i have the flexion. its a pain in the ass to tweak when it is not gripping right but my god is it worth it. the quality and precision of the prints are simply stunning! just look at some of my videos especially the rook and the vice where i had it dialed in perfectly. what it really needs os a stronger stepper. if you tighten too much it stalls the stepper so you have to loosen it but your always on the verge of just about too loose. but man when you get the bugger dialed in the results are breath taking. most important though is the precision. i tell it the nozzle is .4mm and that i want a .4mm line and set the multiplier to .97 to 1.0 and golly gee the little bugger delivers perfectly what i instructed it too. absolutely blown away by this extruder and it is worth the tweaking pain when dealing with pla for the precision and stunning print quality. apparently this is specific to hard filament such as pla (flexion says the hardst the tweak for) and its much more forgiving with flexibles. my prints come out just like his does. perfect. scary perfect considering my printer was $310. install the thicker y plate. install the z brace kit and install a flexion and you will be stunned by the quality you can extract from these printers.
I don't know about you guys, but I have tried myself at standard NinjaFlex yellow with my MK8 extruder. After I had adjusted the hotend feed tube to sit right next to the gearing, with almost no play ... I got an almost perfect print with it, doing a cube without any wall or infill problems... Maybe that extruder might help, but I think it's worth a shot to try and adjust your own hotend first to try and get it working. IT can go very nicely!
Fantastic. I was just considering buying this upgrade for my Wanhao. Partly for flexibles, but largely because my particular machine is a dog when loading filament. About 2 times in 3, I have to partially dismantle the extruder in order to get the filament to load properly. Now I have a Prusa I3 MK2, I've seen what loading filament should be like!
I think that's a very cool upgrade for almost any printer. I would probably use it on a more expansive printer around $500 or up, or else you might as well put that money into a better printer.
Thanks Angus. Just ordered a Single flexible filament extruder retrofit kit for dual extruder printer and they were very generous too. Been looking at for a while great video and thanks for your thoughts
Hey Angus , dam man don't even joke . the first filament I ever tried was flexible PLA, as a newbie I didn't even know what it was. I spend hours/ day's trying to figure out why my printer / prints where not printing and jamming up my printer. it was only after a week I decided to try another roll of PLA when i saw that it was not the same and almost kicked my self. I checked my invoice and saw I ordered PLA but two of the rolls where PLA flexible, didn't even notice or know better. Since then they have just been laying on the table gathering dust :(
Just bought a Flexion Extruder HT with your code, Still Works! Sweet! If possible a video of what do you think now after about a year. Is it still good? Should you get the normal or HT ver, ETC
What is the roll of TPE you never could use and where did you get it from? I'm currently working on building a 3d printer, so i watched your vid just at the right time going to get a flexion extruder for it. THANKS!
I bought a kit for my Creator Pro 2, it’s worth every penny, not only can I print faster and a lot more quite, but I can now print flexible materials with ease without searching for hours on the internet for the exact settings I must use. It now just works. This is also a must have if you are printing filaments with chopped carbon, my models look amazing.
I'm curious, on a scale of 1 to 10, what would you rate the quality shown at 5:45 for the green part and what would you rate the average quality you've seen? I'm still getting those cornering artifacts, but once I get bigger belts it should go away, I hope....
Hey man so I have the maker select v2 and it's been 4 years since I got it and I've noticed that more and more I get more vibration from the y axis motor.. it doesnt have that high pitched sound anymore it's more like a small vibration... it slides perfectly with the belt and motor detached and there's no noise when moving by hand... I changed the stepper motor and it's the same... what else can cause this vobration
There is this printable extruder somewhat similar to this called the Slavstruder on thingiverse and I’d be curious to see what you have to say about it! I’m printing one for myself to see how it works.
I was interested in buying one but i dont like that they use a glass bead type thermistor, i cant take anything less than a cartridge type, i am using a Dyze Pro out of Quebec and it is supposed to do flex filament well but i havent tested that yet as i am waiting for a replacement motor that seized within the first 2 weeks. In the meantime i've ordered a Receus V3 out of spain with is also into flexible filament, I am not really, but keep looking for a good, dependable extruder that can print with larger nozzle sizes.
I've installed this and have yet to print any successful prints. I can't even get it started to print. I end up with nothing but a bird's nest and flexion has no information worth reading. They don't even handle this problem. Going back to my old one.
Since it does not need a heated bed, would one be able to take a CNC Engraver and make a flexible printer from it similarily to replacing the engraver with a laser?
I have one of the first CTC Dual printers and I have been using TPU straight off the roll. The prints are perfect. I don’t need this expensive bit of kit.
