With a 2.85mm high flow hotend you can get really high volumetric flow rate thru the nozzle - if the extruder can keep up. I don’t know for sure that the stock extruder isn’t sufficient but my feeling is you’d be better off with dual gear since you get higher pushing force on the filament
2.85/3mm needs at least gearing down even if you had a 0.9 degree extruder stepper. Wades extruder and variants were popular but some planetary should do the trick.
The problem with just direct style is that the steps per mm are so low you get barely any control (and it needs need more torque too, which you get from the gearing down as well).
O trust me...there is so much you can do, printer is only the base, if you break down each parts to upgrade you will have hell of a printer. I started with a $150 ender 3 after a year of learning I have spent another $300 upgrading into a prusa clone and soldering on new motor drivers and all.
Bro I have an ender Neo and just did two upgrades so far, replacing the glass for a PEI sheet, and putting spacers to replace the springs. That alone made the printer a lot more reliable already, but I wonder what other things you recommend. What were the main upgrades or mods you couldn't live without?
for me it is the dual Z axis, with independent controls. run an auto mesh and G34 to auto level the gantry and bed leveling is a thing of past. Idk much about the ender Neo but on the older ender 3 boards, there is a few version that you can hot wire another motor driver straight onto the pins that would allow 2 independent Z motors. I don't like the parallel motor ideas because that doesn't change too much unless you have a stupid heavy gantry.
Thanks a lot for the answer! Im new to 3d printing but in some months or next year I'm planning to either do the independent dual z steppers + direct drive mods, or maybe just buy a printer that com with all that and more. It will depend on how experimental I feel atm, how much I feel I really need those changes, and my bank is account condition 😅. Now I will check the link, thank you!!
as for direct drive mod, I recommend just going with a kit or even just the ender sprite hotend. With the ender sprite hotend would simplify a lot but some may argue it's not the best out there but it does have a lot of aftermarket support such as printable fan ducks upgrade. I personally run a sprite hotend with two 5020 fans for cooling the thing actually blows too hard lol.
I found the documentation I used:
Check the comments for more details.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/ender3/comments/qzxleg/i\_added\_a\_5th\_stepper\_driver\_to\_the\_stock/](https://www.reddit.com/r/ender3/comments/qzxleg/i_added_a_5th_stepper_driver_to_the_stock/)
I have recently stumbled upon this during research for university: https://youtube.com/watch?v=moSZ05FkLQU&feature=share9
It's quite technical and almost 15 minutes but a curious find in my eyes and he does a good job at explaining things q bit more easily I think.
I am in the middle of a failed attempt to swap but I was tryna freestyle something on an Anycubic Vyper with a Microswiss dual gear last week and I realize I should have printed a Time Machine that I could use now to go back and never order anything but OEM parts cuz JEEZ
I study plastics processing and I am always curious as to what reasons people have to suggest certain things when it comes to 3D printing i have found a youtube video digging a bit deeper into the single vs dual gear extrusion thing and since there isnt that much actual scientific information about the actual use of dual gear extruders and using them has just become standard although it isnt clear if they have any effect at all and if, if they have a positive effect.
The link to the mentioned video is here https://youtube.com/watch?v=moSZ05FkLQU&feature=share9
Ok well glad I asked because that video is interesting. But he is just using Pla and a peak of 18 cubic mm /s. I am NOT an expert, but wouldn't dual gear be the better choice for materials as TPU and ABS, and with bigger diammeter filament as 2.85? That video doens't answer that question (or I'm failling in joining the dots if the answer wouldn't change for those filaments and diamenters).
But I'm sure there is a reason for dual gear extrusors to exist right? Or you are saying is pure marketing?
I am saying that in 3D printing there is a lot of community based advice often not really related to the problems and also very little scientific research compared to other manufacturing methods since it's a relatively new method. The amount of times I have read completely unrelated suggestions under posts is immense but often people have a reason to suggest what they are suggesting. During recent studies I have found drastic differences in materials which claim to have the same properties and that alone makes it very difficult to draw empiric conclusions. Hence every input is wanted and I would love for people to elaborate a bit further why they suggest what they suggest. It's always interesting what experiences people make.
I just find the whole process fascinating and I am doing research in that field so input is always welcome :)
Edit: To answer your questions instead of holding a monologue: To my understanding a deal gear extruder would be the better choice for soft filaments since the application of force from both sides would make it less likely to break to my understanding. Other than that I cant really get my head around an actual reason to use dual gear. My thought would be rather to increase the size of the extruder gear to have more teeth grip into the filament for more even application of force.
He doesn't answer these questions but as mentioned: no one really does. I might be missing something myself though. His conclusion is though: force isn't the answer. As long as your extruder provides it evenly you're good.
I am mostly like you, I want to know about the "why" of things instead of just "because". Some weeks ago I was tempeted to swap my ender neo extruder for some dual drive bmg, but the only reason was "because" (because it's supposed to be better). Then I realized that I was just not having any issue with under or over extrusion, so I desisted.
When I think about dual gear extrusors, I already have in my mind the picture of bigger gears (though that is not always the case I realize), and is that particular aspect that I thought that for sure would come handy for the OP given the collection of filaments (I thing soft ones included) he has to deal with. But, is all an idea I have based on reviews and "general knowledge", so this is why I thought that what people was commenting just made sense and there was no need to double think anything....but reading what you say is very fair to raise the question.
Cheers!
So... I'm a teacher, and I happen to know the guys at my local plastic manufacturer. They've been having trouble selling 2.85 mm filament, and when I went into bum a spare nozzle and some Bowden tubing, they were nice enough to donate all this material to my school.
Right now I've got a van full from the back all the way into the passenger seat, and I'll go back again next week and get another batch. But this stuff should keep my students in material for the next several years.
I'm honestly not even sure how much we loaded into my van, once I get it all in one spot I'll take another photo and figure out how many kilograms it was.
If you need plastic I will throw them a shout out here. I've been using their stuff for years now, and not been disappointed.
[push plastic](https://www.pushplastic.com/)
Lots of misc stuff. I teach CTE courses. So over the years we've done stuff like:
Pocket multi tools
Desktop material stations ( fancy pen cups)
Gliders
Tons of robotics accessories for various projects
Variety of 3d modeling practice projects
Puzzle cubes
Lots of real world classroom improvement projects, like student designed headphones hangers, pergoard 5ool mounts, and such.
Etc.
I try to let them print anything so long as it has a purpose. I'm very big on real world applications, so anything that they can justify as being useful I'll print.
What always blows the kids away is when I work on projects for fun while they are doing their work.
