Creality Ender 2 ReBoot - a slight overhaul with 161% buildvolume!

thingiverse

TL;DR first: <h2>Welcome to my Overhaul of the Creality Ender 2!</h2> Im starting here with version V2 (V1 is only in one picture; there was too much wrong with that), which will come in 2 iterations/stages: ++++++++ Stage 1: ++++++++ - changing out the Heatbed to a 150x230mm 12V PCB Heatbed - changing out the Y-Extrusion - making a new Y-carriage with 3-point-leveling - adding a glasbed with holders. That is the budget-orientated version. ++++++++ Stage 2:++++++++ - everything of the above, plus - bringing everything on the Ender 2 up to 24V - 150x230mm Heatbed in 24V - Duet Maestro as the control board - Mobius 3 Extruder - E3D V6 Hotend - 5015 Partcoolingfan - Duet Maestro Mount for the rear of the Ender 2 - Spoolholder in front That is a tad more expensive... ++++++++ ++++++++ ++++++++ ++++++++ ++++++++ ++++++++ ++++++++ I leave the printbed-solution to each on their own. You cant print directly on the PCB-Heatbed! So, you could either take the classic approach, and take a 3mm thick aluminium buildplate, or go fancy, and put a glassbed on top. I went extra fancy, and went with glass and a magnetic buildplate. ;-) ++++++++ ++++++++ ++++++++ ++++++++ ++++++++ ++++++++ ++++++++ With both updates, youll get the 161% increase in buildvolume. The original buildvolume of the Creality Ender 2 is 150x150x200, which is 4.5l. The new buildvolume is 150x230x210, which is 7.245l, so 160,9% the buildvolume of the original ender 2! And technically i already lied to you in the title. If that isnt a good start, i dont know any more! \o/ The longer version: ++++++++ Why? ++++++++ I wanted two printers which will fit into the space i still had, and one candidate was the Creality Ender 2. I looked at everything i printed so far, and came to the conclusion that a buildplate of 150 by 150 would be ok for roughly 50% of my workload. But while i waited on them to arrive, i found an aliexpress offer, showing 150x230mm heatbeds, in 12V and 24V! So, i dont have the space for wider printers, but deeper? Thats no problem! The idea was born. ++++++++ a Mobius 3? ++++++++ I have a Mobius 2 on my two first printers, and i printed close to 2500h on each of the two. They both never let me down, and i like the concept. The Mobius 3 is easier to print, but slightly worse to maintenance. I would probably say go with a Mobius 2 when you can. I will upload a slightly modified case for the Mobius 3 and 2 in the near future. ++++++++ Why a piece of ptfe-tube on the "intake" of the Mobius 3? ++++++++ Thats because im using Capricornus tubing. Thats a ptfe-tube that has an inner diameter of 1.9mm, making your extrusion more consistent. But if you dont use also a piece of capricornus on the intake of the Mobius 3, and your filament is bad in diameter, and your filament gets stuck on the way to the hotend, your Mobius 3 will push the filament into the small cavity before the push fitting, and maybe push the push fitting out of the Mobius 3 case, damaging the thread. So you have to reprint the Mobius 3 part with the push fitting to get printing again. If you have the capricornus tubing on the intake, and your filament gets stuck there, your Mobius 3 will simply rip apart your filament while trying to pull it in, and nothing else will happen. Simple as that. ++++++++ Why an E3D V6? ++++++++ The hotend of the Ender 2 is good enough for the job. There is not much of a reason to switch that out, but i like the E3D V6 more, also its a thing of ease of maintenance over my 5 different printers if all have the same hotend. You wont push insane printing speeds with an Ender 2 anyway, and probably wont never exceed the capabilitys of either original MK10 (?) or E3D V6 hotends. ++++++++ Why a 5015 for part cooling? ++++++++ Because it works. Also, go and print a fitting fanduct to that, with not that much 90° bends. Or even no 90° bends. Please. ++++++++ Why switch everything to 24V? ++++++++ Less amps in the system; only half of the current with using 12V. I just personally like that more. ++++++++ Why switching to a Duet? ++++++++ There is no real reason to do so. For a 24V conversion i couldnt use the original board, but thats not the reason. The reason being i was looking for an easy manageable solution over all 5 of my printers, and Duet won that. To be absolutely clear here, a Duet wont push your quality or speed. You wont see insane speeds on an ender 2, and an 8-Bit board will still be fine. That said, if youre doing the 24V conversion, you could also look into using an SKR v1.3 Board with TMC 2208/2209s. That would also make a very nice and silent printer, and wont cost an arm and a leg. (because i went with Duet Maestro clones. Still a SKR v1.3 with tmc´s is cheaper, and youre only missing out on the WebControl if you dont use Octopi) ++++++++ Why the setup with the spool in the front, and board in the back? ++++++++ I like a small footprint, but also dislike a spool on top of the printer (because of vibrations, especially if youre printing higher). So i came up with that solution, and it really functions nice. ++++++++ What will that all cost me? ++++++++ ++ Stage 1: ++ - 12V 150x230 Heatbed 13€ - 350mm black 2040 Extrusion for Y 12€ - plasmacut Y-Carriage (depends on your location; but around 20€) - a borosilicate glassbed in 150x230 12€ So thats a whopping 57€ ($65 or £52) ++ Stage 2: ++ - 24V 150x230 Heatbed 13€ - 350mm black 2040 Extrusion for Y 12€ - plasmacut Y-Carriage (depends on your location; but around 20€) - a borosilicate glassbed in 150x230 12€ - 24V Ender 3 PSU 25€ - Trianglelab E3D V6 Hotend 16€ - 5015 24V Pengda blower style fan 2€ - Mobius 3 parts ~25€ - FYSETC Duet Maestro 70€ - Sunon 4020 24V 5€ And thats a whopping 200€ ($225 or £180). Thats nearly two Ender 2. Or... what i paid for two Ender 2. Really. ++++++++ Is Stage 2 worth it? ++++++++ What? Hell no! 3D Printing is a hobby, and rebuilding or "reboot"ing (who came up with that idiotic phrase anyway... oh, that was me...) a 3D printer is a money sink. If you want a bigger printer for cheap, go Ender 3! Or 5! Or... i dont know. <h1>If somebody even cares, comment! And thanks for even reading until here!</h1>