1 Topic by stvrbbns

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Topic: fixing/upgrading Solidoodle 2 Pro to E3D v6 hotend with Lawsy extruder

Hello again. My 2012 Solidoodle 2 Pro 3D printer's original extruder got irreparably clogged, so I needed to replace the hotend and extruder body. I decided to go with an E3D v6 1.75mm hotend (USA) and a Lawsy-design extruder body.

I was hoping to basically just follow the tutorial on SoliWiki [ http://www.soliwiki.com/E3D_extruder ] and its links, but have run into some trouble/questions.

  • The body piece I got does not have a space for the locking arm as the Mk5 appear to have in pictures around the web, including on Filastruder and the Lawsy assembly instructions here on SoliForum [ http://www.soliforum.com/topic/3016/mk5 … -improved/ ].

    • Does the E3D v6 version not need the locking arm?

    • If the locking arm is needed, then where does that piece of the Lawsy extruder housing go?

    • Am I supposed to use a box cutter to cut a space into the body for the arm?

  • The original M3x22 hex socket bolts work fine for connecting the body to the extruder motor block, but they are a bit too long for the thicker hole on the filament guide piece (turning it ends up turning the bolt at the back holding the fan onto the heatsink for the extruder motor).

    • Is that one supposed to be an M3x20, or something else, instead?

  • There are a pair of opposing legs at the bottom of the Lawsy extruder body, each with a hole aligned with the other and with the hotend placement cavity between them.

    • What are these holes supposed to be for? Are they irrelevant for a Solidoodle 2 Pro + E3D v6 hotend combination/setup?

  • I do not entirely understand how to connect the heater and thermistor.

    • Does it matter which new thermistor wire (attached to new thermistor) connects to which old thermistor wire (attached to circuit board)?

    • Can anyone tell me a "technique" which works to crimp new wires into the original AWG connectors?

    • If I have to get and use new connectors, then is there a good way to attach the new connectors in place of the original AWG connectors without removing the original kapton tape holding the motor + heatsink + fan block together?

    • If I have to take the new wires all the way to the circuit board, then is there a better way to keep the wires next to the existing ones other than a series of zip or twist ties? And once there, where do the wires actually go into the circuit board? I could not find a diagram, photo, or explanation of that.



What I've done so far:

I first managed to upgrade the power supply by following that tutorial on SoliWiki.
>> http://www.soliwiki.com/Upgrade_The_Power_Supply
>> http://blog.logsine.com/2015/04/upgradi … upply.html

I was also able to take apart the original extruder.
>> http://wiki.solidoodle.com/acrlyic-parts
>> http://blog.logsine.com/2015/04/upgradi … 2-pro.html

I got the "Lawsy's MK5 Extruder for Solidoodle - For E3DV6" from Filastruder.
>> http://www.filastruder.com/collections/ … solidoodle
And I started trying to install it in place of the original extruder body/housing.



Other things I noticed, but that don't seem important:

  • The bottom 2 holes of the Lawsy body are held to the Solidoodle 2 Pro extruder carriage by two very long, silver, Philips-head bolts from the back of the carriage instead of by M3 hex bolts from the front of the body.



Lawsy:
http://soliforum.com/i/?0kNiCFv.jpg

Before:
http://soliforum.com/i/?TyKAj16.jpg

After (current):
http://soliforum.com/i/?AxUnw4y.jpg

2 Reply by Gordym

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Re: fixing/upgrading Solidoodle 2 Pro to E3D v6 hotend with Lawsy extruder

It looks like you have a good start. I had the same issue with the mount from filastruder that you have. The locking tab that mounts across the front is provided but there is no way to use it on the mount they ship. The M3 screw in the upper left corner does not come from the acrylic extruder. You will need to find a short M3 screw for that location. I keep a lot of short M3's around from computer rebuilds and one of those worked. If you put your hot end in the mount, it will fit snug and you may be able to print for a short time. However, I found that mine was loose enough from front to back that I could not get a decent print. I ended up getting a print from the MK5 Thiniverse file http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:431363 that is more stable. I did not use the existing wire or connectors by the extruder on mine. took the wire wrap off the wire harness and ran my new wires all the way back to the board, then spliced into the connections there. That way I knew my wires were good all the way back to the motherboard. I had some issues prior to the E3D with my temperatures fluctuating that appeared to be a wire issue. That solved my problem.

