Attn: those that have modded aftermarket extruders/hotends
I'm getting a little tired of my Mini being a hunk of crap half the time (Even though it's awesome the other half). I've seen a few of you have done some mods with other hotends and or extruders. I'm getting curious about going down this route, but I don't trust my own creative and technical skills. Has anyone written up, or seen in the wild, a detailed build guide for such an upgrade?
RE: Attn: those that have modded aftermarket extruders/hotends
What issues are you seeing primarily? Under-extrution or extruder clicking? If so, I would recommend getting the Bondtech Prusa Mini heatbreak https://www.bondtech.se/en/product/bondtech-heat-break-for-prusa-mini/ which keeps your printer as close to stock and comes with a detailed guide. I have heard in different threads that the bondtech heatbreak solved most of their issues. Also by keeping it as close to stock there is less things to go wrong.
Still working through some kinks by upgrading the hotend. Also once you do get more comfortable with tinkering with your 3d printer, you can look into a new hotend and hopefully by then there will be more well-tested solutions.
If you are still interested in pursuing to a completely new hotend, I can describe the steps for the: https://www.prusaprinters.org/prints/36643-prusa-mini-mosquito-mount which should apply to any of the mosquito hotend steps as well. https://www.help.prusa3d.com/en/guide/how-to-change-a-heatsink-mini_121780 has great info on how to disassemble the hotend assembly.
RE: Attn: those that have modded aftermarket extruders/hotends
Under/over extrusion, jams, and PTFE tube shrink.
I think your right, I should start simple and work my way up. My only issue with that is having to pay $18 shipping on a $14 part. I could buy the bontech extruder too, but I feel like the stock extruder has been okay.
Mostly I wish Prusa would just acknowledge their flawed design, they are a great company so I expect more from them. Just my two cents, in case they ever read this.
RE: Attn: those that have modded aftermarket extruders/hotends
Completely agree, I'm hoping they acknowledge this issue and have a fix for it maybe in the next iteration for the Mini. Do you happen to be in the US? I actually have a spare bondtech heatbreak that I was planning on using but instead went with the Mosquito Hotend and would be happy to ship it to you. Should be cheaper than Sweden to US 🙂
RE: Attn: those that have modded aftermarket extruders/hotends
@4nthonylin
I am in the US and would happily buy that from you. Much appreciated.
RE: Attn: those that have modded aftermarket extruders/hotends
Under/over extrusion, jams, and PTFE tube shrink.
I think your right, I should start simple and work my way up. My only issue with that is having to pay $18 shipping on a $14 part. I could buy the bontech extruder too, but I feel like the stock extruder has been okay.
Mostly I wish Prusa would just acknowledge their flawed design, they are a great company so I expect more from them. Just my two cents, in case they ever read this.
So I agree that the bondtech is worth trying , however, I have gone down this path and I still experience frequent jams and clicking with the bondtech. There is an inherent design issue that causes perpetual heat creep. I am going to be upgrading to a Mosquito mount.
RE: Attn: those that have modded aftermarket extruders/hotends
You should look at doing the mosquito hot end upgrade. It is fairly simple and has solved all my issues.
RE: Attn: those that have modded aftermarket extruders/hotends
It took me a while, life got in the way last week, but I finally have the bontech heatbreak installed. It went smoothly and was an easy installation. I will have to wait for my verdict to see what side of the fence I fall on. I figure about a month of printing, as even installing a new PTFE tube things run good for a while.