Toggle Latch Extruder for 1.75mm MakerGear Groove Mount
Description
I got rid of the springs because I always tightened the screws of the standard extruder until the springs were fully compressed. They were only acting as spacers. Also, I figured that even if they weren't fully compressed, they would only tend to add variability to the system.
The arched shape of the latch link provides the spring action to hold the latch closed. An early experiment without the arch simply broke. I also experimented with a ramp inside the extruder frame to guide filament into the hot end without opening the extruder, but this just made room for the filament to buckle and jam.
I have maybe a dozen or so hours of printing on this design. It's not perfect, but it might at least give people some ideas.
Instructions
The files as printed won't grip the filament as tightly as the standard MG extruder. Sand or trim the printed pieces until you get an e steps calibration similar to the standard extruder. It should be very consistent after that adjustment.
There is a socket at the top of the frame where the filament enters. This is meant to accept the Bowden extruder tube that came with my MG Prusa kit. I use a Bowden arrangement to feed the extruder so the X axis never has to pull on the spool.
The dimple-and-pocket hinge design isn't really very robust, so it may need some trimming, or simply may not hold together when open, depending on your print settings and quality. A slightly larger version might work better.
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You just made my day. I couldn't extrude 1.75mm filament in my original extruder block due to how open the filament path was. It constantly doubled over on itself like pushing on a rope. This works much better. The only other plastic I had was some garbage 3mm stuff (dirt INSIDE the filament, air pockets, so thick in some places that it wouldn't fit the barrel...). This got me up and running again while I wait on better 3mm stuff.
I think it could benefit from an adjustment screw though. I had to stuff some PTFE tube behind the idler block to make it latch onto my 1.75mm filament tight enough. Presumably this was designed for 3mm filament, but an adjustment screw could make it work for both very easily. It may also help tak
e out the slack if the latch starts to stretch over time.
No, it was designed for 1.75. But it was also fudged for how my extruder was tuned at the time. It has some extra material near the top of the frame that is intended to be sanded or filed town to increase grip. That might help yours too.
My MG Prusa kit came with some tubing for experimenting with a Bowden extruder. I never did that, but I did use some the tubing inside the original Brutstruder frame to close up the filament path to prevent the buckling that kept you from using 1.75. You can still make it buckle the way I did it,
but you have to jam the extruder to do it. Just in case you want to go back to the Brutstruder.
I'm glad it was able to get you out of a bind, at least.
This is awesome! new users especially should have easy exstruder access. Makes it much faster to recover from cold starting the extruder!
How do you print the massive overhang on the curved bit? Perhaps that could be made into a bridge by adding a connecting bar at the end?
Guest has it. It's not a Bowden extruder, but I use a Bowden cable arrangement to manage the filament.
The design is for a MakerGear groove mount extruder. I guess it should work on any printer that would work on.
"I use a Bowden arrangement to feed the extruder so the X axis never has to pull on the spool."
From the photo you seems to have the extruder on the X-axis, not a bowden arrangement.
Can you explain why?
What printers and what hot-ends is this for?
Only "Mendel"-types or is it compatible with more then one printer?
License
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This is exactly what I was looking for! Well ... not exactly since I have my own extruder design that I'll have to adapt it to but this is the kind of design I like.
Lock 'n Load, Click 'n Go, Latch 'n Print what ever you call it - this makes changing the filament so much easier. I love to swap colors: my latch link is red, drive frame black (makes a nice contrast with most of the filament colors).
I'm still using SolodWorks 2010 - yes, I do have the mainten
ance contract that gives me access to all versions up to 2012 but I still have to stick to 2010 due to some customers - so I redraw the hole thing in SW2010 and printed it.
- Just to see what it looks like and to see how it works, I can now start to create my own derivative.
There are multiple versions of the .step file format?