This Innovative Creality Ender 3 Mod Enables Dual Extrusion Without an Additional Servo

FFF (Fused Filament Fabrication) 3D printing works by extruding molten thermoplastic through a nozzle onto the print bed in thin layers until a three-dimensional part is formed. Common thermoplastic filament materials include PLA, ABS, PETG, and nylon, and each of those has advantages and disadvantages. Most materials are also available in a wide range of colors. But the majority of FFF 3D printers only have a single extruder, which means that you can only work with one material at a time. If, however, you have a Creality Ender 3 then you might be interested in Proper Printing’s innovative dual extruder modification.

There are 3D printers on the market that come with dual extruders right out of the box. There are also already dual extruder upgrades available for the Creality Ender 3. But this design is unique and seems to work very well. Traditionally, dual extruders are mounted side by side on the X axis carriage. This presents a problem, because even a very small difference in the Z height of the two hot end nozzles will cause one hot end to drag across the print. That can ruin the finish of parts or possibly even cause the print to fail completely. This design solves that problem with a special pivoting mount, which moves the idle extruder out of the way while the active extruder is in use. Best of all, it can swap between extruders without the need for an additional servo or stepper motor.

The two extruders, which are Bowden types, are attached to spring-loaded mount in an inverted V shape. Imagine a circle of extruders array around a central point, but with only two extruders actually in place. That central point is the pivot point, so the two extruders are an equal distance. Because the idle is extruder is tilted up and out of the way, there is no danger of a small Z height difference causing problems. As long as they are close enough for proper layer adhesion, this setup will work. The printer switches between extruders by moving all the way to either the left or right end of the X axis. When it reaches the end of the rail, a special 3D-printed bracket pushes against the pivoting mount. That provides enough force to overcome the springs and flip the mount. To switch back to the other extruder, the printer simply moves to the opposite end of the X axis.

This is a really clever setup that only requires a 3D printer controller with an extra extruder and hot end connection, and a few minor modifications to the g-code. If you want to perform this modification yourself, Proper Printing has uploaded the necessary files to their website. This mod was designed for Creality’s Global DIY Creative Modification Masters Contest and we certainly think it deserves to win an award.