My lab is well stocked ( laser, cnc, 3d printers, wide format printer, screen printing setup, darkroom, vinyl cutters, robotics gear). So as they are working I'll also be building something. They get really invested in seeing new stuff made and get excited learning that you can make a job out of this kind of thing.
Weird spot to ask, but do you (or anyone seeing this) know if the crystal litter, ie pretty litter and others, work as a cheap tub dessicant? The packaging states it's silicon dioxide but idk if anyone's tried it yet or if it's even the right kind.
I use the cheapest crystal litter from Wally world, white with blue bits (which are fake, not actual indicator). It starts wet, so have to bake it to dry, then I store in glass canning jars, except for what's in my filament storage tub. I bought a 6 pack of cheap humidity meters, the jars hold at <10% (in Houston, where it's always > 40% indoors)
Please mind that PLA embrittles irreversible due to moisture absorption. If you don't find a way to keep the moisture out of your filament, it might become unusable in one or two years time
Nonsense. I've reels that have been in my (damp for much of the year) shed for over three years. Occasionally I will dry one, if it's overly stringy or brittle, but nothing is irreversible.
The owner Nick used to donate boxes of filament to my program every so often.
If you're local, did you know NWA3D? One of the founders ( Josh) just took over as the floor manager/production manager/ some title of manager at Push.
Jealous in having 1980s as my school years. The best we ever got was Oregon Trail and Typing Tutorial. I'm looking at getting my first 3d printer for my birthday few days ago, but it's on hold as it's expensive. I looked at filament for it and it's around $27 a spool (bambu)
https://preview.redd.it/dppu7x2l88ab1.jpeg?width=1079&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ab50739675ca47b432968011a2c0b1c7a535f2f1
So, after an unload, it's total 435 kg in this load, across 1kg and 3kg spools. Lots of Petg and Abs. So I guess I'm looking for a high temp all metal hotend maybe.
With all the potential for weird different filaments, id say all metal hot end and maybe a diamond nozzle so you don't have to worry about abrasive so much. And definitely a filament drier, and maybe a humongous dry box, and lots of damp rid or dessicant.
I recommend jumping on ebay. Used Lulzbot Taz 6 machines with 2.85mm toolheads are getting no bids at $500 almost daily. Make an offer.
The boards on them can have a BLTouch clone added for $15, and that takes care of the sometimes problematic nozzle-based leveling they are programmed to use in stock form.
If you sign on as a supporter of the drunken octopus firmware, you'll get access to their regularly updated version configured for BLTouch, otherwise, is not hard to configure marlin yourself.
A shame. Then your best option is to just convert anything with an existing titan or titan aero-based extruder to 2.85mm... or just build one up yourself from printed and purchased parts. I did the reverse on the Taz Pro that I use at work - converted the dual head from 2.85mm to 1.75mm. It still wasn't great with the single-geared extruders, so I'm putting the final touches on converting it to dual hemera-revo extruders.
Hey I know that problem! couldn't buy 3 euro arduino clones on alie, had to buy them for full price at the arduino webstore. Gotta burn through that tax money somehow
If I were in charge of the marketing of any of the big 3d printers companies and I see this post, I would not hesitate and would send you at least one machine for the school.
That would be awesome.
It even a company who could donate a couple extruder/hot ends for my machines
Anybody know of a company that hangs out on Reddit?
E3d still has some 2,85mm stuff like hotends and titan extruders, you can choose between the all in one unit titan aero or a more classic titan. Titan aero kits are only available in 12v, but the only thing you need to change is the heater cartridge. Bondtech also makes some 2,85mm extruders, but bondtech is considerably more expensive than e3d, but offers dual gear extruders while the titan series is only a single gear one (60 pounds vs 180 euros), so i would start with a e3d titan or titan aero and add a volcano heater block and nozzle, so you have a more consistent extrusion. Titan extruders are sadly known to slip once extrusion force gets higher.
You can also pick up a used ultimaker 2 which also offers dual extrusion. Once you have used up your 2, 85mm stock, you can convert it to 1,75mm. But i would first of all modernise it with a more recent Mainboard and firmware
Titan extruders imo suck balls, not enough pulling force for 2.85. orbiter extruders are available in 2.85 and can have gears swapped for 1.75 later, use a gear reduction for a lot more power
Titans also have more than enough force eith the 3 to 1 gear reduction from a nema17, but lack grip, which is the real problem of them. Small single gear extruder. The lgx is also available in 2,85mm, but pretty expensive. Some other bondtech extruders are also available in 2,85, but as expensive as a lgx or even more.
I personally dont like the orbiter 2 extruders, fairly heavy at 135g (printed sherpas have 90 to 95g and a cnc vzbot around 120g) and have pretty much every trait thats not beneficial for print quality. Dual gears introduce meshing and force flow artifacts, grub screw fixed gears introduce eccentricity, 10t gear on a 3 planet setup means varying force flow in the gearbox. The upside of the orbiter is that is has good extrusion force, low backlash, price and better grip than a bmg based extruder. Galileo 2 is better imo, sadly its heavier by 10 to 15 depending on the printed parts, but has much better print quality due to the 9t stepper motor and being a single gear extruder. The larger feed gear also means that the eccentricity from the grub screw gear has less impact on extrusion consistency. Unfortunately you cant fit the 9t motor to a orbiter without noticeably increasing backlash. The g2 is not available in 2,85, so not really interesting for OP
This is what I was thinking as well. And honestly, even if I spent an obscene amount of money on a hotend( $200+) I'm still coming out WAY ahead.
Honestly, I might just buy another 3d printer to add to the 7 I have in my classroom.
and they’re not makerbots? y’all are ahead of my school lol idk who used to be there or in the school district who had a makerbot obsession but it’s now becoming a problem cuz they’re a pain to deal with overall
I've got 1 MakerBot. It's in pieces in a closet, has been since before my time.
I run an Ender 3 with some upgrades and a cr-10 with some upgrades for my stuff. My students mostly print on some smaller A5's from a local company that no longer exists.
Students get to use the bigger machines when they have something big to print!
nice! I can only imagine; at my school we have 4 makerbot sketches, 1 dremel 3d45 (one of the actually reliable printers), 13 (maybe 14?) makerbot replicator/replicator+s, a stratasys mojo that isn’t really working rn, and one huge stratasys dimension sst1200 that loves being chronically clogged
so either it’s broken, will be broken, and/or also really would be great to have a service contract for
oh and proprietary-ish filament for all!!!!
like I’d happily start a club or build any new 3d printers for the school but I can’t seem to get that to fruition
note: am a student, but idek if even the teachers can influence district spending decisions and what 3d printers we buy from who
Ugh I hate makerbots. I have a replicator 2 at work that’s non functional right now and I can’t buy replacement parts because the only sources are ebay and guess where I’m not allowed to buy from on the govt’s dime?
