E3D V6
Re: E3D V6
That looks great, jim. thanks for doing this. I ordered the v6 a few days ago so the timing couldn't be better for me.
Re: E3D V6
ahh no problem, i had fun doin it. i've been wanting to do something with some strange surfaces like that duct for awhile now. its a whole set of tools in rhino that i have barely touched and needed to get more familiar with. when your v6 shows up i am curious about something and you'll have to let me know....there is a black plastic insert in the top of the hot end which on a bowden setup it is supposed to hold the tube. on the non bowden setup its still there and the ptfe tube is supposed to go down inside i would assume and gets cut off flush with the top of the black plastic...i guess?? so basically there is just a small piece of ptfe tubing that goes down inside? also let me know if it comes with the tube. i dont see it listed in what comes with it or is it the same size as the tubing we use on the m2 now or some special stuff? well when yours comes in post up some info on it.
Re: E3D V6
As I understand it, Jim, the "universal" v6 is for both the bowden and direct setups, and they don't differentiate between the two when you order. So I suppose that the universal v6 must come with the PTFE tubing. If not, I guess I'll just find somewhere to buy some.
It looks to me like the trick with the PTFE tubing is to get it all the way down through the heatsink and into the heat break, but the way they show the setup in the blog on e3d-online.com is that the tubing extends as far as it can go into the driver, cut off as close to the extruder motor gear as possible. That way, the only part of the filament not inside the tubing is just a very short section where the gear grabs it. That's what makes it work so well (at least that's what they claim) with flexible filament---no place for the filament to buckle up. Now it looks like it might be a bit of a pain to get the filament into the PTFE tube somewhere inside the drive mount, but that seems to be the theory behind getting flexible filament printing at much higher speeds.
The blog on the E3D website is very detailed, and thorough, and makes a good read.
It looks to me like the trick with the PTFE tubing is to get it all the way down through the heatsink and into the heat break, but the way they show the setup in the blog on e3d-online.com is that the tubing extends as far as it can go into the driver, cut off as close to the extruder motor gear as possible. That way, the only part of the filament not inside the tubing is just a very short section where the gear grabs it. That's what makes it work so well (at least that's what they claim) with flexible filament---no place for the filament to buckle up. Now it looks like it might be a bit of a pain to get the filament into the PTFE tube somewhere inside the drive mount, but that seems to be the theory behind getting flexible filament printing at much higher speeds.
The blog on the E3D website is very detailed, and thorough, and makes a good read.
Re: E3D V6
will do. i'm pretty much flying blind here myself. I didn't study the design. It just looked slick and people have said good things about it, so when I read the bit about flexible filament being supported (with ptfe tube) the whole path length, I was sold.
Re: E3D V6
yeah if you look at their little cut away of their blue plastic extruder example, thats basically what we have with the stock makergear filament drive. the stock drive has just as much support as theirs. the ptfe down in the hot end where things might get sticky will probably be really helpful. well we will find out i guess.
Re: E3D V6
toby and anyone else who ordered....did you get your v6 and get it installed?
Re: E3D V6
Mine came a couple of days ago. I just had time to open it up and have a look at the pieces and do the first little bit of assembly. It didn't come with any instructions. I assume they're on the web site, but I was following this video instead:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr02pG58gaU
There is that bit of black plastic that fits neatly in the top of the hot end. And it comes with a short length of tubing (feels like ptfe), which also fits neatly into the hot end all the way down through the heat break. According to the video that's just for a Bowdsen setup but as I understand it it's also good for flexible filament. I don't know where to cut it off though. I'm thinking the idea is that this tubing goes up through the extruder mount to get as close to the gear as possible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr02pG58gaU
There is that bit of black plastic that fits neatly in the top of the hot end. And it comes with a short length of tubing (feels like ptfe), which also fits neatly into the hot end all the way down through the heat break. According to the video that's just for a Bowdsen setup but as I understand it it's also good for flexible filament. I don't know where to cut it off though. I'm thinking the idea is that this tubing goes up through the extruder mount to get as close to the gear as possible.
