heat sink in the ebay link below, can I just attach that to my hotend?

PLA would work fine enough is you keep the cold end cold so it doesn't soften the plastic. Go ahead and print an extra set just in case you have a meltdown.

You probably could get the heatsink to fit the existing hotend but you will probably ending up scraping that as well. Look for a complete hotend with heatsink from the start.

---

Prusa i3 Rework - Ramps 1.4 - E3d Lite6 - Full Graphic LCD Controller

Thanks for all your help guys. I decided to just take the costs, I bought a full Greg Wade's Geared extruder kit. I could have done it cheaper by parting it out myself, but I just want to get my printer working well.