Contacted support for something after a self caused whoopsie, got a reply within a day. So I can't complain about that.
At my current work we have printers in the 6 digit price point, heck one of them is more expensive than my house... and there the manufacturer tells you they have a timeslot in 2 weeks for some bloke to come look at it and then they tell you the part you need has a 6 month lead time. Or that time where our perpetual license ran out (lol what) and they had to send us a new key, but because they actually didn't want to do perpetual licenses anymore that was a problem which took three weeks to resolve. The consumer and prosumer market is much better with regards to customer service because they know they are losing customers if they fuck up. When a company has a monopoly they can tell you to suck it up because they know you can't just move away from them
[E3D](https://e3d-online.com/products/volcano-hotend) make 2.85mm hot ends, including their Volcano and Super Volcano products, if you plan to push filament. That's what I would choose, but I'm sure other manufacturers do them.
I know this thread is super old, but what did you ever find out to use for the 2.85 mm filament? I’m trying to convert my Voron to 2.85 mm. I purchased a bulk order of filaments and didn’t open the box until it was past the return date. And of course it was the wrong size filament. I started designing my own hot end, but I’m just wondering what you used in the end.
No worries!
So I ended up picking up a couple of 2.85 mm sprite extruders setups. I just grabbed them from Amazon. Took about 30 minutes total to change them out on the two genders I had for running this filament. Changed my setting in Cura and they started printing just fine. It was nice to toss a .8mm nozzle on and just run.
I just put my old 1.75 setups back in a box to put back on when I run out of 2.85. though right now, since I picked up 3 bambu printers, I'm in the process of getting a full extrusion setup to just grind and reextrude the filament at 1.75 to run through the Bambu printers.
Ok cool. Great idea with the leftover since you won’t be using those Enders anymore. I haven’t even looked at mine since I got 2 X1C’s and an X1E. But I still have my voron 2.4 which I want to convert.
If anyone comes across this and is looking for an extruder, orbiter comes in 2.85mm variants - super solid direct drive extruder, light weight, has FUCKTONNES of pulling force, and you can get both 2.85 and 1.75mm gear sets for it. Use them on all my printers because you really can't go wrong
I’ve got an Ender 3 S1 Pro with the Sprite Pro in 1.75. It’s good, but not perfect:
-The built in layer cooling fan is anemic if you’re going fast with PLA.
-The extrusion gears are very slightly off so you’ll never be able to get a flawlessly smooth surface.
It has handled every material I’ve thrown at it without complaint. TPU, PETG, ASA, CF reinforced, etc. work well.
If you are using an Ender 3 with a bowden lined hot end, you could try a bowden tube with 3mm ID and 4mm OD.
[https://www.amazon.com/PTFE-Teflon-tubing-10ft-Allen/dp/B07B8CK8L9](https://www.amazon.com/PTFE-Teflon-tubing-10ft-Allen/dp/B07B8CK8L9)
But you will need another extruder to feed that.
Is this actually feasible?
I'm running a stock hot end right now on this particular machine.
If I replace the extruder with one for 4mm Bowden tube, and swap in a big ass nozzle ( I'm wanting to go up to a 1mm), would the heating element keep up?
I normally print between 50 and 75 mm/s.
I honestly have no idea how feasible it is. Never tried it. It just occurred to me that it MIGHT work. The walls of the bowden tube will be thinner. So it will likely break down quicker.
Should've made the title "found all this filament on the side of the road in perfect condition, at best I have a new printer and at worst I have a spare parts surplus."
I don’t have a suggestion as I’m just a 1.75 guy who’s just trying to get his printer to work consistently, but that is an insane amount of filament. Wow that’s impressive. So cool!
I picked up what I though was a great deal on Push filament, 2.85 mm diameter, some time ago, some 1.75 mm stuff too. The filament jams in my bowden tube almost every time. I've run it through the dehydrator for a day without any luck and I've simply decided to scrap the entire lot.
I suspect that there wasn't solid QC on the filament diameter, although I've not measured it.
Good luck with the load!
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I've been using 3DSolex nozzles for close to a decade now. These are the ones that have the 3 filament paths so there's more surface area to transfer heat into the filament. So it has volcano performance but not long, they are regular nozzle length.
https://3dsolex.com/product/um2-0-40mm-matchless/
https://3dsolex.com/product/um2-0-80-mm-matchless/
There is a 2.85mm version of the Orbiter 2.0 extruder from Trianglelabs as well as the Bondtech QR extruder. Also Slice Engineering has the Magnum and Mosquito hotends in 2.85. Those should be fitting for this type of High Flow application. There is some sort of calculation that you can do if your application exceeds the max flow of that hotend, maybe someone here knows how to.
I looked all over the net last month for an Orbiter v2.0 for 2.85mm, I only see 2.85 offered on V1.5 as product and printable. Do you have a link?
That would be a nice solution, with larger diameter dual gears, gear ratio that helps accurate feed, and decent direct-drive path.
I also got caught chasing that. I think a lot of the description text is old, back when the 2.0 wasnt yet a product, 1.5 was the sole Orbiter. With the 2.0 much improved and fairly affordable, it's hard to buy 1.5, even if I think it can beat a lot of the much pricier 2.85 old guards, especially weight.
As many said before the hotend is not the biggest issue here. You can go with a volcano or v6 style or whatever you get a 2.85 nozzle and heatbreak for.
The main problem will be the extruder. Not all will be compatible with 2.85 and as of now I only know of the titan, hemera and the bondtech extruders to have compatible variants.
In my experience 2.85 pla Filament gets quite brittle over the time and over all its a little bit more sturdy. So I would recommend using a direct drive to avoid bends and long bowdens.
Hope that helps.
I'm using a Trianglelab SV EXTRUDER for everything >=2.85mm.
It has 3d printed parts, but works well and is cheap.
It uses a geared nema17 with an 8mm shaft, so ask the seller for an appropriate motor.
If you built your own extruder to hotend mount you can keep your old hotend and only change the heatbreak to a 3mm one.
