E3D V4 All metal hotend

[Flateric]

Mine did and the PTC fitting they have chosen is soooooo much better than the brass ones we are used to. The bowden tube can pass completely through the connector and up into your extruder if you like even. The other plus is that the connector is not as hard oin the tube and it is not limited to just that one little spot on the tube for sucuring itself. Way better IMO.

[SanjayM]

Flateric
Yup the bowden version isn't just us charging you £16 for a bit of tube and two couplers! That would be daft.

The bowden version uses a low friction delrin coupler with steel teeth that we modify so that the tube doesn't just push into the coupler, but actually pushes through it. The bowden heatsink is drilled and tapped to accept the coupler as you would expect, but it also is counter-drilled to accept the tubing deep into the heatsink.

I will try and get a photo or some cross sectional drawings done, but what this means is that the PTFE tubing runs all the way through the coupler and down into the heatsink so there is no deadzone or gap for filament to catch or be unconstrained in. It makes loading filament much smoother and easier, and reduces friction along the filament path. It is also very compact compared to a printed version.

The extra cost covers the additional heatsink machining, the coupler modification, as well as the cost of the couplers and tubing itself.

[SanjayM]

Fiero2M6
I tend to go for .25mm layers and 0.5mm wide traces on the 0.4mm nozzle for most structural stuff, like printer parts for example.

You should be able to push the trace width higher than that, I expect you will start getting rough top surface finish when you begin to exceed 0.8mm trace widths. I'd actually like to get the 0.6mm nozzle to have a wider flat on it, so you can go beyond 1mm trace widths for really big strong fast prints at 0.5mm layer height or so.
I had a 0.6mm nozzle running at 280C yesterday printing PLA really really FAST. When you hit the speed limits related to melt rate with an all metal hotend you can just crank the temp right up to get really fast melt rates.

Eaglezsoar
As we went from v4 to v5 the design was in a slight state of flux, and batches had minor amendments made as we went. It was a bit of a crazy time as we were expanding very quickly. Essentially the v4.1 is nearly identical to the v5, apart from a few minor chamfer angle changes and in some cases a heat break length change.

To clarify the difference between v4 and v5 is mainly the heatsink, which has more fins, but the fins are thinner. This means more cooling, and less weight. The second real difference of note is the nozzle chamfer angle, which was increased to a sharper tip to give better top surface finish and less "dragging" of the nozzle over curled overhangs etc.

Parts should be compatible across the whole range, so you can use a v5 nozzle in a v4 as an upgrade. With the exception of the heatbreak, which has had some changes over time in it's overall length.

Regarding Bowden versions
The bowden versions come drilled and tapped to accept a 1/8thBSPP male coupler. The direct versions do not come drilled/tapped. The post above clarifies the details of the bowden setup.

Hope that clears things up!

The documentation WILL be overhauled. I can't do it right now, apologies.

Cheers,
Sanjay

[Eaglezsoar]

Thank you Sanjay. That clears up a lot.
One other question, if I order a nozzle will it be the version 5 type or the version 4. I did not see a way to choose.

[SanjayM]

v5 stuff is all we are shipping now, no v4 or v4.1 stuff is left.

[Eaglezsoar]

v5 stuff is all we are shipping now, no v4 or v4.1 stuff is left.

Great, Sanjay!
Since I know you need more to do you can expect an order from me for 2 of your Bowden hotends and
spare parts. I expect superfast shipping of within 4 weeks, just kidding. I want to thank you again for being
so responsive on this site, you sir are one of a kind and I mean that in the nicest terms.

[Generic Default]

I just got mine Friday morning, and by 11:40pm I had it mounted and printing.

HUGE difference in print quality and strength. I'm doing 260 with trimmer line and I can't break or delaminate the parts, even with needle nose pliars. The surface finish on magnetic arm joints looks like they were turned on a lathe, except for the STL vertices. I'll try to get some before and after pictures soon.
The hotend works great, but the only thing that bugs me is how thin the heat break is. It looks so fragile.

[aerouta]

Wow, there is nothing on the site that indicates that there is a difference between to two hotend besides the tubing. I just orded and received the wrong one, plus its a v4. I hope I can exchange these without an issue.

[Eaglezsoar]

Wow, there is nothing on the site that indicates that there is a difference between to two hotend besides the tubing. I just orded and received the wrong one, plus its a v4. I hope I can exchange these without an issue.

How do you know it's a version 4? There is very little difference that I could find between the two. If you know how
to tell the difference please let me know, I've been trying to learn that but the documentation on the site is sparse.
Sanjay promises to fix the docs as soon as he gets a chance.

[Eaglezsoar]

Great News! I ordered two of the E3D bowden style hotends on August 1 and I received them today, August 17.
Even with shipping only about 2 weeks! Sanjay has also cleaned up the documentation and made it easy to download
the PDF files. Great job Sanjay! I just wanted to know that they have improved the wait time, YA-HOO!

[lordbinky]

Customs held my order in LA (why the package ends up on the West coast instead of the east coast or ANYWHERE in between...*sigh* Government logic) I'll be getting more parts in soon... eventually...

[JohnStack]

Customs held my order in LA (why the package ends up on the West coast instead of the east coast or ANYWHERE in between...*sigh* Government logic) I'll be getting more parts in soon... eventually...

That's only because us Left Coasters are too cool.

[lordbinky]

... Nope, not gunna do it. I'll take the high road to any generalizations or archetypes as a punchline to why customs held express mail for 4* days...