Hello angus I just wanted to ask few quick question and maybe get some help so awhile my i3 wanhao died well one day I was printing and the little fan in the front popped and smoked and ever since it couldn't read register temps so i3 wont print what would be the best way in you your opinion to go about to fix it and also ive been looking at this flexion extruder
Angus. hope you can help me out. I really really love my flexion. WHEN it works properly I get simply astounding results. mind blowing even considering the price of my printer and the precision is second to none so far (granted I have only used 3 extruders in my life but even comparing my prints to other peoples prints) IE I did this on my maker select (same as your cacoon create) in under 3 hours at 100mics and I did not have the jerk and acc lowered yet th-cam.com/video/NS9_Wt_EkMg/w-d-xo.html so it should come out even better but My god is it a pain to tune the pressure right. not enough and it under extrudes as it slips too much and it under extrudes as it stalls the stepper. Grrrr sometimes I get it just right and I can make HUGE prints (like the VICE ! wow did that come out spectacular) how did you go about tuning for pla. anything special? flexion tells me the stepper is a bit weak for the extruder for PLA. suggestions on a replacement stronger stepper?
it was my stepper. either it was just too underpowered or more likely something was wrong with it or it was dying. spent all day fighting with it could not make it work. replaced stepper after reversing the wires and WOW. working perfectly again and not nearly so "picky" about cam pressure now. OH I am so happy. the part is looking spectacular and "precise" as I have come to love from my flexion.
Wanhao i3 extruder steppers can be a problem. I think mine is a bit weak as well, so the grub screw has to be just right with the Flexion. On top of that, the trimmer that controls the current to the stepper might be off as well and in order to adjust it correctly, you need to figure out which stepper you have. And after it has been adjusted, it might actually become weaker than it was. The best option seems to be to upgrade the stepper. But it's a jungle out there and you have to be really careful to get the right spec motor and even then you can end up having to reverse those two pins and will most likely have to adjust the current as well. Prima3d offers spare parts for the i3 and they have two stepper models available. I think the X/Y/E stepper is the weak one and the Z stepper is the stronger one. My biggest worry is that small filament variations will cause the extruder to stop in the middle of a really long print. Sort of like a car stuck in mud or snow, spinning its wheels without going anywhere. One thing that makes it less likely to happen is to keep the print speeds reasonable. If the hot end doesn't have time to heat up the filament properly, the stepper will have to work harder. So for a while I was printing PLA at up to 70 mm/s, but I think I have to drop it down to 55 mm/s or 60 mm/s to be safe. My ABS settings are lower, but I have only printed a few parts in ABS so far.
+Juri Munkki this is why I want more torque with more torque I can tighten down the cam on the filament more reducing the variation that filament has to cause me a problem if I can torque it enough small filament variations become irrelevant it's only a problem when you are balancing the torque on the cam on the verge of being too tight and too loose more torque equals a larger balance spread even with this $14 stepper I'm seeing a huge Improvement in that balance it's not nearly so finicky and I cannot torque it down nicely
You’re not exaggerating. When I got my first 3D printer I bought flexible filament and it went exactly as you stated. It’s seriously under a desk somewhere I have to go look for it and take it out and mess with it again after many years, if it even works. Lol. Thank you for inspiring me to check back into flexible filament printing.
The results look astonishing, I've printed NinjaFlex with great success on Bowden systems after fine tuning but due to TPU's water absorption property, the filament is unusable after a few weeks.
Angus, what retraction settings were using? I am running my Flexions on my Creator Pros at 50mm/s all day long for TPU. I am printing about 10kg of TPU per week right now. I also have my retraction at 2mm and about 2500mm/min for retraction speed
That is insane! My settings were probably quite conservative, I bet I could go faster. Retraction was similar maybe not as fast I'll have to double check.
Hi Angus, You mentioned artifacting, when I installed a e3dv6 and titan extruder I started getting artifacting. How can I correct artifacting? Thanks, Roy
One thing that I've been wondering, what temperatures can the normal hotend tolerate? I'm looking into getting a Flexion Extruder, but I don't know if I need the HT version (260 C is the highest I'll be printing at)
Hi Angus, You mentioned artifacting, when I installed a e3dv6 and titan extruder I started getting artifacting. How can I correct artifacting? Thanks, Roy
I have a question, how can I add perfume fragrance to my printing process so my mold can produce smell after its done ? do you have any idea, please share it with me.
Wasim Al imam I imagine that once the plastic is heated and extruded, the perfume would've evaporated. Maybe spray on it after you've done printing it?
