SoliForum - 3D Printing Community — Upgrading extruder motor to 0.9deg Stepper.

Re: Upgrading extruder motor to 0.9deg Stepper.

2014-06-04T16:53:42Z

Very nice, thank you for the update.

This look like a poor man version of Bulldog upgrade

Re: Upgrading extruder motor to 0.9deg Stepper.

2014-06-04T14:44:53Z

Yesterday I was able to successfully complete the install on the SD4.

The extruder motor metal bracket was cut with a dremel on the front side (attaching picture). This allowed for the slightly longer motor length but required a more sturdy connection between the motor and the rear of the bracket. To take care of that I used the original (and really long) rear screws, the ones that had a hand full of washers and went through the fan/heatsink/bracket/motor. I removed all the washers and cut about 6.5mm (don't quote me) from the screw to prevent it from reaching the front of the motor. Now when it came time to install the heatsink and fan on the rear of the motor I attached the heatsink first. Bending the fins a bit allowed the screw head to fall into the heatsink (attaching picture) and I could tighten the screws until the motor/bracket/heatsink were secure and I felt confident it would hold up over the long run.

After all that it was time to put the fans, pulley, hot end, etc. together as expected.

The VREF had to be adjusted for the new motor and the steps per mm in EEPROM was doubled.

All in all I'm super happy I did this mod. The walls look great and have a beautiful smooth texture.

Re: Upgrading extruder motor to 0.9deg Stepper.

2014-06-04T00:35:51Z

I've done this (on an SD3):
* Note the current required for the same torque changes a fair bit, so be prepared to adjust Vref a fair way from the posted numbers.
* My motor was quite a bit longer, and needed some fiddling around with the spacers and bolts to get the fan and heatsink back on.
* No firmware change required, just eeprom settings via R-H. Start by doubling the E steps-per-mm, then tune the v-ref and do another steps-per-mm calibration. Done, back to printing.
* My motor was heavier - the extra mass is a bit of a thing, the max speed I can get on the stock carriage setup with acceptable overshoot is reduced, but the walls are a bit tidier. Unfortunately don't have a before/after pic though.

Re: Upgrading extruder motor to 0.9deg Stepper.

2014-06-03T22:40:09Z

I don't know what the mounting is like on an SD4, but I left off the heat sink to get the space I needed on my SD2. It seems to work OK with just the fan.

Re: Upgrading extruder motor to 0.9deg Stepper.

2014-06-03T20:59:40Z

I ordered one as well. Looks like I've got a bit of work to get it adapted to the SD4. The new motor is a few mm longer than the original so the metal mounting bracket is too small.

Re: Upgrading extruder motor to 0.9deg Stepper.

2014-05-30T18:36:14Z

Thank Ian,
I got prime so i went ahead and got one from Amazon.
I guess i'll try em out also.

Did you do the upgraded already?
Any improvement?
I'm guess all i have to do is change the firmware from 3200 mirco step to 6400 micro step?

If everything fit right with some minor FW changes, this will be my poor man version of the Bulldog upgrade
I'm sure it won't be as good but at least it's something.

Re: Upgrading extruder motor to 0.9deg Stepper.

2014-05-30T17:20:52Z

I bought one from Sparkfun, it's a little cheaper there - https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10846

Re: Upgrading extruder motor to 0.9deg Stepper.

2014-05-30T13:07:29Z

Found more stuffs about it here.
http://forums.reprap.org/read.php?1,127345,127486

I guessing it will be better.
But reading it more and more just hurt my head....

Upgrading extruder motor to 0.9deg Stepper.

2014-05-30T12:32:10Z

Do anyone know if i upgrade my current stock SD3 (1.8deg NEMA 17) to a 0.9deg will improve anything?
I found it on amazon and see a review that someone had used it on SD3 and got good result from it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007R9 … &psc=1

Does anyone here ever try such mod?