Cheapest way to convert to bowden?

While removing my 600g extruder assembly from the X carriage the other day I had a thought. Would it be possible to remove the extruder as is from the carriage, mount it on the frame, and convert it to bowden.

I currently have a E3D lite6 hotend and only print with regular PLA and ABS. My thought was to take a fitting and put either in a printed adapter that takes the place of a hotend in the grove mount or tap the extruder itself for the fitting.

The only other modification would be to print a new hotend mount and push the tube through the hotend.

Has anyone done this before? Would converting to bowden be beneficial for a 600g extruder assembly using a 76 oz/in stepper?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/10/2015 10:15PM by gmckee.

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

I did that to add a second extruder to my Prusa i3. But I was disappointed by the print quality from the Bowden setup and also found that two color prints are nice but not my regular task. Also printing with soluble support material hasn't come up yet. ( Or has been avoided on subconscious level )
So I went back to oldschool direct drive and have the best PETG prints ever. ( little to no stringing and blobs )
The weight of the extruder is not important, since I have to print slow with PETG anyways.
-Olaf

How much does your Y carriage and bed weigh? It is probably more than the extruder.

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

I have just switched to a bowden set up
I used this mount for the extruder:
[www.thingiverse.com]

It uses existing holes and bolts so no modification is needed, couple that with a hot end holder suitable for your carriage and you're away!

I am happy with my set up, still calibrating the auto probing (what are they calling auto bed leveling these days?)
But have printed out a go pro mount prior to the calibration and it was better than my direct wade's ever was, though I blame a cheap hobbed bolt for that.

I don't think that the weight saving has helped at all, but I like it for having an easy to access hotend, it felt like I was dismantling my wade extruder several times every print. Though maybe the Z axis has less stress now I suppose...

Good luck!

EDIT: Here's a picture demonstrating, I had to drill a hole through the back leg for the filament to go through, but no problems otherwise


Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/14/2015 06:46PM by jimmyclarke.