3D Printing Stack Exchange
3D Printing Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [bowden]

Questions using this tag should involve the Bowden extruder - a type of FDM extruder that doesn't have the motor mounted to the printer's XY gantry.

The Bowden extruder is a type of coldend where the filament feeding mechanism consists of a long PTFE sheath containing the filament as a Bowden cable with a frame mounted motor pushing the filament into the hotend, instead of mounting the motor right next the extruder hotend. More details here.

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What is the difference between a Bowden extruder and a direct drive extruder?

As these are the two most commonly used extruder systems in FDM printers, I would like to know what is the difference between them. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using each of them?
kosteklvp
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How to straighten PTFE tubes?

PTFE tubes are typically delivered coiled up. And because they are quite stiff, they always want to spring back to their original curvy shape, making them harder to route properly. Is there a way to straighten them out?
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What makes an extruder right handed?

I have been looking to buy a new extruder. One of the options I have seen comes in "right handed" and "left handed". What does this mean? How can I tell what my current extruder is, so I get the right replacement?
linuxdan
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Can I increase retraction length on an E3D v6 beyond 2 mm if I have a really long Bowden tube?

E3D mentions on their own wiki: Excessively long retractions will cause issues by dragging soft filament into cold areas. [...] for bowden systems you might want to go up to 2 mm. Retraction beyond 2 mm is likely to cause issues. I have retraction…
Tom van der Zanden
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PTFE pulled into extruder gears

I have a Tevo Tarantula, the problem is that PTFE is getting pulled back to the extruder gears and stopping filament extrusion, do you know how to solve this? Image: One hypothesis I have is that there is a cooling problem in the hot end while a…
AlonMln
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Extruder Clicking without Extrusion Problems

I own a DIY Hypercube Evolution equipped with Tevo Titan extruder, Clone Chimera hotend and Capricorn's High-temp PTFE tube. I use RAMPS with Mega and A4988's. During prints, my extruder motor randomly clicks. I touched the filament and during the…
Mehmet Aydın
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Installing bowden tube into E3D V6

I'm struggling with an upgrade I made to my Creality CR-10. I upgraded the extruder to an E3D V6 hotend. The extruder mount and cooling fans are installed and working, however, I'm doing something wrong with installing the bowden tube into the…
SvdSinner
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What are the limiting factors when trying to print flexible filaments with a Bowden extruder setup?

Other than the most obvious issue with the filament kinking in the tube, what other issues could arise when trying to print flexibles (i.e. TPU/TPE, Nylon, etc.) with a Bowden style extruder setup? Can the kinking issue be alleviated by a…
ifconfig
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Cold end coupler stuck on Bowden tube

I have a Creality Ender 3. I've unscrewed the coupler from the drive assembly, but can't get it loose from the tube. The hot end coupler came free easily. I compress the rubber gasket, but it stays tight. Are these manufactured to be replaced every…
Lee
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How does slipping Bowden tube affect retraction or does it at all?

I have an Ender 3 Pro with upgraded Bowden capricorn tube. The tube will move approximately 1-2 mm during normal operation, though it will not come out of the coupler at all. I have read that the movement if unchanging (constant movement of 1-2 mm)…
Johnny
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Bowden tube clog

There's PLA filament clogged in my Bowden tube, is there a best practice for cleaning it out or do I need to replace the whole tube? Also, the couplings are totally stuck, so I guess those would need replacement too or are there ways to get stuck…
Matt
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What do you call this effect in 3D printing and how can I remove it?

I have a Bowden extruder in my printer setup. Everything works great except this effect which must be related with retraction and is generated on Z layer change: The model itself, is printed in one layer perimeter / outline shell, with 0.25 mm…
OrElse
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Switched to a Bowden setup. Should I retract the filament out at the end of a print?

I switched my Anet A8 over to a Bowden and it's printing great. Moving that weight off has enabled me to almost double the speed and resonance problems have vanished. My question is regarding after the print is done should I add a retraction code…
Hellrazor
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Horizontal defects when linear_advance enabled?

What could cause that? When linear_advance (v1.5) is "off" (M900 K0) - everything is uniform and smooth, only corners are protruding as expected. When it is "on", I get these horizontal defects. My calibrated K-value is 2, I am getting same…
BarsMonster
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Would adding fiberglass packaging tape to a bowden tube be beneficial?

I came across this suggestion on the klipper github, https://www.facebook.com/groups/Hypercube.Evo/permalink/192106034761003/. In order to reduce the stretching in the bowden tube you can add fiberglass packaging tape lengthwise along the tube. This…
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