this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2023
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You should look into a dual gear extruder. They're a slight upgrade from this kind and do a lot better without wearing out. If you want a bigger upgrade though, look into a BMG clone. It's great for direct drive if you decide that you want to do that at some point. It has a 3:1 gear ratio so you'd need to adjust e-steps, but it's really efficient.
Thanks for the recommendation.... Do you have a link to a good one? Seems like there's a ton of option on Amazon.
What's the benefits of a direct drive?
Direct drive requires less retraction by like an order of magnitude which speeds up printing. There isn't the tension that builds up like a spring in the Bowden tube.
The precision of the extruder components is really important. The Bowden setup is less critical to an extent. This guy explains the issues really well here:
https://piped.video/watch?v=c6JmCdovE0U
Thanks for the link!
If you decide to go BMG, trianglelabs is among the best clones I've used:
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mNwY2NK
I also recommend the trianglelab BMG extruder from aliexpress. They're the king of clones. Otherwise, just go for anything with a good amount of reviews on amazon. They aren't too expensive. Most of us who've been printing long enough have a drawer full of extruder parts :p
Direct drive not only lets you print with flexible filament and more precision like the others mentioned - but I also prefer it to bowden because over time, the tubing will get melted and you'll need to snip off the end. With direct drive, it's usually only an inch of tube that you can just replace. With bowden, you can end up either decreasing your hotend's reach (tube gets too short) or have to buy and install a whole new length. Plus, direct drive means faster reload time, less things going wrong. You may just need to get a light stepper motor or compensate other ways with direct drive, as the main downside is the potential for ringing due to a heavier hotend. I don't notice it much, but that would be the trade off.
dd’s give better retraction and can offer better precision, especially with flexible filament
Bowden can print much faster because the print bead weighs substantially less and introduces less patterning
I have to second this. A dual geared BMG clone was the best upgrade I did for my Ender 3 pro.