I'd try just pouring a little bit inside it before it finishes, as long as it is mostly but not fully air tight that should work. If it doesn't do it like you want then perhaps get some object which does and have 0% infill so you can place said object inside before it finishes
Hi Angus, I know you said what setting you used but I can't find it in the video, did you end up adjusting the set screw from factory setting? By the way you have my support for your channel...
Do you have the Flexion HT or the regular single extruder? I've heard that may matter for PLA results but I don't want to shell out for HT unless I absolutely have to.
Hi Angus great video as usual . I have two wanhoa duplicator i3 s and i have done all the usual upgrades, one machine more than the other. I put an all metal hot end in one and it does make a difference. 1. The prints seem to come out with more of a sheen to the surface. 2 I have printed wood, metal , pla , abs , petg no problems. I also print TPU, TPE and a flexible filament by Excelvan with no problems at all. I slow the speed down to 30 bed temp 55 hot end 200 and the fan on from the first layer. This all seems to work well. Just one mod you need to do and you will think why did i not do this earlier you need to do the thumb screw mod on the bed leveling. If you use lock nuts as well you dont need to alter the bed after every print it lasts ages cheers Tim
Great video as always Angus. I got the E3D Titan when it was released and I have the same improvements in quality the you have with the Flexion. I also had the spare roll of flexible, exactly as you were saying. But not any more, the Titan printed it as easily as the Flexion did for you. The Flexion is clearly more rigid than the Titan though and it has some very nice touches, like the gear brush etc.
Great review, I had issues with ninjaflex on my gregs wades with a bowden setup. I switched to direct drive, and rammed a PTFE tube through the whole extruder, and cut a C shaped slot out of the tube where it meets the drive gear, it works great now!
Have you tried any prints with the 0.2 mm nozzle and does improve the detail of the prints or is the x / y accuracy the limiting factor not the nozzle size ?
Haven't tried it as yet but it's on the list, a few people over on the facebook 3D Printing group have been doing amazing micro prints with 0.2mm nozzles on regular machines, X Y accuracy doesn't seem to be a huge issue so long as a printer is set up correctly.
Would you suggest something like this for a delta printer? The extruder gear and the hot end itself are rather far apart, and are connected via a bowden tube. You talked about gaps between the extruder and the hot end. This is a really big gap.
How does it handle ABS, PETG, NYLON, woodfill/metalfill, etc. PLA clearly works well, but another video discussing these other materials on the flexion would be sweet! -Nice vid by the way.
The original flexion has a low temperature limit so can't do PETG for long, or Nylons. however, they've got the HT version now that can push those filaments no issue.
If you weren't concerned about flexible filament but you were still looking for a bump up in quality would you still use this or would you go to something like an E3D or Hexagon?
For reviews with lots of technical content I use a teleprompter but not all the time. Rigidbot 2 review is delayed till I get firmware to make it work... / someone there replies to my email.
+Maker's Muse ririgdbot suport SUCKS, i have emailed them multiple times and they haven't replied (like 2 months ago) check out thr rigidbot google plus community, they will be able to fix your problem better than rigidbot themselves
Does anyone know if you can use this with thr microswiss all metal hotend(or is it even needed). I still need to print upto 260 so if it cant do that then i'm not interested. I am thinking about trying to adapt the E3D titan for the wanhao as its much cheaper and gives you the chance to use a lighter stepper.
Contact the guys who make Flexion. I'm sure they can figure out an answer for you. I imagine what you could do is cut the supporting PTFE tube short from the nozzle so that it embeds into the feedpath of your all-metal hotend.
I've been struggling to get the rigidbot 2 I've got working right due to early firmware issues, I'd love to try your setup if you wanted to send it across or if it's on github?
Hey man, you had an impact on Diabase's order system... I was chatting with one of their reps today and he mentioned that my parts would be delayed a few days due to the crush of orders they received... due to your video. Way Cool!
This is only an upgrade if your current setup doesn't support flexible materials. This isn't a revolutionary idea of constraining the filament path and adjustable tension. I've printed a number of things on current printers out of TPU and NinjaFlex, no issues. I've gone through rolls of this stuff as it's really great for printing toys for my daughter (can't break TPU, just bend it). TPU prints reasonably well at 45 mm/sec, NinjaFlex is best at 20...I'm not sure which material you had there.