*No tracking activity other than it 'departed' at an unspecified time Although they knew exactly when it got there...

[Flateric]

Great News! I ordered two of the E3D bowden style hotends on August 1 and I received them today, August 17.
Even with shipping only about 2 weeks! Sanjay has also cleaned up the documentation and made it easy to download
the PDF files. Great job Sanjay! I just wanted to know that they have improved the wait time, YA-HOO!

This is really good news and proof that they are working hard on the only sticking point I am many others have had with the E3D hotends.

Super glad to see shipping is getting to be decently normalized.

Good job E3D.

[lordbinky]

The heater cartridge issue was ridiculous to have to deal with, but important for them to be extra cautious of.

A 24V cartidge on 12V was maddening for me since it dances around unusable for ABS, It couldn't get hotter than ~230°C, I had to print slow (30mm/s was too fast) because the heater couldn't keep the temperature high enough to extrude otherwise, and it took the hotend longer to heat up than the bed. It's temporarily fixed with a 24V power supply, but since I couldn't tell which place this catridge came from I was hesistant to buy another from anyone that I didn't know for sure was avoiding those ones. Oh and it was definitely labeled as a 12V 40W heater catridge.

[theverant]

The heater cartridge issue was ridiculous to have to deal with, but important for them to be extra cautious of.

A 24V cartidge on 12V was maddening for me since it dances around unusable for ABS, It couldn't get hotter than ~230°C, I had to print slow (30mm/s was too fast) because the heater couldn't keep the temperature high enough to extrude otherwise, and it took the hotend longer to heat up than the bed. It's temporarily fixed with a 24V power supply, but since I couldn't tell which place this catridge came from I was hesistant to buy another from anyone that I didn't know for sure was avoiding those ones. Oh and it was definitely labeled as a 12V 40W heater catridge.

SeeMeCNC has 12v carts listed in their store (currently out of stock) - maybe you could enquire as to expected availability and 12voltedness?

[Eaglezsoar]

The heater cartridge issue was ridiculous to have to deal with, but important for them to be extra cautious of.

A 24V cartidge on 12V was maddening for me since it dances around unusable for ABS, It couldn't get hotter than ~230°C, I had to print slow (30mm/s was too fast) because the heater couldn't keep the temperature high enough to extrude otherwise, and it took the hotend longer to heat up than the bed. It's temporarily fixed with a 24V power supply, but since I couldn't tell which place this catridge came from I was hesistant to buy another from anyone that I didn't know for sure was avoiding those ones. Oh and it was definitely labeled as a 12V 40W heater catridge.

Lordbinky if you get a chance, could you measure the resistance of the 24V cartridge? I have what I hope are 12V but I'm not sure because I have nothing
to compare them to in regards to what the resistance should be.

[Flateric]

Should be around 6 Ohm, if I am not mistaken.

Just double checked for ya, all of these I have are used keep in mind, but lowest I read is 4 and highest I read is 8 ohm.

[Eaglezsoar]

Should be around 6 Ohm, if I am not mistaken.

Thanks Flateric.

[Flateric]

Never a problem man.

What kinda readings are you getting?

My test was of 8 carts, so a good wide test number.

Most were 6ohm. Used, though not new, I think this would affect the reading some.

[Eaglezsoar]

Never a problem man.

What kinda readings are you getting?

My test was of 8 carts, so a good wide test number.

Most were 6ohm. Used, though not new, I think this would affect the reading some.

Mine are 12v and average about 3.6 ohm which calculates out to 40 watts.

If your 24v is reading 6 ohms that calculates to 96 watts which is way high.

It was my understanding that the power used by these cartridges is around 40 watts. My 12v is in the ballpark.
I do not understand why your 24v is reading 6 ohms, they should be in the 12 or 13 ohm area to expend 40 watts.
I am beginning to think that there is no quality control on these and you should have several and use the one that comes close to what you need.

Anyway, in summation it was my understanding that these cartridges should be expending 40 watts. To do this the 12v should be around 3.5 ohms.
The 24 V should be around 13 ohms. There is a neat little calculator located here: http://www.crownaudio.com/ohms-law.htm

[626Pilot]

Is there a mounting plate for this that allows for their Bowden fittings? I want to use them but none of the mounts I have or found will accommodate it.

[Eaglezsoar]

Is there a mounting plate for this that allows for their Bowden fittings? I want to use them but none of the mounts I have or found will accommodate it.

Here is two of them designed for the non-bowden E3D to use a Bowden tube.
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:57889
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:60539

If you buy the Bowden version of the E3d, the Push to Connect fitting is included and screws directly into the top of the E3D hotend. In this case you will need a simple groove mount
holder such as the one being sold by Seemecnc.com. See the documents at E3D and it may start making more sense.

[lordbinky]

Here is my bowden version mounted using the ezgroove mount from seemecnc. Although I lose some printing height the way it is mounted the printed effector is safe until I decide to put more work into it.

When I had it mounted on the stock effector, I had to get additional spacers and longer screws to make room for the fan.

[Eaglezsoar]

Here is my bowden version mounted using the ezgroove mount from seemecnc. Although I lose some printing height the way it is mounted the printed effector is safe until I decide to put more work into it.

image.jpg

When I had it mounted on the stock effector, I had to get additional spacers and longer screws to make room for the fan.

image.jpg

Are the effector and the rod ends parts from the Xnaron magnetic arms thread?