Added (near) direct drive to my Ender 5 Pro
Posted Aug 20, 2020, 12:36 AM UTC
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I am fairly new to this. What are the advantaged to direct drive and are they that way because of an effect similar to water hammering?
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With a Bowden tube, you have to retract the filament to stop it from oozing out of the nozzle due to the pressure built up in the tube (least that’s my understanding) switching to direct drive allows you to effectively remove the retraction since you won’t have the pressure in the tube.
My main reason for doing it was because I wanted to print with flexible (TPU) filament and my pile of flexible spaghetti from the original Bowden tube setup is far from a successful print.
So you get a few gains: print time reduction (not too much, but it’s something), less stringing, and flexible material.
Edit: also worth mentioning, this isn’t a true direct drive, I didn’t want to replace the entire hotend and extruder. There is a small piece of Bowden between the extruder and extruder, but it’s minimal.
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You still need retraction and it is direct drive just not a combo hotends... The added weight can reduce quality if the hell and acceleration isn't calibrated right. But with that setup is use probably 1 to 2mm retraction and 30 to 40mms on retraction speed. And you might still have trouble with you for to the extruder you are using
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You can cut a lot of weight by switching to a geared extruder like a Bondtech BMG + pancake stepper.
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Contemplating this actually. The Bondtech is pricey though. Is it worth it? Also it looks like the BMG is made for a V6 hotend, so that would mean a full overhaul (not that I’m opposed, just want to make sure it’s worth it)
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I’m using 2mm retraction (don’t remember the speed tbh) and so far the print looks good (knock on wood) this kit adds a second wheel to the bottom to help with the wobble of the additional weight. I did notice a few stutters when traveling, which could be a problem.
The next upgrade is an SKR 1.4 Turbo with TMC 2209’s that will hopefully allow me to tune the stepper motors a little better. Though, I think I will likely have to reduce the travel speed.
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I have the skr1.4 turns in all my machines... Real work horse... No skipped steps it really does make a difference! I love it! Also idea look at better cooling. The stock cooler doesn't do to will with party cooling. Gets maybe 60 degree overhangs okay but with better cooling on both sides you'll notice a difference. On my ender 5 regular I have the hero me gen 5 with two 5015 high speed and I can get about 80 degree overhangs with very little to no trouble.
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With direct drive, extrusion is more precise and responsive. You can really dial in your retraction and can turn off coasting, extra restart distance, etc.
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I prefer the hero over petsfang. The ducts can be adjusted to different heights.
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Is that a printable? Or purchase?
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It's free on thingiverse
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I asked and immediately searched on thingiverse. *eyes up spool of PETG*
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You should be able to do the hero me with pla. So long as your hotend has a silicon sock on it.
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What's the purpose of the long rod holding the fitting that your filament passes through? Is it just to make sure the filament enters the extruder straight? It seems a bit long.
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Lol, so glad you noticed that /s
I wanted a PTFE connector on the mount, so I could connect it to my dry box, and it also keeps it from getting tangled or caught anywhere. I kinda mashed up a few pieces in mesh mixer (I’m not an engineer) my concern was having enough room to fiddle with the filament to get it in the extruder… after feeding it in the extruder a few times, I can say it is a bit long. I can also see it flex during extrusions and retractions (even 1-2mm)
I have a spare aluminum arm, I may try drilling out the filament hole and threading it for the connector… that would work so much better (but also means I have to find somewhere to mount my drill press…)
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Very Nice! I'm about to switch over my cr10s from e3d v6/Titan clone Bowden setup. Just curious, has the quality increased with your setup? Also did you replace the extruder stepper with a pancake style or are you using the standard setup? I'm trying to figure out if I need a smaller stepper or if it's even worth it. Worried about having enough torque even with the titan geared setup.
Thanks for sharing!
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Right now I’m using the stock extruder, but I’m noticing it stutter when traveling (during prints). I’m in progress of the first print, I have had a hell of a time since upgrading (moving the x axis end stop, resetting the offsets, leveling the bed)
Right now it’s about 3.5 hours into a 6 hour print. I’ll update when it completes.
Edit: I’m thinking about replacing the stepper with a pancake.
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Stuttering drove me bonkers as I tried so many different ways to stop it stuttering while lying down certain curved shapes. Turns out I had to “Enable Classic Jerk” in Marlin 2.0 and it solved that particular problem (I have an SKR 1.3). I am not satisfied with that solution, but it is allowed to move on for now.
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S Curve acceleration and TMC drivers don't play well with Linear Advance. Disabling junction deviation works too, but I would rather keep junction deviation over s curve acceleration.
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So it looks like my current config has Classic Jerk (no S-Curve or Junction Deviation) but Linear Advance is enabled, but K is 0 since I haven't calibrated it.
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I’m trying to remember, I know I was trying to enable Junction Deviation… but I think I was having problems with space (why I’m swapping to the SKR). I remember recompiling to update my probe offsets, and noticing that something was enabled, but I don’t recall exactly what. I’ll check it out though, appreciate the tip!
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Side note… I am using an old fork of Marlin 2.0 bug fix (wanna say around December?) from 3D Printing Canada for the Ender 5 + BLTouch (it was specific to my needs at the time) I did compile the latest 2.0 bug fix and it was causing my LCD to blank out. Though, to be fair… I downloaded the archive from the repo, not the archive link… so I’m not sure it was a verified version. Gonna retry once I get the SKR setup. Just waiting for my buck converter to make sure it will fit on the bracket.
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Is the x and y axis stuttering or extruder? I've been battling xy stutter on tight curves. Haven't nailed it down yet, but some remedies that have helped...
- Print from SD Card. Octoprint serial connection can't always keep up with the demands.
- Adjust Max Deviation and Max Resolution in Cura. Less segments, less commands to process.
These have cleaned up the majority of the stutter. I have an EZBoard Lite in the mail, so hopefully the new 32 bit processor will help as well.
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I could probably say mine is more a shake then stutter, I don't think it is the processing. I was printing via OctoPrint (on a Raspberry Pi 4) before the change, and no changes to physical hardware.
The issue I see is when there are little movements around the part. Using Cura, there is a setting for "Fill gaps between walls" and that sort of bounces around the edges of the part just finishing things us and when it did the relatively narrow top layer on the part I printed. I think it's accelerating too fast/jerking when it's making those small movements and the added weight is making the printer shake.
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hmmm... maybe a bondtech and a pancake stepper would help then by reducing the weight. If you're anything like me, you have an entirely stock creality printer sitting in a cardboard box that just needs a frame.
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Isnt that the same extruder that comes on the pro now?
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Yes, the extruder is the same (though I'll be upgrading to a BMG clone soon) The kit did come with the same metal pieces that were already included in the upgraded extruder, so now I have spare parts.
Edit: However mounting the extruder over the hotend (direct drive style) reduces the retractions and stringing.
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got ya, yeah if i upgrade im just gonna get the microswiss combo from matterhacker
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Looks like a solid upgrade, I like the all metal plate. Though I prefer the 4 wheels to 3, it just feels more stable.
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Added the ENOMAKER Direct Drive Extruder Conversion Kit to my Ender 5 Pro.
After fixing my X-Axis limit switch (the hotend shifted a few mm), adjusting my probe offset (x/y), fixing my bed level and recalibrating my Z-Probe offset we’re back up and running.
Side note… when using a BLTouch (or I’d suppose any probe) don’t worry about leveling the bed, but making sure it’s not slanted. I used a triangular architecture ruler to line the bed up as straight as possible. The inconsistency with the first layer was driving me nuts (thanks google!)