even printing pla it is far far superior in quality results. pretty impressive. i have not even tried flexible b yet butbi had two rolls waiting for me to play with :-)
You're saying that spring-loaded systems squish the filament too hard. However, setting 1 on the Flexion is the highest pressure setting and setting 4 is the loosest setting. If I push the print speed really hard, the compression setting has be spot on. At slightly slower speeds, it's not that critical. One huge bonus of the Flexion is the ease of filament loading & unloading. You just reverse 40mm out to take the filament out and feed 40mm in to put in a new one. It's all done from the printer UI. I used to keep PLA loaded on my printer even when I wasn't using it, because changing filament on the original Wanhao extruder is a pain. However, keeping the roll exposed to ambient humidity is bad for the filament. I'm choosing filaments now based on what I'm printing instead of what's on the printer at any given time. I'm also making prints where I change the filament color halfway through the print. Finally, you can almost completely eliminate the ringing artifacts from Wanhao prints by using the firmware configuration to set the XY Jerk to anywhere between 8 and 12 (default is 20) and XY acceleration down a bit to something like 800 (default is 1000). Easy to try (no computer connection needed) and instantly reversible. Slightly slows down print speeds.
ohhh gonna have to try that. link to instructions to change these settings? for anyone else who needs to change these settings 3dprinterwiki.info/wiki/wanhao-duplicator-i3/duplicator-i3-calibration/firmware-settings/ found that. and you can change it "live" even while in the middle of a print (and save it) without crashing the print (and you can hear the change tape place too! neat)
Nerys Yup, you found it. The only issue I had with the live changing from the console was that even though I'm sure I saved the EEPROM settings, the settings would reset when the printer was restarted. Altering the settings while printing an extruded shape designed to cause ringing made it easy to see the difference. I used Repetier Host to make the changes more permanent.
I also fixed my flexion tonight! its printing gloriously and not neary so damned finicky about grub screw cam pressure! that extra stepper I bought that did not work? well I discovered online that it wiggled because the center 2 wires were reversed to what the i3 is wired for. reversed them and it works. more torque. no flexion problems anymore! and just to be sure (and I want to go faster) I have a 5kg torque 1.2a 1.8 (ie within spec) stepper coming in the mail. but its printing again right now flawlessly. SOOOO happy!
NOW WE WANT THE LATTICE CUBE.
angus is channeling some joel hair.
A few years later do you still have this extruder? Did it stand up to the test of time?
BAH! can only like this once.....
Is it a bad thing that when I saw that first green pla print that I was drooling and freaking the f out??? I mean... It's so beautiful....
i have the flexion. its a pain in the ass to tweak when it is not gripping right but my god is it worth it. the quality and precision of the prints are simply stunning! just look at some of my videos especially the rook and the vice where i had it dialed in perfectly.
what it really needs os a stronger stepper. if you tighten too much it stalls the stepper so you have to loosen it but your always on the verge of just about too loose.
but man when you get the bugger dialed in the results are breath taking. most important though is the precision.
i tell it the nozzle is .4mm and that i want a .4mm line and set the multiplier to .97 to 1.0 and golly gee the little bugger delivers perfectly what i instructed it too.
absolutely blown away by this extruder and it is worth the tweaking pain when dealing with pla for the precision and stunning print quality.
apparently this is specific to hard filament such as pla (flexion says the hardst the tweak for) and its much more forgiving with flexibles.
my prints come out just like his does. perfect. scary perfect considering my printer was $310.
install the thicker y plate. install the z brace kit and install a flexion and you will be stunned by the quality you can extract from these printers.
I don't know about you guys, but I have tried myself at standard NinjaFlex yellow with my MK8 extruder.
After I had adjusted the hotend feed tube to sit right next to the gearing, with almost no play ... I got an almost perfect print with it, doing a cube without any wall or infill problems...
Maybe that extruder might help, but I think it's worth a shot to try and adjust your own hotend first to try and get it working. IT can go very nicely!
Why is your hair always exploded?
They run a secret competition with the 3d printing nerd...
Fantastic. I was just considering buying this upgrade for my Wanhao. Partly for flexibles, but largely because my particular machine is a dog when loading filament. About 2 times in 3, I have to partially dismantle the extruder in order to get the filament to load properly. Now I have a Prusa I3 MK2, I've seen what loading filament should be like!
Thanks for a solid review & insight Angus!
I think that's a very cool upgrade for almost any printer. I would probably use it on a more expansive printer around $500 or up, or else you might as well put that money into a better printer.
Thanks Angus. Just ordered a Single flexible filament extruder retrofit kit for dual extruder printer and they were very generous too. Been looking at for a while great video and thanks for your thoughts
Hey Angus , dam man don't even joke . the first filament I ever tried was flexible PLA, as a newbie I didn't even know what it was. I spend hours/ day's trying to figure out why my printer / prints where not printing and jamming up my printer. it was only after a week I decided to try another roll of PLA when i saw that it was not the same and almost kicked my self. I checked my invoice and saw I ordered PLA but two of the rolls where PLA flexible, didn't even notice or know better. Since then they have just been laying on the table gathering dust :(
Just bought a Flexion Extruder HT with your code, Still Works! Sweet! If possible a video of what do you think now after about a year. Is it still good? Should you get the normal or HT ver, ETC
Hi Angus, How would you print something that need support with flexible filamente and only one extruder? not dual I mean, TY nice videos BTW
What is the roll of TPE you never could use and where did you get it from? I'm currently working on building a 3d printer, so i watched your vid just at the right time going to get a flexion extruder for it. THANKS!
