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parameters for hotend/extruder upgrades?  

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teus
 teus
(@teus)
Active Member
parameters for hotend/extruder upgrades?

I'm looking to install some upgrades on an MK3S. A friend gave me his spare Bondtech extruder gear and Velleman/Vertex Mosquito hotend. The Bondtech gearing is a straightforward upgrade. Bondtech has great instructions to install the gearing, with and without Mosquito hotend. They provide the firmware as well, which seems to be hassle-free.  The Mosquito would need to be stripped from the extra hardware, but I'm also considering a Dragon hotend, or anything which is a more straightfoward drop-in replacement. 

Now: what parameters need to be tweaked in Prusaslicer to make use of such upgrades?
I can't even find straightforward extrusion rates for different hotends. Apparently the stock E3D hotend is rated at 15mm^3/sec for PLA, while Prusa recommends a conservative 12mm³/sec. 
As for the Mosquito: no idea.
The Dragon hotend vendors rate PLA @ 215C extrusion like this: E3D V6 at 40mm³/sec, Dragon at 46mm³/sec, and Dragon high-flow at 62.5mm³/sec... which doesn't tell anything at all. 

The Bondtech gearing also makes a difference, and I can't find any parameters for that...

Posted : 31/10/2021 12:07 pm
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FoxRun3D
(@foxrun3d)
Famed Member

I have Dragon's on all but 1 of my printers, Mk3S+ and Mini. I use this adaptor for the Mini: https://www.prusaprinters.org/prints/63259-prusa-mini-mini-dragon-hotend-mounthttps://www.prusaprinters.org/prints/63259-prusa-mini-mini-dragon-hotend-mount. For the Mk3S+, there are a number of adaptors, almost all of which replacing one of the parts of the original extruder to keep the Dragon from rotating. Instead, I use this ingenious small piece that just slides onto one of the screws in the original extruder: https://www.prusaprinters.org/prints/67418-dragon-hotend-adapter-phaetustrianglelab. Works great.

Apart from the adaptor, the Dragon is a drop-in replacement. No changes required to the firmware.  Uses standard E3D nozzles, thermistor, heating element. I did PID tuning and added the new values to the custom startup GCODE in Prusaslicer but I'm pretty sure, it would work just fine without it. I didn't have to make any changes to my print profiles to accommodate the Dragon. Honestly, I don't see any measurable difference in print quality one way or the other. I assume I could bump the MVS up, but I just don't see a need for it. My primary reason for getting the Dragon was to simplify nozzles changes, which I do at least once a day across my printers. It' s now a one-handed operation, and I don't need to worry about breaking the thermistor cable, which I used to be pretty good at... 

Formerly known on this forum as @fuchsr -- until all hell broke loose with the forum software...

Posted : 31/10/2021 5:29 pm
teus
 teus
(@teus)
Active Member
Topic starter answered:
interesting motivation!

 

Posted by: @fuchsr

For the Mk3S+, there are a number of adaptors, almost all of which replacing one of the parts of the original extruder to keep the Dragon from rotating. Instead, I use this ingenious small piece that just slides onto one of the screws in the original extruder: https://www.prusaprinters.org/prints/67418-dragon-hotend-adapter-phaetustrianglelab. Works great.

Thanks for sharing this bit of info, I don't like swapping nozzles on an MK3 too often. 

Posted : 01/11/2021 6:27 pm
Jemison
(@jemison)
Eminent Member
RE: parameters for hotend/extruder upgrades?

 

Posted by: @fuchsr

I have Dragon's on all but 1 of my printers, Mk3S+ and Mini. I use this adaptor for the Mini: https://www.prusaprinters.org/prints/63259-prusa-mini-mini-dragon-hotend-mounthttps://www.prusaprinters.org/prints/63259-prusa-mini-mini-dragon-hotend-mount. For the Mk3S+, there are a number of adaptors, almost all of which replacing one of the parts of the original extruder to keep the Dragon from rotating. Instead, I use this ingenious small piece that just slides onto one of the screws in the original extruder: https://www.prusaprinters.org/prints/67418-dragon-hotend-adapter-phaetustrianglelab. Works great.

Apart from the adaptor, the Dragon is a drop-in replacement. No changes required to the firmware.  Uses standard E3D nozzles, thermistor, heating element. I did PID tuning and added the new values to the custom startup GCODE in Prusaslicer but I'm pretty sure, it would work just fine without it. I didn't have to make any changes to my print profiles to accommodate the Dragon. Honestly, I don't see any measurable difference in print quality one way or the other. I assume I could bump the MVS up, but I just don't see a need for it. My primary reason for getting the Dragon was to simplify nozzles changes, which I do at least once a day across my printers. It' s now a one-handed operation, and I don't need to worry about breaking the thermistor cable, which I used to be pretty good at... 

Hi @fuschr,

Newb question - but I'm wondering what was your motivation to mod your hotend to the Dragon?  I see the advantage of one handed nozzle change, but is there some other benefit to print quality?  With the revo coming along - would the two offer the same features?

Thanks in advance!

Posted : 05/01/2022 6:08 pm
FoxRun3D
(@foxrun3d)
Famed Member
RE: parameters for hotend/extruder upgrades?

@jemison

For me, it was the convenience of nozzle changing. I change nozzles frequently, so for me it was worth the investment. I don't see (or expected to see) any changes in print quality. The high flow version is supposed to let you print at higher MVS but it's not something I need, and seems to be more prone to clogging. 

Formerly known on this forum as @fuchsr -- until all hell broke loose with the forum software...

Posted : 05/01/2022 8:06 pm
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