Compact Extruder for Cyclops/Chimera by AdamoRobinson

Last crawled date: 3 years ago

EDIT 12/11/2016: I finally uploaded a change to the design that I have been tinkering with for a while now. It moves the BLTouch mount so that it sits in a recess carved out of the Rail Spacer object, which reduces the amount of filament required. It also makes setting up fans a little easier, and (for me) expanded my functional build volume. I left the old files up in case anybody prefers them (the idlers are the same either way).
This is a compact dual direct-drive extruder I designed to use the E3D Cyclops/Chimera on my RepRap Folger Tech 2020 Prusa i3. I decided to design my own extruder because I would have been losing print space on the X-Axis with most of the other designs available. By rotating the motors I can make the design narrower, which allows me to get back that lost print space along the X-Axis.
My design faces the two motors towards each other straddling the chrome rods on the X-Axis & offsetting them so they can be attached using standard M3 screws. I also don't use any bearings on the idlers because I've found that cutting the PTFE tubing in a semicircle around the drive gear works just as well (plus, it doesn't let flexible filament escape as easily). So, all you need to assemble this (minus the Cyclops/Chimera obviously) is a large supply of M3 nuts and bolts. The ones I used are from Hilitchi and are pretty cheap on Amazon if you live in the US.
The RailSpacer model is there to keep me from losing ~12mm of print space due to how my endstops are set up. If your Prusa is able to reach the full print area without the extra boost then go ahead and skip that piece.
Fan mounting points are in front, although I'm still working on a better solution to active layer cooling.There are also two cable tie brackets on the upper right to immobilize any delicate wires and keep them in position
The design was created in Fusion 360, so I also uploaded a STEP file if anyone wants to remix.