E3D All Metal Hotend for Ultimaker

[mgg942 0]

I agree that it's far from essential for PLA.

Obviously it depends on your experience with the UM hot end and to me the E3D has been money well spent for my so-far-PLA-only use.

Not as 'perfect' as I'd hoped for, but I find it much easier to live with.

 

[nick-foley 5]

Good to know. With regards to PLA-optimized hotends though, I've been using the Printrbot UBIS ceramic hotend on an Ultimaker for several days now and I think it might be the best upgrade I've ever made. Will post more details soon, but compared to stock or the E3D, it's lighter, smaller, heats up (and corrects for temperature changes) wayyyy faster, and clogs seem to be a strange concept that it has never heard of...

 

[mgg942 0]

and clogs seem to be a strange concept that it has never heard of...

 

Looking forward to those details!

 

[irongland 1]

Hey guys

For Christmas my twin brother got me a e3d bowden hot end, once it arrives Ill give a good little review. I'm looking forwards to it as I have been recently looking to playing around with more materials than just nylon and pla!

I have a couple of questions though relating to how it will work with an ultimaker, like can the heater cartrage that comes with the e3d be plugged into the ultimaker electronics? what about it's temperature probe? Either way Ill have to figure out these questions.

Nick, did you say that the ubis is a PLA only hotend? or does it just work well for pla? Also how did you wire up the temperature probe? I thought the ultimaker used a thermocouple opposed to a thermistor?

 

[gr5 2,172]

Ultimaker uses marlin and marlin is very configurable for many different types of printers so you can select which type of temperature probe you are using. Thermistors usually get damaged if they are hotter than 250C - at least the ones I've used in the past so I would expect a thermocouple to be more common.

Start by looking at this wonderful Marlin builder and look at all the choices for the "extruder temperature sensor"

http://marlinbuilder.robotfuzz.com/

And if the thermistor you want isn't in the table it's easy to donwload and build your own Marlin and add your own thermistor table.

[irongland 1]

Hey thanks a lot George(I hope that's your name.....please correct me!)

I didn't realize it was quite so easy! I'm used to working with thermistor and thermocouple tables from college so that shouldn't be a problem; I just didn't think it would be so easily implemented into the firmware, but I guess that makes good sense.

Still worried about the heater cartridge, isn't the ultimaker's a 18V 40W? and I think the e3d is 12V 40W, can the board handle the extra amperage? or should I just try using an ultimaker cartridge to heat it?

 

[nick-foley 5]

I reused the Ultimaker cartridge heater, but switched to the E3D thermistor for temp sensing because the thermocouple doesn't fit. You just need to switch the firmware to the "Best Choice for EPCOS 100K" thermistor table and solder a 4.7K resistor to R23 on the main PCB. Do away with the thermocouple PCB.

I would also invest in some high temp heatshrink and teflon sleeving (bought mine from the QU-BD site), since the E3D-provided method of thermistor installation and insulation is a real pain in the ass and doesn't hold up well.

http://store.qu-bd.com/product.php?id_product=12

http://store.qu-bd.com/product.php?id_product=17

I think the UBIS is close to perfect for printing PLA, but it may also be close to perfect for other materials as well... just haven't tried it. I know the Printrbot bros do a lot of ABS printing so I suspect it's probably great for that as well

 

[mgg942 0]

I used the Ultimaker Aluminium block, thermocouple, and cartridge heater with the e3d nozzle. No changes to the electrics!

If it's not too late I recommend making sure that the entry to the stainless steel threaded part is NOT a sharp edge as I think that otherwise it tends to shave material off the filament and cause jams.

Also, if you can, chamfer the top the the 3.2 mm hole in the main body - where the filament enters from the Bowden tube to make initial hand feeding in of the filament less finicky..

 

[irongland 1]

Hey thanks guys!

@nick, I think Ill try just that, if I can remove the heater cartridge from my current head.

@mgg942: Good backup plan! I was hoping to use e3d's heaterblock so that way I can use their nozzles too (I tacked on some different size nozzles on my order) but if I can't remove the heater cartridge Ill have to reuse the ultimaker's block. This might turn out to be the way to go either way, especially if I can just thread in e3d's nozzels into the ultimaker heating block.

In an ideal world I would like to be able to switch between my original ultimaker's hot end (it's been good to me) and the new E3d but that looks like a moot point since I would need to solder a resistor to my pcb.

Thanks for the tips guys, it's given me some food for thought.