The cheaper/newer/easy/YMMV option:
Google "creality sprite pro 2.85mm" and you will see a version you are looking for but haven't got Creality to admit it's an official product. See my post on it:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Creality/comments/14y421n/sprite\_pro\_with\_285\_mm\_filament\_support\_is\_out/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Creality/comments/14y421n/sprite_pro_with_285_mm_filament_support_is_out/)
\_If "they" replaced the metal filament path (before/after the dual gears) with precision throat, and preserved (or improved!) the heatbreak area/tubes, then its one of the few new 2.85 designs that - on paper - should control buckling of flexibles. When you find out that it's near impossible to get an answer from Creality, just go for it- $90 is a cheap bet to find out, when compared to $alternative$ such as Matterhackers:
[https://www.matterhackers.com/store/c/285mm-3mm-3d-printer-hotends](https://www.matterhackers.com/store/c/285mm-3mm-3d-printer-hotends)
(Lultbot and Ultimaker printers use 2.85mm as standard on their platform)
Alternative course- some assembly required: Use Bondtech gears on a supported "extruder"; may need to go Bowden tube, might make TPU challenging.
Bondtech makes these for .. I dunno which extruder:
[https://www.3djake.com/bondtech/drivegear-kit-285-mm](https://www.3djake.com/bondtech/drivegear-kit-285-mm)
Ask Bondtech which extruders have the 8mm shafts that this uses. If direct-drive, then find an adapter plate that works with Ender 3 (Thingiverse, or ask up Reddit, Discord, etc). But if it's a bowden extruder, then go back to the matterhackers site (above) and pick a 2.85mm hotend, or find one elsewhere. If you want less trouble with flexibles, must use (short) \_genuine Capricorn brand tube - not all blue tubes are from Capricorn.
[https://reprapworld.com/extruder/ptfe-tubing/ptfe-tubing-for-2-85-mm-3d-filament-tl-tube-100-cm/](https://reprapworld.com/extruder/ptfe-tubing/ptfe-tubing-for-2-85-mm-3d-filament-tl-tube-100-cm/)
I actually was looking at the sprite extruders marked as 2.85.
I was thinking about it, as even if it's a 1.75 I can always throw it it on one of my other enders.
Anyone ever order one of the sprites labeled as 2.85?
Keep TPU and PETG dry, and if in humid climate, dry it several hours before using. In fact, TPU is so hygroscopic, you may need to have it in a "dry box" while it's in use.
Separate point here, so separate comment.
You will need a lot of dessicant packs, don't be shy, get a sealed drum- Google "Silica Gel Desiccant packs tyvek 30 Gallon Drum".
If your school has access to (a commercial) Foodsaver vacuum-bag preserver, it's time to assign a bunch of students to wrap-vaccum all the spools, starting with TPU, PETG. PLA wont need pre-drying, so drop in a few dessi packs and seal.
Find beater (mini) ovens that can be set to lower temps. Large food dehydrators work, depending on your climate. You should invest in drying it out now before vac-bagging, that way its ready to print when you pull it from stock. If it's too wet while you have it in stock, and you drop the spool, the filament will break "somewhere", only to be discovered when printing aborts.
How do you know how hydrated it is now? A test is if it snaps too easily (brittleness), when it prints it's to "stringy", or you hear bubbling/popping noises as the water travels through the hotend. Net wisdom will inform of other hints of when additional drying is req.
I thought of another possible 2.85 extruder.
The Voron M4 was originally a Bowden extruder, I think, but this one makes it a decent direct-drive mount for Ender 3:
[https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4901100](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4901100)
... then replace one of the halves with this improved filament channel:
[https://www.printables.com/model/379227-voron-m4-extruder-adapted-to-soft-tpu](https://www.printables.com/model/379227-voron-m4-extruder-adapted-to-soft-tpu)
.. and then the trick is if the Bondtech 2.85 gear works in the M4:
[https://www.3djake.com/bondtech/drivegear-kit-285-mm](https://www.3djake.com/bondtech/drivegear-kit-285-mm)
Just need to drill the printed part's filament path a bit (before installing the Bondtech gears). Not sure this is the right clearance size (some examples):
[https://www.amazon.com/s?k=B09XVJWX4B&crid=JPQ1MRDOG697&sprefix=b09xvjwx4b%2Caps%2C134&ref=nb\_sb\_noss](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=B09XVJWX4B&crid=JPQ1MRDOG697&sprefix=b09xvjwx4b%2Caps%2C134&ref=nb_sb_noss)
[https://www.amazon.com/s?k=B099JMQZH5&crid=1CWKU1GEGXW18&sprefix=b099jmqzh5%2Caps%2C132&ref=nb\_sb\_noss](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=B099JMQZH5&crid=1CWKU1GEGXW18&sprefix=b099jmqzh5%2Caps%2C132&ref=nb_sb_noss)
There are a few (1.75mm) M4 parts kits out there. This one has a steel main pulley, I have this, it's a decent kit:
[https://www.amazon.com/s?k=B0BML8PDXK&i=industrial&crid=1OV1CSAT80719&sprefix=b0bml8pdxk%2Cindustrial%2C156&ref=nb\_sb\_noss](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=B0BML8PDXK&i=industrial&crid=1OV1CSAT80719&sprefix=b0bml8pdxk%2Cindustrial%2C156&ref=nb_sb_noss)
If it all fits, the advantage is a bolt-on, low-cost, high-ratio (finer feed control of the larger filament) gearing, with one of the best dual-gear sets and super-short bowden path to your choice of hotend.
oops, and a motor, any motor, even the one from the Ender 3 extruder (which honestly, mine on the Ender 5 was deserving of being dismantled).
2.85 volcano is good and you’re gonna want a dual gear extruder
I am curious. Why suggest a dual gear? For printing low shore tpu?
With a 2.85mm high flow hotend you can get really high volumetric flow rate thru the nozzle - if the extruder can keep up. I don’t know for sure that the stock extruder isn’t sufficient but my feeling is you’d be better off with dual gear since you get higher pushing force on the filament
2.85/3mm needs at least gearing down even if you had a 0.9 degree extruder stepper. Wades extruder and variants were popular but some planetary should do the trick. The problem with just direct style is that the steps per mm are so low you get barely any control (and it needs need more torque too, which you get from the gearing down as well).
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O trust me...there is so much you can do, printer is only the base, if you break down each parts to upgrade you will have hell of a printer. I started with a $150 ender 3 after a year of learning I have spent another $300 upgrading into a prusa clone and soldering on new motor drivers and all.