Just installed one. WOW! Anyone thinking about it, it's worth every penny. I isntalled mine on a Monoprice maker select V2.
I bought a kit for my Creator Pro 2, it’s worth every penny, not only can I print faster and a lot more quite, but I can now print flexible materials with ease without searching for hours on the internet for the exact settings I must use. It now just works. This is also a must have if you are printing filaments with chopped carbon, my models look amazing.
I'm curious, on a scale of 1 to 10, what would you rate the quality shown at 5:45 for the green part and what would you rate the average quality you've seen? I'm still getting those cornering artifacts, but once I get bigger belts it should go away, I hope....
Hey man so I have the maker select v2 and it's been 4 years since I got it and I've noticed that more and more I get more vibration from the y axis motor.. it doesnt have that high pitched sound anymore it's more like a small vibration... it slides perfectly with the belt and motor detached and there's no noise when moving by hand... I changed the stepper motor and it's the same... what else can cause this vobration
I am running 6 FlashForge Creator Pros all with the Dual Extruder from FLexion, they are so bad ass!!!
Does anyone know if this extruder is compatible with the Anycubic Chiron?
There is this printable extruder somewhat similar to this called the Slavstruder on thingiverse and I’d be curious to see what you have to say about it! I’m printing one for myself to see how it works.
I was interested in buying one but i dont like that they use a glass bead type thermistor, i cant take anything less than a cartridge type, i am using a Dyze Pro out of Quebec and it is supposed to do flex filament well but i havent tested that yet as i am waiting for a replacement motor that seized within the first 2 weeks. In the meantime i've ordered a Receus V3 out of spain with is also into flexible filament, I am not really, but keep looking for a good, dependable extruder that can print with larger nozzle sizes.
I've installed this and have yet to print any successful prints. I can't even get it started to print. I end up with nothing but a bird's nest and flexion has no information worth reading. They don't even handle this problem. Going back to my old one.
Since it does not need a heated bed, would one be able to take a CNC Engraver and make a flexible printer from it similarily to replacing the engraver with a laser?
I have one of the first CTC Dual printers and I have been using TPU straight off the roll. The prints are perfect. I don’t need this expensive bit of kit.
Nice one! I need one i think :D
Hello angus I just wanted to ask few quick question and maybe get some help so awhile my i3 wanhao died well one day I was printing and the little fan in the front popped and smoked and ever since it couldn't read register temps so i3 wont print what would be the best way in you your opinion to go about to fix it and also ive been looking at this flexion extruder
Iron your shirt Angus.
Who an I kidding, I don't.
You can tell by the state of my hair the I ain't got no time for that!
haha
Hi, using the double extruder would it be possible to print an item which uses both pla and flexible filament, say a knob that has rubbery grips?
Are there any temp limitations to using this extruder? How does it work without active cooling on the heat break?
ordered one!!
Angus. hope you can help me out. I really really love my flexion. WHEN it works properly I get simply astounding results. mind blowing even considering the price of my printer and the precision is second to none so far (granted I have only used 3 extruders in my life but even comparing my prints to other peoples prints)
IE I did this on my maker select (same as your cacoon create) in under 3 hours at 100mics and I did not have the jerk and acc lowered yet
th-cam.com/video/NS9_Wt_EkMg/w-d-xo.html
so it should come out even better
but My god is it a pain to tune the pressure right. not enough and it under extrudes as it slips too much and it under extrudes as it stalls the stepper. Grrrr sometimes I get it just right and I can make HUGE prints (like the VICE ! wow did that come out spectacular)
how did you go about tuning for pla. anything special? flexion tells me the stepper is a bit weak for the extruder for PLA. suggestions on a replacement stronger stepper?
it was my stepper. either it was just too underpowered or more likely something was wrong with it or it was dying. spent all day fighting with it could not make it work.
replaced stepper after reversing the wires and WOW. working perfectly again and not nearly so "picky" about cam pressure now. OH I am so happy. the part is looking spectacular and "precise" as I have come to love from my flexion.
Wanhao i3 extruder steppers can be a problem. I think mine is a bit weak as well, so the grub screw has to be just right with the Flexion. On top of that, the trimmer that controls the current to the stepper might be off as well and in order to adjust it correctly, you need to figure out which stepper you have. And after it has been adjusted, it might actually become weaker than it was.