 

[mgg942 0]

I was hoping to use e3d's heaterblock so that way I can use their nozzles too

 

I didn't make myself clear, sorry, I AM using an e3d nozzle.

 

[irongland 1]

Cool beans! thanks for the update

 

[chuck-yanke 10]

I'm still waiting for my Ultimaker2 . I ordered an E3D but now they are asking for what kind of mounting plate do you want. What do you use on this printer?

Chuck

[nick-foley 5]

What are you hoping to improve by using the E3D on a UM2? I haven't used a UM2, but my understanding is that the hotend has been improved from the UM1. Unless you're trying to print polycarbonate, I'm not sure what major benefits the E3D will offer.

 

[carmamir 0]

Finally I put E3D into my Ultimaker. I printed hotend mount in PLA and it melted down after few prints. So I decided to give a try to prepare some more rigid and reliable mount

Wooden hotend mount , I even add some special "burnt texture" so it would match UM case . I've cut this mount on CNC (on 3 axis as I were too laze to centre material on 4th axis)

What do you think about it ?

My main concern about ABS mount is that it has 105 degrees melting point.

Heated bed I used can get up to 115-120 without an issue :/ (plus I have enclosed UM case)

I were testing E3D and looks very interesting (I've tested it only with ABS) and I might use it on my primary 3D printers (at least hotend based on idea of E3D as I believe that there is a way to make better design, I just need to find a little time to design it and to cut it off).

BTW How yours extruder motors temperature on UM while you're using heat bed and ABS ??

I having serious problems with overheating extruder motor (maybe current is too high, I haven't checked), so for now I just added some cooling fan on extruder motor and I hopefully it will help

 

[irongland 1]

haha I love your wooden version carmamir, did you base the mount on another previous design or did you model that from scratch?

I just got my hot end so I'm looking for a mount that I could modify a bit.

 

[mgg942 0]

Just to tempt fate I'm reporting that my (PLA only) E3D hot end has been running for weeks of daily use without a blockage. By far my longest run yet.

I've not, consciously, make any changes.

Might be that my theory of the entry edge of the stainless steel hollow stud shaving material is on the money and this edge is now smooth enough not to damage the filament.

I'm not suggesting that the PLA has worn it away (guess that would take millennia) more likely that the technique that I use for cleaning - through drilling of the assembly with a long series 1/8" drill with only the nozzle and Bowden tube fitting removed - has finally dulled that leading edge.

What d'you reckon?

 

[carmamir 0]

haha I love your wooden version carmamir, did you base the mount on another previous design or did you model that from scratch?

I just got my hot end so I'm looking for a mount that I could modify a bit.

 

Thanks it is popular e3d hot end from thingiverse, modified just a little bit.

I have E3D hot end designed from scratch but it is for my 3D printer (I will try to release both printers and parts in March/May, I'm aiming into complex semi-professional quality 3D printer, lots of new exciting features (software/hardware as I'm after uni and I know something about electronics, developing software etc. :>)).

I tested it against ABS version of this hot end. If you will use easy E3D hotend for Ultimaker from Thingivers and you will use heating cartridge from Ultimaker it might be difficult to put there fan conduct without melting it down as it is very easy to put heating cartridge too close what will end with fan conduct melting down on small surface.

I would need to prepare some easier model of fan conduct for CNC and prepare it from wood as it is working trurly brilliant (threaded holes for E3D (for tightening block which holds E3D to hot end) bolts after few times becoming loose, what means either I will print new ABS or I will use some glue. I'm taking E3D quite often for several reasons and ABS haven't lasted even 3 days ;(

I'm thinking to design new holder for hotend and I will cut it off wood, but this time on 4th axis, as I will cut it together with fan conduct...

To be honest I love wooden holder due to reliability and strength (when you compare to ABS).

 

[chopmeister 0]

I've printed a lot of stuff with the E3D so far. It has performed pretty good for me with PLA, without any clogs.

There are two things which irritate the hell out of me though. One is of course the fan, which when attached makes the whole hotend huge. And the second one, which I would like to hear from others about, is the fact that the nozzle itself is too small, or should I say the slope of the nozzle side is not steep enough, so it picks up strands of filament too easily, and that often ruins prints for me, especially first layers, because of filament buildup on the nozzle.

Does anybody else have similar experiences with it?

 

[am001 0]

My E3D was good too, although I have now moved onto water cooling, it still uses the e3d s/s tube and nozzle, I just replaced the e3d heatsink with an aluminium block with water through it.

