Spring loaded extruder for Leapfrog Creatr

thingiverse

The Creatr from Leapfrog (www.lpfrg.com) has a fixed idler ball bearing. I wanted to replace this by a spring loaded type to allow better control over the filament feed and allow for an easier filament change. After a few different ideas, the Mk7 minimalistic replacement extruder seemed a nice design to start with and here is the result. Now changing colors is actually a fun thing to do ;) Update: I found that the pressure on the filament was not always enough so I moved the spring and compressed it a bit more resulting in more pressure on the spring. I've tested this for > 100 hours with ABS, Taulman Nylon and PLA and had no problems at all. Also added a longer filament guide towards the hobbed wheel, making a filament change a bit easier. note: photos with the light green parts are v2, red parts are v1 You could consider building http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:321258 instead, this adds the possibility to print flexible filaments like Arnitel and Ninjaflex Instructions Print and follow the instructions in the PDF document. The PDF document contains detailed instructions on how to remove the old extruder parts and install the new one. N.b: the instructions are still for v1 but v2 is almost the same (except for the washers when mounting the stepper motor). You do not need to remove any wiring or cut or change original parts. Everything can be restored to its original state if needed. Besides the printed parts (and some tools) you will also need: about 12 3mm washers 2x 3mm nylon washers (I prefer those for lower friction) 2x M3x25 screws 1x M4x15 screw 1x M4 nut 1x spring (25mm x OD 10mm) I used a spring from reprapworld.com (http://reprapworld.com/?products_details&products_id=228&cPath=16160), the same type is available from different shops.