The best option seems to be to upgrade the stepper. But it's a jungle out there and you have to be really careful to get the right spec motor and even then you can end up having to reverse those two pins and will most likely have to adjust the current as well. Prima3d offers spare parts for the i3 and they have two stepper models available. I think the X/Y/E stepper is the weak one and the Z stepper is the stronger one.
My biggest worry is that small filament variations will cause the extruder to stop in the middle of a really long print. Sort of like a car stuck in mud or snow, spinning its wheels without going anywhere. One thing that makes it less likely to happen is to keep the print speeds reasonable. If the hot end doesn't have time to heat up the filament properly, the stepper will have to work harder. So for a while I was printing PLA at up to 70 mm/s, but I think I have to drop it down to 55 mm/s or 60 mm/s to be safe. My ABS settings are lower, but I have only printed a few parts in ABS so far.
+Juri Munkki this is why I want more torque with more torque I can tighten down the cam on the filament more reducing the variation that filament has to cause me a problem if I can torque it enough small filament variations become irrelevant it's only a problem when you are balancing the torque on the cam on the verge of being too tight and too loose more torque equals a larger balance spread even with this $14 stepper I'm seeing a huge Improvement in that balance it's not nearly so finicky and I cannot torque it down nicely
125 bucks for that extruder is pretty good. I can't wait to buy it.
True, my success rate with the Aurarum TPE is quite low. The problem for me is the filament is so soft that it tears or sticks.
I would consider but i would have to make some new mounts to fit it to my printer :/
if you have the skill just reverse engineer it and build it yourself it would be cheaper
You’re not exaggerating. When I got my first 3D printer I bought flexible filament and it went exactly as you stated.
It’s seriously under a desk somewhere I have to go look for it and take it out and mess with it again after many years, if it even works. Lol.
Thank you for inspiring me to check back into flexible filament printing.
Love the tracer hair XD
This is amazing. I might have to get one of these. :) Thanks for the video.
Three years on, do you still think this is a terrific mod to do to Ender 3?
Are they compatible with the FlashForge Dreamer?
Can you put this on a Creality CR-10S?
Garbage when printing with hard filament.
The results look astonishing, I've printed NinjaFlex with great success on Bowden systems after fine tuning but due to TPU's water absorption property, the filament is unusable after a few weeks.
Wait how have managed to do that with Bowden? Are you using Flexion or have you modded/dialed stuff in in other ways?
Discount Code does not work anymore :(
Angus, what retraction settings were using? I am running my Flexions on my Creator Pros at 50mm/s all day long for TPU. I am printing about 10kg of TPU per week right now. I also have my retraction at 2mm and about 2500mm/min for retraction speed
That is insane! My settings were probably quite conservative, I bet I could go faster. Retraction was similar maybe not as fast I'll have to double check.
Man I wish the coupon was still valid lol.
Excellent review video. Just what I was looking for in deciding to buy this kit for my Flashforge Creator Pro. Thanks and cheers!
Hi Angus, You mentioned artifacting, when I installed a e3dv6 and titan extruder I started getting artifacting. How can I correct artifacting?
Thanks,
Roy
One thing that I've been wondering, what temperatures can the normal hotend tolerate? I'm looking into getting a Flexion Extruder, but I don't know if I need the HT version (260 C is the highest I'll be printing at)
Hi Angus, You mentioned artifacting, when I installed a e3dv6 and titan extruder I started getting artifacting. How can I correct artifacting?
Thanks,
Roy
I have a question, how can I add perfume fragrance to my printing process so my mold can produce smell after its done ? do you have any idea, please share it with me.
Wasim Al imam I imagine that once the plastic is heated and extruded, the perfume would've evaporated. Maybe spray on it after you've done printing it?
I'd try just pouring a little bit inside it before it finishes, as long as it is mostly but not fully air tight that should work. If it doesn't do it like you want then perhaps get some object which does and have 0% infill so you can place said object inside before it finishes
Hi Angus, I know you said what setting you used but I can't find it in the video, did you end up adjusting the set screw from factory setting? By the way you have my support for your channel...
Yup, I have a spool of "Tough 3D Ink" for my M3D that I have yet to get a successful print with.
Do you have the Flexion HT or the regular single extruder? I've heard that may matter for PLA results but I don't want to shell out for HT unless I absolutely have to.
Also does the coupon code still exist? The website says it doesn't =/
Hey there, do you know if this extruder is compatible with the MakerFarm Prusa i3v 8"?