The later nozzle I got from e3d has a small 'pip' in the centre, thus making the engles around the hole much steeper. This works really well and prevents the sticking.

 

[mgg942 0]

the nozzle itself is too small, or should I say the slope of the nozzle side is not steep enough, so it picks up strands of filament too easily, and that often ruins prints for me, especially first layers, because of filament buildup on the nozzle.

Does anybody else have similar experiences with it?

 

I don't really have the problem you describe though I do see filament building up on the nozzle. When starting a print I make a point of turning the extruder wheel to extrude some material from the hot end just before the nozzle touches the print plate in the homing movement. This collects most of the filament build up.

 

[tommyph1208 55]

Moving towards an E3D upgrade for my UM original, first parts assembled:

 

[musti 0]

I am happy to announce the new generation of my EasyE3DMount, http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:145988%20Feel%20free%20to%20test%20it%20and%20send%20me%20comments.%20The%20biggest%20difference%20is%20the%20fan%20mounting,%20which%20is%20purely%20magnetic%20now%20with%20spring%20loaded%20contacts,%20so%20swapping%20fan%20or%20other%20attachments%20is%20super%20easy,%20usefull%20if%20you%20do%20mostly%20ABS.

E3D works really well for me on several printers with PLA, ABS and also Laywood (only 0.6mm nozzle though!). Thanks Sanjay for providing great support!

 

[sanjay-e3d 3]

Hi ultimaker peeps,

Really awesome to see all the very beautifully designed solutions here on this thread. You UM guys seem to all have quite a bit more knack for design than I see elsewhere, lots of curved filleted pretty solutions!

I get a few people a week asking about how to mount the E3D to their machine, mainly pertaining to electronics/firmware setup. We're currently holding a competition on our own forums for the best guides and posts to do with E3D hotends. If someone were to write a guide for E3D and UM then they would stand a very good chance of winning some prize money.

http://forum.e3d-online.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=5

Competition details:

The forum is just starting out so we are looking to crowd-source some of the awesome guides and tutorials that many of you have written. Between you all, there is a fair bit of E3D experience!

 

By way of some encouragement we are running a competition for the best 10 posts made before Midnight (GMT) on the 31st March. The rewards for the best posts as follows:

 

Winner

£75 Store Credit

 

2nd Place

£50 Store Credit

 

3rd Place

£30 Store Credit

 

4th - 10th Place

£20 Store Credit

 

The posts can be on anything, however we are particularly looking for:

Assembly guides - printer specific or not

Reports of prints in interesting materials - very high temperatures?

Troubleshooting guides

Hacks & Mods

Printed Add-Ons - Carriages, mounts, ducts, etc..

Kraken-related experiences

For many of you, this could be as simple as re-posting one of your existing guides here. We're looking to create a centralised knowledge-base pertaining to all things E3D.

 

[jngf 0]

first my question:

After mounting my E3D All Metal Hotend on an original Ultimaker I had to reconfigure Marlin. I selected option 5 (5 is 100K thermistor - ATC Semitec 104GT-2 (Used in ParCan & J-Head) (4.7k pullup). I am not sure if 4,7k pullup is correct

Problem: The nozzle temperature on the Ulticontroller indicates a starting temperature of 147 Degr. After prepare heating for PLA the temperature is rising, the nozzle is heating. I cannot find an option for an offset of a thermistor. (BTW there is an option for the thermocouple AD595

Any suggestions where to improve??

additional notes:

For the mounting I sanded/polished the plastic Bowden coupling on one side to get it fit in my ABS printed hotend (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:94678). I extended the wires for the heater and the small fan for about 50 cm and replaced the limit switches for the X and Y axis. The model could be redesigned at some places, ie for the housing of the linear bearings, which could be easily 5 mm shorter on the sides, which are now reducing the work plane somewhat.

 

[jngf 0]

I mounted the E3D Hotend last week on my Ultimaker. Mechanically all went OK. I couldn't get the thermistor working OK. I put back in the original thermocouple AD595. Of course I made some modifications on the firmware, using Hinges Marlin Builder (I tried ErikZalm's github as well with Arduino 23). I tried all the different options (experimental and basic) with heated bed and Ulticontroller.

The result is the same, every time: The heating of the nozzle is very quickly, but is doesn't stop. So I get a Maxtemp error. Every time.

Am I the only one with this problem?

If not how do I solve it?

BTW I never had this kind of troubles in the past 3 years!