Category Archives: 3D Printer Extruders

Airtripper’s Direct Drive Bowden Extruder V3 BSP Edition

3D Printer Direct Drive Bowden Extruder BSP

The Direct Drive Bowden Extruder V3 BSP Edition was first introduced on Ebay back in March 2013, followed by public release of all the design files in August. So to avoid confusion, this article is the documentation for the above extruder and not a new extruder release. While the bowden extruder continues to be popular it seems important to produce some documentation for it, even if only to provide some sort of version history.

3D Printer Extruder Filament Drive Gear Review & Benchmark

Probably the most important part of the 3d printer direct drive extruder system, at least after the stepper motor, is the filament drive gear pulley. Basically, the choice of drive gear could make or break the quality output of the 3d printer. Without a good drive gear, it will be difficult to begin to troubleshoot or solve hot end issues. So, with the help of the Airtripper Extruder Filament Force Sensor, I’ve reviewed and bench-marked four drive gears and provided graphs for a quick visual comparison.

Airtripper Extruder Filament Force Sensor – Design & 3D Print

Continuing the Airtripper Extruder Filament Force Sensor series this topic is about getting the plastic parts configured to fit the chosen load cell. Included is a guide to configure the OpenSCAD model file with image references for most of the variables for easy set-up. Be sure to read the section “Choosing A Load Cell” for a guide to getting a load cell to fit the filament force sensor bracket.

Airtripper Extruder Filament Force Sensor – Introduction

Following the announcement of the Airtripper Extruder Filament force sensor I found a bit of time to run a few tests and to plot a few graphs to find out if the load cell is not just a fancy 3d printer add-on. But before we get into the graphs, we’ll start with the introduction to the Airtripper Extruder Filament Force Sensor; with images to boot.

Airtripper Extruder Filament Force Sensor – Announcement

3D Printer Extruder Filament Force Gauge graph

Yep, my 3d printer now has a filament force sensor. It works great and it looks awesome. I’m just at the end of a second full day of testing and the installation has not caused any print quality issues using the same g-code as before.

Airtripper’s Bowden Extruder V3 – Updated Design

Airtripper's Direct Drive Bowden Extruder V3

The Airtripper’s Direct Drive Bowden Extruder is now at version 3 with the design files ready to download from Thingiverse. A lot of work went into the design to improve the usabillity and the look of the extruder. The design is stronger with a much cleaner 3d printed finish, and filament changing is now much easier than before.

3D Printer Surgery #4 Extruder Upgrade Part 3

3D Printer Extruder loaded with 1.75mm Filament

The new 3D printer 1.75mm filament extruder upgrade is now complete, all the tweaks mentioned in part two are now built in to the unit, plus extra improvements was made to the overall design, including a newly designed idler to accept the cheaper 608 ZZ Skate Bearing to simplify assembly and to keep the overall cost down. All the project files are now on Thingiverse, STL files and OpenSCAD 3D script file. Look down the post for bill of materials and assembly tips.

3D Printer Surgery #3 Extruder Upgrade Part 2

3D printer bowden extruder with brass insert and support ball bearing

After nearly 15 hours of printing, I’m calling this new 3D printer extruder a success. The success I believe is down to building the complete extruder assembly in OpenSCAD which allowed me to see how all the parts fitted together. The 3D printer extruder is boasting a unique feature not seen in other popular printer extruders, a rubber pinch roller bearing in the idler, more details down the post.