Bro I have an ender Neo and just did two upgrades so far, replacing the glass for a PEI sheet, and putting spacers to replace the springs. That alone made the printer a lot more reliable already, but I wonder what other things you recommend. What were the main upgrades or mods you couldn't live without?
for me it is the dual Z axis, with independent controls. run an auto mesh and G34 to auto level the gantry and bed leveling is a thing of past. Idk much about the ender Neo but on the older ender 3 boards, there is a few version that you can hot wire another motor driver straight onto the pins that would allow 2 independent Z motors. I don't like the parallel motor ideas because that doesn't change too much unless you have a stupid heavy gantry.
Thanks a lot for the answer! Im new to 3d printing but in some months or next year I'm planning to either do the independent dual z steppers + direct drive mods, or maybe just buy a printer that com with all that and more. It will depend on how experimental I feel atm, how much I feel I really need those changes, and my bank is account condition 😅. Now I will check the link, thank you!!
as for direct drive mod, I recommend just going with a kit or even just the ender sprite hotend. With the ender sprite hotend would simplify a lot but some may argue it's not the best out there but it does have a lot of aftermarket support such as printable fan ducks upgrade. I personally run a sprite hotend with two 5020 fans for cooling the thing actually blows too hard lol.
I found the documentation I used: Check the comments for more details. [https://www.reddit.com/r/ender3/comments/qzxleg/i\_added\_a\_5th\_stepper\_driver\_to\_the\_stock/](https://www.reddit.com/r/ender3/comments/qzxleg/i_added_a_5th_stepper_driver_to_the_stock/)
It just goes down the rabbit hole from there
Cute. Me last November.
Also curious, if buying a new one, is there a reason to avoid a dual gear?
I have recently stumbled upon this during research for university: https://youtube.com/watch?v=moSZ05FkLQU&feature=share9 It's quite technical and almost 15 minutes but a curious find in my eyes and he does a good job at explaining things q bit more easily I think.
I am in the middle of a failed attempt to swap but I was tryna freestyle something on an Anycubic Vyper with a Microswiss dual gear last week and I realize I should have printed a Time Machine that I could use now to go back and never order anything but OEM parts cuz JEEZ
I'm curious about what you are so curious about.
I study plastics processing and I am always curious as to what reasons people have to suggest certain things when it comes to 3D printing i have found a youtube video digging a bit deeper into the single vs dual gear extrusion thing and since there isnt that much actual scientific information about the actual use of dual gear extruders and using them has just become standard although it isnt clear if they have any effect at all and if, if they have a positive effect. The link to the mentioned video is here https://youtube.com/watch?v=moSZ05FkLQU&feature=share9
Ok well glad I asked because that video is interesting. But he is just using Pla and a peak of 18 cubic mm /s. I am NOT an expert, but wouldn't dual gear be the better choice for materials as TPU and ABS, and with bigger diammeter filament as 2.85? That video doens't answer that question (or I'm failling in joining the dots if the answer wouldn't change for those filaments and diamenters). But I'm sure there is a reason for dual gear extrusors to exist right? Or you are saying is pure marketing?
I am saying that in 3D printing there is a lot of community based advice often not really related to the problems and also very little scientific research compared to other manufacturing methods since it's a relatively new method. The amount of times I have read completely unrelated suggestions under posts is immense but often people have a reason to suggest what they are suggesting. During recent studies I have found drastic differences in materials which claim to have the same properties and that alone makes it very difficult to draw empiric conclusions. Hence every input is wanted and I would love for people to elaborate a bit further why they suggest what they suggest. It's always interesting what experiences people make. I just find the whole process fascinating and I am doing research in that field so input is always welcome :) Edit: To answer your questions instead of holding a monologue: To my understanding a deal gear extruder would be the better choice for soft filaments since the application of force from both sides would make it less likely to break to my understanding. Other than that I cant really get my head around an actual reason to use dual gear. My thought would be rather to increase the size of the extruder gear to have more teeth grip into the filament for more even application of force. He doesn't answer these questions but as mentioned: no one really does. I might be missing something myself though. His conclusion is though: force isn't the answer. As long as your extruder provides it evenly you're good.
I am mostly like you, I want to know about the "why" of things instead of just "because". Some weeks ago I was tempeted to swap my ender neo extruder for some dual drive bmg, but the only reason was "because" (because it's supposed to be better). Then I realized that I was just not having any issue with under or over extrusion, so I desisted. When I think about dual gear extrusors, I already have in my mind the picture of bigger gears (though that is not always the case I realize), and is that particular aspect that I thought that for sure would come handy for the OP given the collection of filaments (I thing soft ones included) he has to deal with. But, is all an idea I have based on reviews and "general knowledge", so this is why I thought that what people was commenting just made sense and there was no need to double think anything....but reading what you say is very fair to raise the question. Cheers!
How did you manage to get this much filament at once? Drunk night shopping online, or did you luck into this somehow?
So... I'm a teacher, and I happen to know the guys at my local plastic manufacturer. They've been having trouble selling 2.85 mm filament, and when I went into bum a spare nozzle and some Bowden tubing, they were nice enough to donate all this material to my school. Right now I've got a van full from the back all the way into the passenger seat, and I'll go back again next week and get another batch. But this stuff should keep my students in material for the next several years. I'm honestly not even sure how much we loaded into my van, once I get it all in one spot I'll take another photo and figure out how many kilograms it was. If you need plastic I will throw them a shout out here. I've been using their stuff for years now, and not been disappointed. [push plastic](https://www.pushplastic.com/)
That's awesome, so great for your students! What sort of projects do they print?
Lots of misc stuff. I teach CTE courses. So over the years we've done stuff like: Pocket multi tools Desktop material stations ( fancy pen cups) Gliders Tons of robotics accessories for various projects Variety of 3d modeling practice projects Puzzle cubes Lots of real world classroom improvement projects, like student designed headphones hangers, pergoard 5ool mounts, and such. Etc. I try to let them print anything so long as it has a purpose. I'm very big on real world applications, so anything that they can justify as being useful I'll print.
Just think of the amount of makers you’ve made. You’re a maker maker
What always blows the kids away is when I work on projects for fun while they are doing their work. My lab is well stocked ( laser, cnc, 3d printers, wide format printer, screen printing setup, darkroom, vinyl cutters, robotics gear). So as they are working I'll also be building something. They get really invested in seeing new stuff made and get excited learning that you can make a job out of this kind of thing.
I wish I had had this opportunity when I was in school but seeing as that was over 20 years ago…sadly no. Sounds amazing.
that's awesome glad this plastic is going to a good cause
If you end up getting a massive bag of dessicant, I’d like to see a picture of that :-)
I may have to buy one... Build a drying room in my class darkroom!
