I’ve been building 3D printers as a hobby for about 5 years now. Many of my friends who also own 3D printers would agree that one of the most exciting parts of owning a 3D printer is being able to improve it by simply printing out new and improved designs.

After coming up short in my search for an x-carriage design that had all the functionality I was looking for I finally decided to just design my own. I had a number of criteria that I wanted to implement which I discuss below. You can view the project and models on Thingiverse. Please comment and post any feedback or ideas you have regarding the design. I’d love to hear other people’s ideas!

The e3d Titan Aero Extruder

I went with the Titan Aero because I believe it is one of the best extruders on the market for hobbiest 3d printer builds. It has a great compact design, and an integrated low profile heatsink. While the cost out the door is high – $120 for the 12V, 1.75 mm model – the Titan Aero has performed wonderfully for 1000s of hours with few issues.

It comes in many variations and kits, which make it great if you are already invested in the e3d ecosystem with one of their extruders. Furthermore, the instructions and documentation are easy to fine and detailed.

Low-profile to maximize build volume in z direction

Many printers especially with the non-Aero Titan tend to leave quite a bit of space between the bottom of the carriage and the tip of the hotend sacrificing build height. While this isn’t an issue for most, I wanted to design this extruder to achieve the absolute maximum in build volume.

Igus Drylin linear bearings

While I haven’t had any real issues with cheap LM8UU bearings, I wanted to try out drylin bearings for this design. I’m using the RJUM-01 which are cased in aluminum and are completely swappable with the LM8UU just in case I decide I want to switch back. They use a special plastic that also acts as a lubricant meaning you should never have to oil the rods using this design.

I’ve read and watched videos that show they don’t move as freely as the ball bearing ones. I am hoping this dampening affect will reduce ringing when printing around corners and sharp geometries. They are pricey at $9.69 each, so the cost:performance ratio may not be worth it, but we shall see.

BL-Touch

I choose the BL Touch as my auto-leveling hardware of choice due to my preference of using a heated platform with a glass bed, making induction and capacitive sensors ineffective. The hardware is dead simple, easy to wire, and since the design doesn’t rely on your bed surface type, you can use it with almost any 3D printer. The BL Touch is also compatible and easy to implement with many different firmwares – Marlin has a section especially for it in the config.h file.

Magnetically coupled radial fan mount

This is where things get a little more interesting. I’ve noticed that many fan designs are typically screwed in-place or are placed on a pivoting arm. These designs, especially those with all-around fan ducts, means that swapping of the nozzle typically requires complete removal of the fan. Since I tend to swap nozzles on a fairly regular basis any way I can streamline this process would be greatly welcomed. By incorporating a mount to magnetically couple the fan to the carriage, the removal process could take seconds instead of minutes significantly reducing my nozzle swap time.

Custom PCB and cable strain relief

When making any electrical modifications to the 3D printer carriage, rewiring is by far the most annoying part, at least for me. To simplify this process I’m adding a custom PCB with a 16 pin connector to handle all the connectivity. This PCB will include standard male Dupont connectors as well as optional solder pads for connectivity to all carriage components. I’m using the Molex Microfit 3.0 series which are great locking connectors rated to 5A per circuit, perfect for 30-40 watt heater cartridges. Finally, I’m adding a strain relief tower to hold the ribbed hose cover and wires. Additionally, this board will do double duty as I’ll be integrating it into my P3Steel electronics enclosure.