1 Topic by jasonthorn82

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Topic: EASY!!! E3D v6 w/custom wall mount

I recently bought the new E3D v6 and wanted to do the bowden setup to run NinjaFlex as well as others.  I wanted to post for people how I did it, with minimal tweaking and reusing some of the stock parts.  I am at work at the moment but will post pictures later. 
To start, I printed the "Davinci 1.0 E3D V6 Bowden X Carriage LM8UU" from thingiverse and ordered the LM8UU bearings.
I put together the E3D v6 and reused the heating element, I also kept the PCB to control the 5v fan, while running wires to the 12v source on the main board for the heat sink fan.
The main problem I read about people having was the firmware/software combo.  I was able to retain the XYZ firmware 1.1.G (due to driver issues controlling the Repetier FW), but I have been using the XYZ OpenMod to control everything beautifully. 
I drilled into the side wall to mount the stepper motor/airtripper assembly, and also used some rubber matting under the mounts to dampen the sound(printer is super quiet now).  The only problem I have come across is the stepper motor seems to be putting out too much filament and then pushes back, causing the filament to stop feeding and the gear to chew away in that one spot.  The solution I used was adjusting the feedrate to .8, but seems to have stopped 3/4 the way through a print, so I will again lower it to maybe .7 with more retraction to cut down some of the ozzing that happens.  The bed height was perfectly leveled before the upgrade, and with the adjustable height for the extruder head from the mount, gave me exactly the spacing I needed to do a .2 layer test print.  For the part of the print that did work, it looks 1000x better than before the upgrade.  I can't wait to run the bit of NinjaFlex that I have after I get everything dialed in. 
Pictures to come either tonight or tomorrow.

2 Reply by carl_m1968 (edited by carl_m1968 2015-04-17 03:45:12)

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Re: EASY!!! E3D v6 w/custom wall mount

You can't change feed gears without having access to the firmware so you can change the steps per mm on the extruder motor.  The only way to gain firmware access on the Da Vinci is to use Arduino and flash Repetier firmware to it.  Since your new extruder has a different size feed gear and a different number of teeth it changes the amount of filament fed in a given motor step.

The normal process is to disconnect the bowden tube from the hot end.  Feed the filament till it is flush with the end of the tube. Then tell the printer to push 100mm of filament.  Once done measure the amount pushed from the edge of the tube outward.  Should be 100mm. If more than you need to lower your steps.  If less then raise your steps.

Also I am not sure where you heard the idea of flexible with a Bowden,  but that is usually a big no no in our little hobby world..  It won't feed and retract right due to it flexing inside the Bowden tube against the hot ends back pressure. It is very hard to control flow rate. Most printers designed for flexible use direct drive and have the filament guide in the extruder so close to the gears you could barely get a piece of paper between the guide and gears.

Printing since 2009 and still love it!
Anycubic 4MAX best $225 ever invested.
Voxelabs Proxima SLA. 6 inch 2k Mono LCD.
Anycubic Predator, massive Delta machine. 450 x 370 print envelope.

3 Reply by jasonthorn82

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Re: EASY!!! E3D v6 w/custom wall mount

The drive gear was not replaced.  It's the same stepper motor, with the same stock gear.  I have been unable to get the right drivers to install to do the repetier FW/Host combo.  The only trick has been to use the repetier XYZ OpenMod.  Adjusting the feed rate has worked beautifully to adjust for any differences in the extruder head.  Same diameter nozzle, same drive gear, same software.
I kept the original carriage so that if I need to do a direct drive for the NinjaFlex then I can.  But the bowden setup is working great except for the slight over extrusion which I can compensate for in the OpenMod/Slic3r settings.  I have pictures for proof, just can't upload them at the moment.

4 Reply by carl_m1968

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Re: EASY!!! E3D v6 w/custom wall mount

jasonthorn82 wrote:

The drive gear was not replaced.  It's the same stepper motor, with the same stock gear.  I have been unable to get the right drivers to install to do the repetier FW/Host combo.  The only trick has been to use the repetier XYZ OpenMod.  Adjusting the feed rate has worked beautifully to adjust for any differences in the extruder head.  Same diameter nozzle, same drive gear, same software.
I kept the original carriage so that if I need to do a direct drive for the NinjaFlex then I can.  But the bowden setup is working great except for the slight over extrusion which I can compensate for in the OpenMod/Slic3r settings.  I have pictures for proof, just can't upload them at the moment.

Not doubting,  just saying ever since flexible came out it was considered an industry taboo to use them in a bowden setup.  If you can make them work by tweaking and fudging numbers then good for you.

Printing since 2009 and still love it!
Anycubic 4MAX best $225 ever invested.
Voxelabs Proxima SLA. 6 inch 2k Mono LCD.
Anycubic Predator, massive Delta machine. 450 x 370 print envelope.

5 Reply by barry1685

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Re: EASY!!! E3D v6 w/custom wall mount

Not only what carl said, but you also need to consider thermistor changes. Are you using the Davinci thermistor or a different thermistor (EPCOS). With that said you will need to change the tables in the firmware to correct the temps. Be aware of your extruder not getting hot enough or getting too hot, your readings may not be correct.