After I ran the wires, I zip tied them to the harness and rewrapped it. The Solidoodle connectors will cause you issues if you don't replace them. I continually had issues with mine (wires coming out, poor connections, etc.) Others on this forum have had issues with them as well. There is not a + and - for the thermistor, you should be able to wire either wire to the other without an issue. I removed my Kapton from around the extruder and replaced it with a Zip Tie. If you follow the existing wires back to the main board, you will see where they connect.

SD2
E3D V6
MK5 V6

3 Reply by stvrbbns

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Re: fixing/upgrading Solidoodle 2 Pro to E3D v6 hotend with Lawsy extruder

Thank you very much, Gordym! That answers all but one of my questions.

I am receiving a shorter bolt for the top left; it's the top right bolt that the instructions seem to indicate should be full-length but in practice that seems a tiny bit too long that I'm concerned about.

4 Reply by AZERATE

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Re: fixing/upgrading Solidoodle 2 Pro to E3D v6 hotend with Lawsy extruder

M3x8mm for the top left and M3x20mm for top right is what I use and have no issues

Printit Mason and Printit Horizon printers
Multiple SD2s- Bulldog XL, E3D v5/v6/Lite6, Volcano, Hobb Goblin, Titan, .9 motor, Lawsy carriages, direct Y drive, fishing line...the list goes on
Filawinder and Filastruder #1870.....worth every penny!

5 Reply by elmoret

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Re: fixing/upgrading Solidoodle 2 Pro to E3D v6 hotend with Lawsy extruder

The Lawsy mounts I sell are printed super fast. As noted on the description, they're just meant to get someone back up and running so they can print whatever mount they like. I don't make any money on them (the profits go back to the designer), I just do it as a quick favor to help folks out.

I do check that they fit a v6 before shipping. If it is too loose, you can temporarily hold the heatsink in with a small screw. If you are dissatisfied with the mount quality, please do get in touch via the contact form on the Filastruder page with your order number and I will happily refund you.

Filastruder - the robust, inexpensive filament extruder
E3Dv6 All Metal Hotend - the premier 3D printing hotend

6 Reply by Gordym

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Re: fixing/upgrading Solidoodle 2 Pro to E3D v6 hotend with Lawsy extruder

Elmoret,

Just as an FYI, I was aware that the mount is a temp solution. I had no complaints, just reassuring stvrbbns that what he had was "normal." My E3D fit well enough to test, but had forward backward slop that didn't allow me to get a quality print so I had a different one made. I have no complaints with you or your service, in fact, I have a few more things I am going to order soon. The model you use is slightly different than the ones on Thingiverse that have the groove for the front cross support, therefore the support sent with yours does not go anywhere. I've been using my E3D for several months and I am quite happy with the quality and the fact that I have had very few jams or filament failures.

SD2
E3D V6
MK5 V6

7 Reply by stvrbbns

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Re: fixing/upgrading Solidoodle 2 Pro to E3D v6 hotend with Lawsy extruder

elmoret wrote:

The Lawsy mounts I sell are printed super fast. As noted on the description, they're just meant to get someone back up and running so they can print whatever mount they like. I don't make any money on them (the profits go back to the designer), I just do it as a quick favor to help folks out.

I do check that they fit a v6 before shipping. If it is too loose, you can temporarily hold the heatsink in with a small screw. If you are dissatisfied with the mount quality, please do get in touch via the contact form on the Filastruder page with your order number and I will happily refund you.

I too was aware that this is a temporary solution but did not understand why a locking arm was included if the hotend would fit securely enough to not need it, at least long enough to print a replacement housing. I'm just so new at this that I don't know what to expect, what is necessary, what is an accident waiting to happen, etc.

The availability of repair parts is MUCH appreciated since otherwise I'd have to trash the printer.

Honestly I'm a bit surprised I've gotten this far; it's just extra slow since each time I encounter new stuff and find out some new item or tool I need then I have to research exactly what it is and then either wait for the internet to ship it to me or find the time to drive to and hunt through some local hardware store in the hopes they have it in stock.

8 Reply by wardjr

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Re: fixing/upgrading Solidoodle 2 Pro to E3D v6 hotend with Lawsy extruder

Gordym wrote:

therefore the support sent with yours does not go anywhere.