I have this extruder kit & so far ive only used PLA with it but even so, I can't fault it at all. Definitely recommend it as an upgrade.
good video ! very interesting extruder ! Have you heard anything about Wanhao I3 Plus
Hi Angus great video as usual . I have two wanhoa duplicator i3 s and i have done all the usual upgrades, one machine more than the other. I put an all metal hot end in one and it does make a difference. 1. The prints seem to come out with more of a sheen to the surface. 2 I have printed wood, metal , pla , abs , petg no problems. I also print TPU, TPE and a flexible filament by Excelvan with no problems at all. I slow the speed down to 30 bed temp 55 hot end 200 and the fan on from the first layer. This all seems to work well. Just one mod you need to do and you will think why did i not do this earlier you need to do the thumb screw mod on the bed leveling. If you use lock nuts as well you dont need to alter the bed after every print it lasts ages cheers Tim
Great video as always Angus.
I got the E3D Titan when it was released and I have the same improvements in quality the you have with the Flexion. I also had the spare roll of flexible, exactly as you were saying. But not any more, the Titan printed it as easily as the Flexion did for you.
The Flexion is clearly more rigid than the Titan though and it has some very nice touches, like the gear brush etc.
Great review, I had issues with ninjaflex on my gregs wades with a bowden setup. I switched to direct drive, and rammed a PTFE tube through the whole extruder, and cut a C shaped slot out of the tube where it meets the drive gear, it works great now!
Have you tried any prints with the 0.2 mm nozzle and does improve the detail of the prints or is the x / y accuracy the limiting factor not the nozzle size ?
Haven't tried it as yet but it's on the list, a few people over on the facebook 3D Printing group have been doing amazing micro prints with 0.2mm nozzles on regular machines, X Y accuracy doesn't seem to be a huge issue so long as a printer is set up correctly.
Hola, increíblemente mi Impresora Delta tiene el mismo extrusora, pero ya venía desde la fábrica...!
solo no tiene el limpiador...!
Hmm. Now I want to order a roll of flex just to use it once, give up and become a new member of the Club!! ;0)
Would you suggest something like this for a delta printer? The extruder gear and the hot end itself are rather far apart, and are connected via a bowden tube. You talked about gaps between the extruder and the hot end. This is a really big gap.
Sadly not available to Australia...
7:36 - How do you tell Simplify3D to _"wrap it within the perimeters of the print not going outside of it"_?
In the "advanced" tab - "avoid crossing outline for travel movements". ;)
Thank you for a good review; watch your show a few times a week and you do a good job. Have my Tarantula ordered, but it is out a few weeks.
So in part you're saying less compression on the filament, helps?
Tks o/
Great video. Is there a similar extruder I can print on thingiverse for a v6 or lite6?
Would love to hear/see your review on Recreus' v3 extruder and how it compares to the flexion extruder.
True for me! I bought a roll, tried a couple of times, and gave up!
i have one but i have yet to install it.
Thanks, now I want one for my Rostock so I can finally use the three rolls of Ninjaflex I bought before I knew better!
Yo Angus...
I bought one for my Wanhao Di3.
Those temps in last post were for the flexible materials only cheers Tim
How does it handle ABS, PETG, NYLON, woodfill/metalfill, etc. PLA clearly works well, but another video discussing these other materials on the flexion would be sweet!
-Nice vid by the way.
The original flexion has a low temperature limit so can't do PETG for long, or Nylons. however, they've got the HT version now that can push those filaments no issue.
Maker's Muse thanks
How well does this handle higher temp filaments?
nice review, i can finally print custom whells by myself.
Nice review. Just ordered one for my i3 V2!
Just bought one for my Wanaho i3 :)
Thank you for the review and great content
If you weren't concerned about flexible filament but you were still looking for a bump up in quality would you still use this or would you go to something like an E3D or Hexagon?
Hard to quantify against teh E3D or Hex on my setup but there was definitely a big improvement due to the feeder gear assembly as well as the hot end.
Ok, so it really is dependent on the printer and the intended use
This extruder is awesome
Awesome. Do you use a teleprompter or sceipt when you film reviews? When is the rigidbot 2 review coming out?
For reviews with lots of technical content I use a teleprompter but not all the time. Rigidbot 2 review is delayed till I get firmware to make it work... / someone there replies to my email.
+Maker's Muse ririgdbot suport SUCKS, i have emailed them multiple times and they haven't replied (like 2 months ago) check out thr rigidbot google plus community, they will be able to fix your problem better than rigidbot themselves
What 3d printer would you recommend for $800 or less
"The one that works best for you" 3d Printing Nerd aside - Depends what you are looking for.. and your requirements :)
There'll be a video up tonight to help answer that question ;)
Buy Angus's Book :D
Exactly lol.