Re: E3D V6
well in our setup the ptfe tube will go down into the heat break and all the way up to the top of the black plastic. in my modded silvers filament drive i made there is a notch to accept the black plastic piece. thats as far up as your going to get to the drive gear. there is really no need to get any closer with it. the filament drive supports the filament really well. horizontal printed holes are never on the money so when you print a new drive for that v6 then the best thing you can do is run a 3/32" drill bit through the drive from top to bottom so you have a smooth perfect round hole. good to know it comes with the short ptfe tube. i was wondering about that. keep us posted
Re: E3D V6
Mine arrived a week ago---just in time for me to go on vacation for a week. I unpacked everything, checked it out, printed Jim's v6-ready filament drive, etc. Now I'm waiting for a few spare parts I ordered from Digi-key and Amazon to arrive, but I could only order today. So it will be a few more days.
I hate video instructions so I've been following the E3D written instructions, which seem to be pretty thorough. According to the way the thermistor hole is drilled on the v6, if you put the longer part of the heater block facing toward the back, then all the wiring runs up the left side, which appears to be opposite of the way it is on earlier E3D extruders. That seems to be the only major difference. It doesn't come with any connectors, just bare wires from the heater and thermistor, so it's all the Molex and 2-pin header connectors that are on order right now, plus some spare ball bearings and shoulder screws for extra filament drives. If anybody wants me to post a bill of materials, just let me know.
Jim's filament drive does have the extra space at top for the black plastic insert. The insert is for Bowden drives, but since it holds the PTFE tubing in place, I guess it's best to keep it in. If I have any complaint about Jim's filament drive, it would be that there is no hole for the PTFE tubing from that black plastic collar up to the gear drive. I think that it would be better to run the PTFE tubing as far as possible instead of running the filament through a 2mm hole in the printed part, especially when that hole is printed sideways. It can be drilled out to ensure that it's round, smooth, and clears 2mm, but I don't think it can ever be as smooth as the inside of a teflon tube. As it is, though, I'm mainly worried about the alignment from the exit hole of the printed part going into the PTFE tube. If it's not perfectly aligned, it may lose all of the advantage for flexible filament. I could drill a 4mm counterbore partway in, but then I'd probably just be making it more likely to be misaligned. What do you think, Jim and Toby?
I hate video instructions so I've been following the E3D written instructions, which seem to be pretty thorough. According to the way the thermistor hole is drilled on the v6, if you put the longer part of the heater block facing toward the back, then all the wiring runs up the left side, which appears to be opposite of the way it is on earlier E3D extruders. That seems to be the only major difference. It doesn't come with any connectors, just bare wires from the heater and thermistor, so it's all the Molex and 2-pin header connectors that are on order right now, plus some spare ball bearings and shoulder screws for extra filament drives. If anybody wants me to post a bill of materials, just let me know.
Jim's filament drive does have the extra space at top for the black plastic insert. The insert is for Bowden drives, but since it holds the PTFE tubing in place, I guess it's best to keep it in. If I have any complaint about Jim's filament drive, it would be that there is no hole for the PTFE tubing from that black plastic collar up to the gear drive. I think that it would be better to run the PTFE tubing as far as possible instead of running the filament through a 2mm hole in the printed part, especially when that hole is printed sideways. It can be drilled out to ensure that it's round, smooth, and clears 2mm, but I don't think it can ever be as smooth as the inside of a teflon tube. As it is, though, I'm mainly worried about the alignment from the exit hole of the printed part going into the PTFE tube. If it's not perfectly aligned, it may lose all of the advantage for flexible filament. I could drill a 4mm counterbore partway in, but then I'd probably just be making it more likely to be misaligned. What do you think, Jim and Toby?
Re: E3D V6
hmmm well since i dont have a v6 in hand i cant say really. i would think though that for alignment it would not matter if the 2mm hole was in a teflon tube, a metal heat sink or a peek insulator. if its not lined up then its not lined up. i have never had an alignment issue with any hotend in the rsilver or the factory makergear filament drive. if i have a hangup its always the hole just below the drive gear. you can take a small countersink and put a small chamfer on the top of that tube the same way the makergear peek is. as for the other part of the drive, if you drill that hole out it should have a perfect smooth machined surface and i dont think that 3/8" is going to add much in additional friction. i have been known to be wrong though. the teflon tubes never have a perfect round or consistent diameter inside them. they vary a bit same way as filament does.