Anet A8 Bowden E3D V6 Conversion Guide by GliDeThuNDeR

Last crawled date: 3 years ago

This guide will cover how to convert your Anet A8 from it's stock extruder, to an all metal Bowden E3D V6 (or clone) setup.
After seeing a large amount of Anet A8 users wanting to upgrade to an E3D V6 Bowden extruder, and a lack of information regarding the upgrade, I have decided to post a complete guide detailing how I went about the upgrade. When I did this myself, the lack of information caused me to repeatedly wait for parts, leaving my printer torn apart for nearly 3 weeks. Hopefully after reading this, you will be able to avoid doing the same.Note: I have enough spare hardware lying around, that I was able to complete this project without buying hardware. As a result I do not know what is needed or where. If someone can figure this out and provide feedback including this information I'd be happy to include it! (The .stl is irrelevant. Just included for publishing :D)
Step 1) Before you take your printer apart, you need to print a few parts:
E3D V6 Bowden carriage (I chose this one: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2099577)
Extruder motor mount (I chose this one: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2146021)
(Optional) X Axis Cable Chain (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2105040 (fully
compatible with the carriage I chose))
Step 2) There are several parts you need to buy, here's what I bought: (all links at bottom)
30mm 12V fan
Fan Duct (could also print it, but I just bought it)
M6 bowden connector, this one gives you a spare, and a spare bowden tube
(Recommended) Spare thermistors, incase of breakage during assembly
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01L2LFCWG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FBPQF1Q/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014G85MO0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01F1XTRGI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01B41K7OM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Step 3) Disassembly (explaining this from memory, may not be perfect)
Heat extruder, remove filament, let cool
Remove squirrel cage fan
Undo hex bolts holding fan and heat sink (while not ideal, I reused these), remove fan and heat sink
Remove screw on underside of extruder, holding the motor to the carriage
Loosen the M6 bolt on the underside (you will need this later)
Disconnect the extruder motor
Slide the extruder assembly off the carriage, and out of the way
Unscrew carriage from the mounts on the guide rods, set carriage aside (you will reuse the screws
Remove heat cartridge and thermistor from heat block (you will be reusing these)
Remove nozzle throat from heat block (ideally you will be reusing this)
Move heat block and nozzle off to the side. You do not need these
Remove Z axis guide rod cover from the side in which the extruder motor will reside (save the screw)
Step 4) Assembly (The exciting part?) Be sure to cable manage when necessary!
Install new carriage using original screws.
Remove screws from E3D heat block for cartridge and thermistor
Insert cartridge into heat block, tighten corresponding screw firmly
Insert thermistor, carefully tighten screw, do not over tighten
Slide E3D into carriage
Install cap over Extruder using screws
Screw 30mm fan into fan duct.
Slide fan and duct onto the E3D's heat sink.
Install squirrel cage fan, and any desired cooling nozzle
Runs screws through the carriage on either side of the extruder, to attach the X Axis belt to
Install the extruder motor mount on the top of the printer
Align all the parts of the motor as they would originally exist, and using the original screws in conjunction with nuts (along with one more appropriate screw) attach the motor to the mount. The input side of the motor should face toward the outside of the printer
Connect the Bowden connector to the stock nozzle throat using the M6 bolt from the original extruder. (This bolt and throat trick is not necessary, but makes loading filament much easier. I have not had issues with this connection, as sketchy as it may seem)
Screw the nozzle throat into the output of the extruder motor, until it is an appropriate distance from the gear and bearing.
Connect the bowden tube between the motor and extruder.
Step 5) Initial testing (technically skippable):
Be weary of the fact that the extruder is lower than before, make the necessary adjustments to prevent the nozzle from crashing
Hold in screw on extruder motor, feed the filament until it is coming out the heated extruder
Try a print! (You may need to reduce/temporarily disable retraction)
Step 6) Firmware
As noted in the thing summary for the carriage, the X positioning of the extruder is slightly different. As you probably noticed in Step 5, this leads to prints being offset from the center of the bed. You can either account for this in your starting GCODE in your slicer of choice, or you can reflash firmware. Because of it's availability, I updated to Skynet. I do not recommend fighting with Skynet unless you also have an auto-leveling sensor. I dislike my current firmware configuration strongly (if anyone can tell me where I can find the stock firmware, that would be appreciated). Long story short, you need the Arduino IDE, and once you open the files for your desired firmware, find the file called "configuration.h", and open it. use CTRL + F and find the string "X_MIN_POS", and set this value to -10. Compile the firmware, and push it to the printer over USB.Step 7) Enjoy!
Print a retraction test or two and dial your settings in, once you re-familiarize yourself with your printer, have fun increasing your print speeds!
I wish I had found a better solution as far as firmware is concerned, but I have made this as detailed as possible. Please provide feedback regarding the completeness of this, and let me know if there's anything I missed!
(Please note: I am not responsible for any damages or injuries caused while following this guide. Thanks)