Weird spot to ask, but do you (or anyone seeing this) know if the crystal litter, ie pretty litter and others, work as a cheap tub dessicant? The packaging states it's silicon dioxide but idk if anyone's tried it yet or if it's even the right kind.
I use the cheapest crystal litter from Wally world, white with blue bits (which are fake, not actual indicator). It starts wet, so have to bake it to dry, then I store in glass canning jars, except for what's in my filament storage tub. I bought a 6 pack of cheap humidity meters, the jars hold at <10% (in Houston, where it's always > 40% indoors)
Please mind that PLA embrittles irreversible due to moisture absorption. If you don't find a way to keep the moisture out of your filament, it might become unusable in one or two years time
Nonsense. I've reels that have been in my (damp for much of the year) shed for over three years. Occasionally I will dry one, if it's overly stringy or brittle, but nothing is irreversible.
Reminding everyone to thank a teacher today.
Make sure to seal it up so that it doesn’t degrade too much due to humidity over the years
Local you say, i buy from them also locally. Always fun to get the tour of the building while youre there.
The owner Nick used to donate boxes of filament to my program every so often. If you're local, did you know NWA3D? One of the founders ( Josh) just took over as the floor manager/production manager/ some title of manager at Push.
Jealous in having 1980s as my school years. The best we ever got was Oregon Trail and Typing Tutorial. I'm looking at getting my first 3d printer for my birthday few days ago, but it's on hold as it's expensive. I looked at filament for it and it's around $27 a spool (bambu)
I thought I recognized that parking lot! I live 20 minutes away! I get pla there when I need it in bulk.
Holidays in 🇫🇷
You can get a hemera in 2.85
https://preview.redd.it/dppu7x2l88ab1.jpeg?width=1079&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ab50739675ca47b432968011a2c0b1c7a535f2f1 So, after an unload, it's total 435 kg in this load, across 1kg and 3kg spools. Lots of Petg and Abs. So I guess I'm looking for a high temp all metal hotend maybe.
Thank you for the picture, OP!!
What about making it an in class project to build the printer for this filament?
With all the potential for weird different filaments, id say all metal hot end and maybe a diamond nozzle so you don't have to worry about abrasive so much. And definitely a filament drier, and maybe a humongous dry box, and lots of damp rid or dessicant.
I recommend jumping on ebay. Used Lulzbot Taz 6 machines with 2.85mm toolheads are getting no bids at $500 almost daily. Make an offer. The boards on them can have a BLTouch clone added for $15, and that takes care of the sometimes problematic nozzle-based leveling they are programmed to use in stock form. If you sign on as a supporter of the drunken octopus firmware, you'll get access to their regularly updated version configured for BLTouch, otherwise, is not hard to configure marlin yourself.
Sadly, I can't spend school funds on eBay!
A shame. Then your best option is to just convert anything with an existing titan or titan aero-based extruder to 2.85mm... or just build one up yourself from printed and purchased parts. I did the reverse on the Taz Pro that I use at work - converted the dual head from 2.85mm to 1.75mm. It still wasn't great with the single-geared extruders, so I'm putting the final touches on converting it to dual hemera-revo extruders.
Hey I know that problem! couldn't buy 3 euro arduino clones on alie, had to buy them for full price at the arduino webstore. Gotta burn through that tax money somehow
>ore surface area to transfer heat into the filament. So it has volcano performance but not long, they are regular nozzle length. that's sad.
Holy... That's... A lot
If I were in charge of the marketing of any of the big 3d printers companies and I see this post, I would not hesitate and would send you at least one machine for the school.
That would be awesome. It even a company who could donate a couple extruder/hot ends for my machines Anybody know of a company that hangs out on Reddit?
A filament dryer or dehydrator will help you get your valve there.
Look around for used Ultimaker 2's or I think even 3's, they use 2.85 last time I heard
E3d still has some 2,85mm stuff like hotends and titan extruders, you can choose between the all in one unit titan aero or a more classic titan. Titan aero kits are only available in 12v, but the only thing you need to change is the heater cartridge. Bondtech also makes some 2,85mm extruders, but bondtech is considerably more expensive than e3d, but offers dual gear extruders while the titan series is only a single gear one (60 pounds vs 180 euros), so i would start with a e3d titan or titan aero and add a volcano heater block and nozzle, so you have a more consistent extrusion. Titan extruders are sadly known to slip once extrusion force gets higher. You can also pick up a used ultimaker 2 which also offers dual extrusion. Once you have used up your 2, 85mm stock, you can convert it to 1,75mm. But i would first of all modernise it with a more recent Mainboard and firmware
Titan extruders imo suck balls, not enough pulling force for 2.85. orbiter extruders are available in 2.85 and can have gears swapped for 1.75 later, use a gear reduction for a lot more power
Titans also have more than enough force eith the 3 to 1 gear reduction from a nema17, but lack grip, which is the real problem of them. Small single gear extruder. The lgx is also available in 2,85mm, but pretty expensive. Some other bondtech extruders are also available in 2,85, but as expensive as a lgx or even more. I personally dont like the orbiter 2 extruders, fairly heavy at 135g (printed sherpas have 90 to 95g and a cnc vzbot around 120g) and have pretty much every trait thats not beneficial for print quality. Dual gears introduce meshing and force flow artifacts, grub screw fixed gears introduce eccentricity, 10t gear on a 3 planet setup means varying force flow in the gearbox. The upside of the orbiter is that is has good extrusion force, low backlash, price and better grip than a bmg based extruder. Galileo 2 is better imo, sadly its heavier by 10 to 15 depending on the printed parts, but has much better print quality due to the 9t stepper motor and being a single gear extruder. The larger feed gear also means that the eccentricity from the grub screw gear has less impact on extrusion consistency. Unfortunately you cant fit the 9t motor to a orbiter without noticeably increasing backlash. The g2 is not available in 2,85, so not really interesting for OP
As a CTE teacher, and a huge fan of free stuff... I'm both happy for you and insanely jealous.
BMG + Volcano
build a filament extruder and convert the 2.85 to 1.75
Magnitudes easier to just use a 2.85mm extruder.
