Best choices for Extruder and Hot End

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wfcook

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ElmoC
I use the E3Dv6 and the bodies of the 3mm and 1.75mm are the same.

Not quite, there are some differences:

DRAWING-V6-175-SINK.png

DRAWING-V6-300-SINK-D.png

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julianh72
Sorry to butt in here - but this thread came up in a search of my own. (I suspect my question has been asked and answered many times before - apologies if that is the case!)

I have a home-built Prusa Mendel, which was designed and built for 3 mm filament. It has an original Wade's Geared Extruder (which is still working fine), and it had the original PTFE-bodied "Geared Extruder Nozzle" [reprap.org] , which has failed by the metal tip shearing off the threaded PTFE neck at the bottom of the PTFE body. (I think the main cause of the failure was probably over-heating, because I didn't have a hot-end fan - I have since rectified this!)

I have purchased a replacement 3 mm J-Head, because I still have lots of 3 mm PLA stock, but I've noticed that a lot of new filaments are coming available in 1.75 mm only, and it got me to thinking: How much work does it take to put a 1.75 mm hot end onto the Wade's Extruder?

AndrewsBCN said:

"If you just want to use 1.75mm filament you can just change the E3D hotend for a 1.75mm version and print yourself a new Greg's Wade's Geared Extruder body and idler for 1.75mm filament."

Can I take it that in order to print with 1.75 mm filament, I can just install a 1.75 mm J-Head or similar onto the Wades Extruder, and change my software settings? Can a 3 mm Wade's Extruder push 1.75 mm filament reliably, without any other modifications?

In the pictures that I have found, the set-screw at the top of the PEEK body (which retains the internal PTFE sleeve) sits flush with the PEEK in the 3 mm version, but stands proud on the 1.75 mm versions - see attached photos. I couldn't find a dimensioned drawing of this protruding screw - will it clear the filament hole in the Wade's Extruder body (4 mm diameter?)? (I guess I can ream out the hole in the Extruder Body if necessary, to provide more clearance?)

Are there any other tricks or traps I need to be aware of?

Thanks for all comments!

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julianh72
Clear as mud now?

Yes, I think so - thanks!

The Wades Extruder isn't a Bowden, and doesn't use any tubing, and I don't use any tubing from the spool to the top of the extruder drive. (Should I?)

The 1.75 mm and 3 mm J-Head have the same mounting detail, but the protruding set-screw in the top of the 1.75 mm version worries me a bit - it might foul the bottom of the Extruder body. If so, I think this would be easily fixed by reaming out a bit of a clearance hole for the set-screw.

There is a small hole in the extruder body (4 mm diameter by 25 mm deep, I think) below the hobbed bolt and pinch roller. The 3 mm filament goes through there straight into the top of the hot end. The only potential issue I can see is that the 3 mm filament is stable as it passes through this clearance-sized hole, but would the more flexible 1.75 mm filament tend to kink or buckle? Oh well - there's one sure way to find out - I might just buy a 1.75 mm J-Head, and see what happens! (As Jeremy Clarkson would say: "How hard can it be?" )