Topic: Nema 8 or nema 11 Extruder Stepper
Hello all. It's been awhile since I have lurked on here. I wanted to run a mod idea past everyone and see if this might be worth trying.
I was looking to setup one Nema-14 stepper at the reel like you are feeding Bowden style but have a helper stepper on the carriage handling the actual feed. The one on the carriage would be a nema-8 or nema-11. Though, I don't know how much force is needed to get the filament through the hotend reliably.
My reason for this is obviously to reduce weight on the carriage and allow for more accurate prints while still maintaining the benefits of direct drive. Or, that is the hope at least.
I welcome all feedback or suggestions. Before I dive into this, I want to see if anyone else had some ideas on why it won't work.
Glass bed with QU-BD heat pad upgrade, threadless ballscrew w/ 8mm smooth rod, spectra line belt replacement, lawsy MK5 extruder, Lawsy replacement carriage, E3D hotend, Ramps 1.4 w/ reprap discount controller, DRV8825 drivers, 12v 30A PS, Acrylic case, Overkill Y-idlers, Filament alarm, Extruder fan + more.