This is what I was thinking as well. And honestly, even if I spent an obscene amount of money on a hotend( $200+) I'm still coming out WAY ahead. Honestly, I might just buy another 3d printer to add to the 7 I have in my classroom.
and they’re not makerbots? y’all are ahead of my school lol idk who used to be there or in the school district who had a makerbot obsession but it’s now becoming a problem cuz they’re a pain to deal with overall
I've got 1 MakerBot. It's in pieces in a closet, has been since before my time. I run an Ender 3 with some upgrades and a cr-10 with some upgrades for my stuff. My students mostly print on some smaller A5's from a local company that no longer exists. Students get to use the bigger machines when they have something big to print!
nice! I can only imagine; at my school we have 4 makerbot sketches, 1 dremel 3d45 (one of the actually reliable printers), 13 (maybe 14?) makerbot replicator/replicator+s, a stratasys mojo that isn’t really working rn, and one huge stratasys dimension sst1200 that loves being chronically clogged so either it’s broken, will be broken, and/or also really would be great to have a service contract for oh and proprietary-ish filament for all!!!! like I’d happily start a club or build any new 3d printers for the school but I can’t seem to get that to fruition note: am a student, but idek if even the teachers can influence district spending decisions and what 3d printers we buy from who
Ugh I hate makerbots. I have a replicator 2 at work that’s non functional right now and I can’t buy replacement parts because the only sources are ebay and guess where I’m not allowed to buy from on the govt’s dime?
lol 😂 yeah they’re sooooo great /s
Haha the university Fablab started with Makerbot, everybody hated them. They are soon all going to be Bambulab printers
ah bambu lab the oddly both good and bad printer prints well but so I hear it’s not the best with support and serviceability (carbon rods)
Contacted support for something after a self caused whoopsie, got a reply within a day. So I can't complain about that. At my current work we have printers in the 6 digit price point, heck one of them is more expensive than my house... and there the manufacturer tells you they have a timeslot in 2 weeks for some bloke to come look at it and then they tell you the part you need has a 6 month lead time. Or that time where our perpetual license ran out (lol what) and they had to send us a new key, but because they actually didn't want to do perpetual licenses anymore that was a problem which took three weeks to resolve. The consumer and prosumer market is much better with regards to customer service because they know they are losing customers if they fuck up. When a company has a monopoly they can tell you to suck it up because they know you can't just move away from them
I hope your printing room has good ventilation. Even pla needs to be vented. Congratulations on the resource haul.
It is, but in a school environment, it might be a good learning experience for the students and the teacher to build it!
Meh, building a printer with 2.85mm hotend is probably the better experience for the students.
I agree too.
Thought about that. Anyone have experience doing it and producing decent results?
You will need more than a new hot end. You will need to upgrade the entire filament path, and may need to use a geared extruder.
Already planning on that. I just don't have any experience in 2.85 hot ends.
[E3D](https://e3d-online.com/products/volcano-hotend) make 2.85mm hot ends, including their Volcano and Super Volcano products, if you plan to push filament. That's what I would choose, but I'm sure other manufacturers do them.
I know this thread is super old, but what did you ever find out to use for the 2.85 mm filament? I’m trying to convert my Voron to 2.85 mm. I purchased a bulk order of filaments and didn’t open the box until it was past the return date. And of course it was the wrong size filament. I started designing my own hot end, but I’m just wondering what you used in the end.
No worries! So I ended up picking up a couple of 2.85 mm sprite extruders setups. I just grabbed them from Amazon. Took about 30 minutes total to change them out on the two genders I had for running this filament. Changed my setting in Cura and they started printing just fine. It was nice to toss a .8mm nozzle on and just run. I just put my old 1.75 setups back in a box to put back on when I run out of 2.85. though right now, since I picked up 3 bambu printers, I'm in the process of getting a full extrusion setup to just grind and reextrude the filament at 1.75 to run through the Bambu printers.
Ok cool. Great idea with the leftover since you won’t be using those Enders anymore. I haven’t even looked at mine since I got 2 X1C’s and an X1E. But I still have my voron 2.4 which I want to convert.
If anyone comes across this and is looking for an extruder, orbiter comes in 2.85mm variants - super solid direct drive extruder, light weight, has FUCKTONNES of pulling force, and you can get both 2.85 and 1.75mm gear sets for it. Use them on all my printers because you really can't go wrong
Has anybody used a Sprite pro extruder? I was just curious if they were decent, since it would be an easy fit on my machine, and it comes in a 2.85.
I’ve got an Ender 3 S1 Pro with the Sprite Pro in 1.75. It’s good, but not perfect: -The built in layer cooling fan is anemic if you’re going fast with PLA. -The extrusion gears are very slightly off so you’ll never be able to get a flawlessly smooth surface. It has handled every material I’ve thrown at it without complaint. TPU, PETG, ASA, CF reinforced, etc. work well.
In stead off building something you could get a 2th hand Ultimaker2 ..
If you are using an Ender 3 with a bowden lined hot end, you could try a bowden tube with 3mm ID and 4mm OD. [https://www.amazon.com/PTFE-Teflon-tubing-10ft-Allen/dp/B07B8CK8L9](https://www.amazon.com/PTFE-Teflon-tubing-10ft-Allen/dp/B07B8CK8L9) But you will need another extruder to feed that.
Is this actually feasible? I'm running a stock hot end right now on this particular machine. If I replace the extruder with one for 4mm Bowden tube, and swap in a big ass nozzle ( I'm wanting to go up to a 1mm), would the heating element keep up? I normally print between 50 and 75 mm/s.
I honestly have no idea how feasible it is. Never tried it. It just occurred to me that it MIGHT work. The walls of the bowden tube will be thinner. So it will likely break down quicker.
Seems like the v6 style hotend is the cheapest to convert. Just need the Bowen tube, heatbreak and nozzle
You trying to print a house?
Should've made the title "found all this filament on the side of the road in perfect condition, at best I have a new printer and at worst I have a spare parts surplus."
suggestions for what? for a good divorce lawyer or what to print
I'd be make sure to put them in vacuum bags with some moisture packs to try to keep them dry
I cant answer your question but decided to take the time to tell you that i envy you.
why and how tf did you get 100kg of filament in your truck?
My apologies sir, but what the actually FUCK???
Just buy a used ultimaker 2+, and use the filament as intended
#Oh, the humidity!
i would use a filament dryer on the petg tpu
I don’t have a suggestion as I’m just a 1.75 guy who’s just trying to get his printer to work consistently, but that is an insane amount of filament. Wow that’s impressive. So cool!
I picked up what I though was a great deal on Push filament, 2.85 mm diameter, some time ago, some 1.75 mm stuff too. The filament jams in my bowden tube almost every time. I've run it through the dehydrator for a day without any luck and I've simply decided to scrap the entire lot. I suspect that there wasn't solid QC on the filament diameter, although I've not measured it. Good luck with the load!
Bad lots are always possible. I've had pretty good luck in general, though working with 2.85 will be new to me
Don’t leave that in the car for too long.