Does anyone know if you can use this with thr microswiss all metal hotend(or is it even needed). I still need to print upto 260 so if it cant do that then i'm not interested. I am thinking about trying to adapt the E3D titan for the wanhao as its much cheaper and gives you the chance to use a lighter stepper.
Contact the guys who make Flexion. I'm sure they can figure out an answer for you. I imagine what you could do is cut the supporting PTFE tube short from the nozzle so that it embeds into the feedpath of your all-metal hotend.
no. 240 is safe but not 260. they are working on a higher temperature version!
Oh, thats setting for PLA by the way...
I set mine to 1 and crank the adjustment set screw till the motor doesn't miss steps or slip - give it a go :)
Gak ATTACK!
The extruder on my rigid bot 2 prints tpu at 80mm/s and it's a ouch simpler extruder once you fix the firm ware to not shift in the y
I've been struggling to get the rigidbot 2 I've got working right due to early firmware issues, I'd love to try your setup if you wanted to send it across or if it's on github?
+Maker's Muse I will email it to you right now :D
Its a great extruder!
Hey man, you had an impact on Diabase's order system... I was chatting with one of their reps today and he mentioned that my parts would be delayed a few days due to the crush of orders they received... due to your video. Way Cool!
Haha awesome, they told me not to rush the review as they were already trying to keep up on orders, but I make no apologies!
Print a shoe!
Very good video!
Is this the HT version that was reviewed?
No, the normal version. It's still best for flex.
First... Great video by the way
This is only an upgrade if your current setup doesn't support flexible materials. This isn't a revolutionary idea of constraining the filament path and adjustable tension. I've printed a number of things on current printers out of TPU and NinjaFlex, no issues. I've gone through rolls of this stuff as it's really great for printing toys for my daughter (can't break TPU, just bend it). TPU prints reasonably well at 45 mm/sec, NinjaFlex is best at 20...I'm not sure which material you had there.
even printing pla it is far far superior in quality results. pretty impressive. i have not even tried flexible b yet butbi had two rolls waiting for me to play with :-)
superior to what? what was your previous setup? This is definitely an upgrade for an MK8 non geared extruder.
+kazolar me? superior by orders of magnitude over the stock i3v2 extruder.
It definitely is, though there are cheaper options. But I'm running the bondech QR with e3d volcano on my diy printer, that's way more expensive.
You're saying that spring-loaded systems squish the filament too hard. However, setting 1 on the Flexion is the highest pressure setting and setting 4 is the loosest setting. If I push the print speed really hard, the compression setting has be spot on. At slightly slower speeds, it's not that critical.
One huge bonus of the Flexion is the ease of filament loading & unloading. You just reverse 40mm out to take the filament out and feed 40mm in to put in a new one. It's all done from the printer UI. I used to keep PLA loaded on my printer even when I wasn't using it, because changing filament on the original Wanhao extruder is a pain. However, keeping the roll exposed to ambient humidity is bad for the filament. I'm choosing filaments now based on what I'm printing instead of what's on the printer at any given time. I'm also making prints where I change the filament color halfway through the print.
Finally, you can almost completely eliminate the ringing artifacts from Wanhao prints by using the firmware configuration to set the XY Jerk to anywhere between 8 and 12 (default is 20) and XY acceleration down a bit to something like 800 (default is 1000). Easy to try (no computer connection needed) and instantly reversible. Slightly slows down print speeds.
ohhh gonna have to try that. link to instructions to change these settings?
for anyone else who needs to change these settings
3dprinterwiki.info/wiki/wanhao-duplicator-i3/duplicator-i3-calibration/firmware-settings/
found that. and you can change it "live" even while in the middle of a print (and save it) without crashing the print (and you can hear the change tape place too! neat)
Thanks for the tips, I'll have to try those new Jerk settings!
Nerys Yup, you found it. The only issue I had with the live changing from the console was that even though I'm sure I saved the EEPROM settings, the settings would reset when the printer was restarted. Altering the settings while printing an extruded shape designed to cause ringing made it easy to see the difference. I used Repetier Host to make the changes more permanent.
I also fixed my flexion tonight! its printing gloriously and not neary so damned finicky about grub screw cam pressure! that extra stepper I bought that did not work? well I discovered online that it wiggled because the center 2 wires were reversed to what the i3 is wired for. reversed them and it works.
more torque. no flexion problems anymore! and just to be sure (and I want to go faster) I have a 5kg torque 1.2a 1.8 (ie within spec) stepper coming in the mail.
but its printing again right now flawlessly. SOOOO happy!
Will this go on the original Mk2s