Adding 3D printer ability to my CNC / advice needed please

[Boyan Silyavski]

i was investigating the same thing last week.

It depends from the $$ you wish to spend. Single head or double head. Note that double does not mean that it will be double fast, the good thing is that you can use support and then dissolve it, while with the single head you have to print the support for overhang elements from the same plastic.

From all this investigation i went to this conclusion:

-Hotends:
E3D-v6 HotEnd or Prometheus Hot End

i personally think that the prometheus is the better choice here


-Extruders:


One of the Bulldog extruders or one of the Goliat extruders coupled with:


-geared /planetary 5:1 or more/ nema 17 motor + the gear type like at the Goliat extruders web+ cheap micro stepper driver for 3 d printing

or

-nema 23 motor if you have the driver and make the extruder . take care what motor fits the exruders you buy



From the boards you suggest i will no doubt buy the thermocouple one cause i like to see exact temperatures on a display. Another thing is to search for PID temperature controller on ebay + thermocouple, you will need also cartridge heater. All here depends what voltage you want to drive all, what hot end and what fits there. The heater and the motor should not be driven from same supply.

So to resume: you need PID temp controller, thermocouple, heating element ~40-50w, PSU for the heating element, PSU for the stepper driver, stepper driver, geared stepper motor , Hot end, Extruder


Hope that will save you some time investigating. yes, there are cheaper around, but it needs to be reliable, or so the guys say. I dont want to spend my time cleaning nozzles