6 Reply by browning54213 (edited by browning54213 2015-04-17 19:36:40)

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Re: EASY!!! E3D v6 w/custom wall mount

There is nothing wrong with running flexible filament through a bowden setup. You just need the correct hardware. Airtripper will not work for flexible stuff and is overall a pretty terrible extruder design. I am using this one:

http://voltivo.com/forum/davinci-hwmods … s-exturder

I run my NFlex at 20mm/s and have been getting great results. My vibration reducers have all been made using this setup.

7 Reply by jasonthorn82 (edited by jasonthorn82 2015-04-18 04:14:01)

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Re: EASY!!! E3D v6 w/custom wall mount

http://soliforum.com/i/?G7jC0KD.jpg

http://soliforum.com/i/?VZqZ8Y8.jpg

http://soliforum.com/i/?zHUApzZ.jpg

http://soliforum.com/i/?fqMNPhx.jpg

http://soliforum.com/i/?x9v4Gcf.jpg

http://soliforum.com/i/?sSizUgd.jpg

http://soliforum.com/i/?Uv8QU9y.jpg

8 Reply by jasonthorn82

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Re: EASY!!! E3D v6 w/custom wall mount

Finally had a chance to get the pictures loaded up.  I am having problems getting the prints to finish, while the part of the print that does come out comes out amazingly smooth.  I am using the new thermister with the old heater core.  How do I go about changing the tables to account for the new thermister that came with the v6?  I have been successful in getting the Repetier FW onto the Da Vinci, but have driver issues with the Host and cannot for the life of me get it to install the Arduino Due drivers, it always reverts back to "USB Composite Device" and then fails to start, and I get no connection.  I have been successful in using the OpenMod/Slic3r combo, but have to use the 1.1.G FW on the printer, so no Repetier Host for me yet(have tried every recommended version of Arduino IDE, as well as Windows Vista, 7 and 8 with the same result.)
It seems like the printer does fine with the proper tension on the filament, but then it becomes difficult to extrude, or even to back out of the extruder.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.  I will definitely try the NeuStruder that browning54213 recommended as soon as I get a 100% complete print.  I'm afraid that I might have to reassemble the original carriage to do it, but I'm staying hopeful.

9 Reply by carl_m1968 (edited by carl_m1968 2015-04-18 05:08:06)

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Re: EASY!!! E3D v6 w/custom wall mount

jasonthorn82 wrote:

Finally had a chance to get the pictures loaded up.  I am having problems getting the prints to finish, while the part of the print that does come out comes out amazingly smooth.  I am using the new thermister with the old heater core.  How do I go about changing the tables to account for the new thermister that came with the v6?  I have been successful in getting the Repetier FW onto the Da Vinci, but have driver issues with the Host and cannot for the life of me get it to install the Arduino Due drivers, it always reverts back to "USB Composite Device" and then fails to start, and I get no connection.  I have been successful in using the OpenMod/Slic3r combo, but have to use the 1.1.G FW on the printer, so no Repetier Host for me yet(have tried every recommended version of Arduino IDE, as well as Windows Vista, 7 and 8 with the same result.)
It seems like the printer does fine with the proper tension on the filament, but then it becomes difficult to extrude, or even to back out of the extruder.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.  I will definitely try the NeuStruder that browning54213 recommended as soon as I get a 100% complete print.  I'm afraid that I might have to reassemble the original carriage to do it, but I'm staying hopeful.

I assume you are using Adruino Suite to flash the firmware? If so the thermistor type and table can be selected in the configuration.h tab before you upload the firmware. But if you have no drivers how are you able to use Adruino?

You could also delete or uninstall the composite driver then install the DUE drivers again.

In short unless you can communicate with the machine through USB you cannot change the thermistor type or tables.

Printing since 2009 and still love it!
Anycubic 4MAX best $225 ever invested.
Voxelabs Proxima SLA. 6 inch 2k Mono LCD.
Anycubic Predator, massive Delta machine. 450 x 370 print envelope.

10 Reply by jasonthorn82

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Re: EASY!!! E3D v6 w/custom wall mount

Yes I was using Arduino IDE to flash the FW to the machine, but couldn't get the drivers to load on the pc properly.  Tried deleting USB composite device, but it always failed to install the arduino due drivers.  I could get it to install the "Arduino Serial..." but it would always show a yellow exclamation mark saying "The device could not start".  I had to revert back to stock 1.1.G on the printer and then use the XYZware OpenMod with Slic3r to control it. 
I have been able to get a decent print by adjusting the extrusion multiplier and print speed.  I found out my problem getting the filament out was because there was overheating of the print head due to the 12v fan power connection coming loose.
I am going to try another a 3rd computer here soon to see if I can get the Repetier Host/FW going with the correct drivers.  But until then it seems to be working ok, just very finicky.  When it's calibrated well, it makes beautiful layers except for some slight oozing and some strings here and there.
If someone has the exact driver file that works for them on Windows 7, could you please post it.  What version of Arduino IDE did you use?  I will try the manual install one more time.

11 Reply by barry1685

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Re: EASY!!! E3D v6 w/custom wall mount

Wow thats a pretty sick rig there.