Installing an E3D V6 today, what do I need to know?

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helifrek
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Installing an E3D V6 today, what do I need to know?

Post by helifrek » Fri Feb 07, 2020 4:31 pm

Hello all,
after my V3b nozzle finally gave up (after 5 years) I felt it was time to change to something a little more widely used. It also helps that it is half the cost. Yesterday I assembled the E3D V6 and started the process of modifying the M2 to accept it. Since the V6 comes with a 24V fan I had to wire the case fan in series with some 12V leds and add a new wire directly to the 24V for the new fan, works like a charm! I printed a mount on my other printer to be able to fit the V6 to the M2.

Now to the fun part..... Today I will be putting it all together!

I know I have to adjust the Z height, do a PID autotune and e-step calibration

What else do I need to do? I believe I am going from a 40w heater to a 30w.... is that going to make a big difference? should I use the old M2 heater?

I have never updated the firmware, should I?

What else do I need to know!?

Thanks everyone!

airscapes
Posts: 594
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2018 11:36 pm

Re: Installing an E3D V6 today, what do I need to know?

Post by airscapes » Fri Feb 07, 2020 8:04 pm

Interested in seeing how this comes out but won't be much help.
What is the advantage of this hot end over the MG?
I have 4 hot ends I use regularly and a spare. Each hot end with a different nozzle .25 .35 .50 and .75. Swapping the entire hot end is not really hard and with practice can be completed quickly with PID setting saved in a file and offsets saved so you only need to print 1 or 2 squares to get that on the money.
However, if there is some advantage to changing to an aftermarket hot end I am interested!
I normally print ABS, PETG, NinjaFlex, Cheetah and occasionally PLA and Nylon.
Lots of luck and keep us posted as you progress!

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helifrek
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Re: Installing an E3D V6 today, what do I need to know?

Post by helifrek » Sat Feb 08, 2020 8:14 am

well, it's almost 1am...... progress has been made :)

The mount made on my other printer, which I just added BLtouch to and have not taken the time to calibrate........ came out usable but not great, took alot of work to get everything to fit! it is temporary until I can print a new mount using the M2 but it works.

The E3D fan and heater do not have any connectors on them, just very long wires for connecting to the board. I added connectors because I wanted to be able to disconnect and replace parts without having to redo all of the wiring. The heater wire is very high quality so I swapped those out, it is a little shorter so I had to get creative but it actually came out looking good. While I had everything apart I took the time to clean up my wiring mess inside the electronics case. It looks a whole lot better!

On to the good news, once I pulled out all of my hair and got it all assembled and filament loaded :) I adjusted the Z-stop, ran PID autotune, and adjusted the nozzle size in S3D (haven't done e-steps yet) and that is it! it seems to be printing just fine, thin wall cube came out with the correct dimensions but was a little weak on the layer bonding. Tomorrow I am going to run some test prints to see what temp works best.

The benefits.... a whole E3D V6 only costs about $55, you get a silicone heat block "sock" instead of the weird fiberglass insulation stuff. It definitely looks alot better IMO. Tons of support! arguably one of the most popular hotends out there and parts are cheap. It has some aggressive cooling on the heatsink which means lower retraction.

So far I am happy with the initial results. I am sure I am missing something more advanced like flashing new firmware or something..... I read somewhere about changing the thermistor value using arduino. I think I am just going to roll with what I got and see what happens!

jjl1
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Re: Installing an E3D V6 today, what do I need to know?

Post by jjl1 » Sun Feb 14, 2021 2:34 am

Hey Helifrek
How did the hot end upgrade turn out?
You mentioned that you had to print a mount. Would you mind posting the file you used? Maybe a couple pictures would be helpful.
I been haveing some issues printing with PETG and I think the V4 hot end is just not up to the job.

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ednisley
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Re: Installing an E3D V6 today, what do I need to know?

Post by ednisley » Sun Feb 14, 2021 7:51 pm

jjl1 wrote:
Sun Feb 14, 2021 2:34 am
I think the V4 hot end is just not up to the job.
It's likely something else, because, well, "it works for me" printing exclusively eSun PETG for the last half-dozen years …

Admittedly, I'm compulsive about the setup, but the V4 (and the M2, for that matter) pretty much just work without much attention.

airscapes
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Re: Installing an E3D V6 today, what do I need to know?

Post by airscapes » Sun Feb 14, 2021 11:16 pm

jjl1 wrote:
Sun Feb 14, 2021 2:34 am
Hey Helifrek
How did the hot end upgrade turn out?
You mentioned that you had to print a mount. Would you mind posting the file you used? Maybe a couple pictures would be helpful.
I been haveing some issues printing with PETG and I think the V4 hot end is just not up to the job.
No, print PETG all the time with M2 V4 hot end. Also ABS , Nylon, Nijatech and the dreaded nozzle clogging PLA once in a blue moon

ketil
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Re: Installing an E3D V6 today, what do I need to know?

Post by ketil » Mon May 10, 2021 8:45 pm

jjl1 wrote:
Sun Feb 14, 2021 2:34 am
Hey Helifrek
How did the hot end upgrade turn out?
You mentioned that you had to print a mount. Would you mind posting the file you used? Maybe a couple pictures would be helpful.
I been haveing some issues printing with PETG and I think the V4 hot end is just not up to the job.
Here's a quick video on how I adjusted the original M2 filament drive to fit the E3D v6. Once the details are figured out, it's pretty simple. :) I'm also attaching the STL.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gN9KcWgVYpw

I'm not saying E3D is better than the original hotend. My original hotend has been running on and off since 2012, but price including shipping, tax, duties etc from MakerGear to Norway is prohibitive, so I'm switching to a more readily available option.
Attachments
Filament Drive 1.75mm - E3D v6.stl
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