15:1 Gear Set and Improved twist-lock for Remote Direct Drive Extruder

Improved strength of the twist-lock "wings" and slightly increased clearances for the PA12 tube connector and mounting bolt.

I had problems with the "wings" exploding when under load, they could be snapped off even with just light pressure from finger. In this remix the wall width is about doubled, making them much harder to break off. The central hole diameter is slightly increased to make it easier to insert the PA12 tube connector and the bolt hole is also slightly enlarged to avoid issues when removing the bolt.

The PA12 tube connector has had the brim slimmed down to make it an easier press fit in the twist-lock. Depending on printer accuracy, you may find the remixed version too loose so you may prefer to use the original and file to fit.

I have also produced a 15:1 reduction worm gear set. I found that my printer was working a little too hard to keep up with the original 30:1 reduction. Halving the ratio allows the printer to make faster moves (e.g. for retraction, loading and unloading filament) and keeps the step driver well within the "stealth chop" zone for near-silent operation.

I've also attached a photo of my fleet of Benchies. The yellow one is in PLA with a 4mm nozzle and using the 30:1 original gear set. The orange one is in PETG with a 0.2mm nozzle and using the remixed 15:1 gear set. They are both really nice in terms of accuracy. The orange PETG version does have some signs of under-extrusion, but that's probably down to me not dialing in my 0.2mm profiles correctly yet.

Category: 3D Printer Extruders