Perhaps I can shed a little light on the subject. A long time ago when Filastruder first started selling the E3d V5 users were found stuck with a new hot end and no way to print a mount.  Many of them turned to me and other users to print one for them.  At that time I suggested to Tim A.K.A elmoret that I print a bunch and send them to him as a time and cost saver to the customer.  This arrangement has proven to work rather well for close to 2 years now.  As the guy that printed the guide and tension arm (I think) I can assure you they are solid and dimensionally correct.  They are ugly due to the extreme speeds they are printed at (150 mm/s) and the fact that my main printer was down for repair.  This meant using my #2 printer which at the time was basically stock other than an E3d and upgraded PSU. 
Previous versions of the mount used that little locking arm.  It wasn't very effective and dramatically increased printing time both for the locking arm and the extra features on the body.  In an effort to reduce print times I removed all accessories such as the accessory mounts (fan mount) and locking arm from the main body.  The important thing is to get users up and printing quickly as most will want some other custom mount eventually anyway.  If there is slop in the actual mount most will just put a wrap or two of tape around the groove to stabilize it.

As always Happy Printing smile

Printit Industries Model 8.10 fully enclosed CoreXY, Chamber heat
3-SD3's & a Workbench all fully enclosed, RH-Slic3r Win7pro, E3D V6, Volcano & Cyclops Hot End
SSR/500W AC Heated Glass Bed, Linear bearings on SS rods. Direct Drive Y-axis, BulldogXL
Thanks to all for your contributions

wardjr's Website

9 Reply by Gordym

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Re: fixing/upgrading Solidoodle 2 Pro to E3D v6 hotend with Lawsy extruder

As stated before, no complaints. I was satisfied with everything I received from Tim. I was just clarifying that the locking arm was confusing because it didn't go anywhere. I am extremely happy with my E3D and expect to work with Filastruder in the future. My son and I are building a pair of large format 3D CNC/3D printer combinations of our own designs and expect to use the Volcano Hot ends on those.

Thanks for clearing up the history on the hot end mounts WardJr. Actually $5 was a deal when I needed it for the temporary mount. I've since printed a higher quality mount and a spare in case I ever need it again.

SD2
E3D V6
MK5 V6

10 Reply by mdrVB6 (edited by mdrVB6 2015-04-15 15:08:19)

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Re: fixing/upgrading Solidoodle 2 Pro to E3D v6 hotend with Lawsy extruder

I mentioned to elmoret that he could sell the V6 mount I remixed from others in the filastruder store, but I guess he had other ideas or still had a stack of the lock arm versions left.  Here it is: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:431363

It seems that a lot of people have gone to that mount, as I have seen quite a few pictures of it in the wild.  Its a very solid mount that fits well and I have had zero issues with it.  I remixed it from others in just a couple hours so I would never expect to receive a dime if he wanted to sell it in the filastruder store.  Just throw the money to Lawsy for the original design or to another open source project.

SD4 w/ RUMBA, E3D Volcano, all bearings, glass bed

11 Reply by stvrbbns

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Re: fixing/upgrading Solidoodle 2 Pro to E3D v6 hotend with Lawsy extruder

I am back and sort of have a working printer again!

I documented it with a ton of pictures: http://blog.logsine.com/2015/04/upgradi … lling.html

It's not on fire and melted plastic comes out of the nozzle in a close approximation of how I want it to (still haven't calibrated everything), but that's as far as I know how to distinguish "correct" from "incorrect".

If anyone with some experience reviews it and also believes it to be correct, then I can try to copy the information into a wiki (SoliWiki or E3D-Online seem like the logical places that should have it; I do not know of other places).

12 Reply by elmoret

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Re: fixing/upgrading Solidoodle 2 Pro to E3D v6 hotend with Lawsy extruder

If you port your guide to here:

http://wiki.e3d-online.com/wiki/E3D-v6_Documentation

Following this:

http://wiki.e3d-online.com/wiki/Accepta … e_Standard

You will be rewarded with £25/$40 in store credit.

Filastruder - the robust, inexpensive filament extruder
E3Dv6 All Metal Hotend - the premier 3D printing hotend

13 Reply by stvrbbns

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Re: fixing/upgrading Solidoodle 2 Pro to E3D v6 hotend with Lawsy extruder

elmoret wrote:

If you port your guide to here:

http://wiki.e3d-online.com/wiki/E3D-v6_Documentation

Following this:

http://wiki.e3d-online.com/wiki/Accepta … e_Standard

You will be rewarded with £25/$40 in store credit.

Thanks for the notice. I can do that once I'm sure the information of what I did is correct.