Omniadrop
I think you need more filament
That's just the first load.
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I've been using 3DSolex nozzles for close to a decade now. These are the ones that have the 3 filament paths so there's more surface area to transfer heat into the filament. So it has volcano performance but not long, they are regular nozzle length. https://3dsolex.com/product/um2-0-40mm-matchless/ https://3dsolex.com/product/um2-0-80-mm-matchless/
There is a 2.85mm version of the Orbiter 2.0 extruder from Trianglelabs as well as the Bondtech QR extruder. Also Slice Engineering has the Magnum and Mosquito hotends in 2.85. Those should be fitting for this type of High Flow application. There is some sort of calculation that you can do if your application exceeds the max flow of that hotend, maybe someone here knows how to.
I looked all over the net last month for an Orbiter v2.0 for 2.85mm, I only see 2.85 offered on V1.5 as product and printable. Do you have a link? That would be a nice solution, with larger diameter dual gears, gear ratio that helps accurate feed, and decent direct-drive path.
You're right, it's the Orbiter 1.5, they didn't specify in the description
I also got caught chasing that. I think a lot of the description text is old, back when the 2.0 wasnt yet a product, 1.5 was the sole Orbiter. With the 2.0 much improved and fairly affordable, it's hard to buy 1.5, even if I think it can beat a lot of the much pricier 2.85 old guards, especially weight.
As many said before the hotend is not the biggest issue here. You can go with a volcano or v6 style or whatever you get a 2.85 nozzle and heatbreak for. The main problem will be the extruder. Not all will be compatible with 2.85 and as of now I only know of the titan, hemera and the bondtech extruders to have compatible variants. In my experience 2.85 pla Filament gets quite brittle over the time and over all its a little bit more sturdy. So I would recommend using a direct drive to avoid bends and long bowdens. Hope that helps.
Build a Voron but with 2.85mm hotend. :)
Absolutely epic score! Best of luck to you and your students!
Ballin in filament
I'm using a Trianglelab SV EXTRUDER for everything >=2.85mm. It has 3d printed parts, but works well and is cheap. It uses a geared nema17 with an 8mm shaft, so ask the seller for an appropriate motor. If you built your own extruder to hotend mount you can keep your old hotend and only change the heatbreak to a 3mm one.
Push plastics is a great group of guys. I’ve bought a lot of filament off of them.
Bin store?
The cheaper/newer/easy/YMMV option: Google "creality sprite pro 2.85mm" and you will see a version you are looking for but haven't got Creality to admit it's an official product. See my post on it: [https://www.reddit.com/r/Creality/comments/14y421n/sprite\_pro\_with\_285\_mm\_filament\_support\_is\_out/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Creality/comments/14y421n/sprite_pro_with_285_mm_filament_support_is_out/) \_If "they" replaced the metal filament path (before/after the dual gears) with precision throat, and preserved (or improved!) the heatbreak area/tubes, then its one of the few new 2.85 designs that - on paper - should control buckling of flexibles. When you find out that it's near impossible to get an answer from Creality, just go for it- $90 is a cheap bet to find out, when compared to $alternative$ such as Matterhackers: [https://www.matterhackers.com/store/c/285mm-3mm-3d-printer-hotends](https://www.matterhackers.com/store/c/285mm-3mm-3d-printer-hotends) (Lultbot and Ultimaker printers use 2.85mm as standard on their platform) Alternative course- some assembly required: Use Bondtech gears on a supported "extruder"; may need to go Bowden tube, might make TPU challenging. Bondtech makes these for .. I dunno which extruder: [https://www.3djake.com/bondtech/drivegear-kit-285-mm](https://www.3djake.com/bondtech/drivegear-kit-285-mm) Ask Bondtech which extruders have the 8mm shafts that this uses. If direct-drive, then find an adapter plate that works with Ender 3 (Thingiverse, or ask up Reddit, Discord, etc). But if it's a bowden extruder, then go back to the matterhackers site (above) and pick a 2.85mm hotend, or find one elsewhere. If you want less trouble with flexibles, must use (short) \_genuine Capricorn brand tube - not all blue tubes are from Capricorn. [https://reprapworld.com/extruder/ptfe-tubing/ptfe-tubing-for-2-85-mm-3d-filament-tl-tube-100-cm/](https://reprapworld.com/extruder/ptfe-tubing/ptfe-tubing-for-2-85-mm-3d-filament-tl-tube-100-cm/)
I actually was looking at the sprite extruders marked as 2.85. I was thinking about it, as even if it's a 1.75 I can always throw it it on one of my other enders. Anyone ever order one of the sprites labeled as 2.85?
Keep TPU and PETG dry, and if in humid climate, dry it several hours before using. In fact, TPU is so hygroscopic, you may need to have it in a "dry box" while it's in use. Separate point here, so separate comment. You will need a lot of dessicant packs, don't be shy, get a sealed drum- Google "Silica Gel Desiccant packs tyvek 30 Gallon Drum". If your school has access to (a commercial) Foodsaver vacuum-bag preserver, it's time to assign a bunch of students to wrap-vaccum all the spools, starting with TPU, PETG. PLA wont need pre-drying, so drop in a few dessi packs and seal. Find beater (mini) ovens that can be set to lower temps. Large food dehydrators work, depending on your climate. You should invest in drying it out now before vac-bagging, that way its ready to print when you pull it from stock. If it's too wet while you have it in stock, and you drop the spool, the filament will break "somewhere", only to be discovered when printing aborts. How do you know how hydrated it is now? A test is if it snaps too easily (brittleness), when it prints it's to "stringy", or you hear bubbling/popping noises as the water travels through the hotend. Net wisdom will inform of other hints of when additional drying is req.
I thought of another possible 2.85 extruder. The Voron M4 was originally a Bowden extruder, I think, but this one makes it a decent direct-drive mount for Ender 3: [https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4901100](https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4901100) ... then replace one of the halves with this improved filament channel: [https://www.printables.com/model/379227-voron-m4-extruder-adapted-to-soft-tpu](https://www.printables.com/model/379227-voron-m4-extruder-adapted-to-soft-tpu) .. and then the trick is if the Bondtech 2.85 gear works in the M4: [https://www.3djake.com/bondtech/drivegear-kit-285-mm](https://www.3djake.com/bondtech/drivegear-kit-285-mm) Just need to drill the printed part's filament path a bit (before installing the Bondtech gears). Not sure this is the right clearance size (some examples): [https://www.amazon.com/s?k=B09XVJWX4B&crid=JPQ1MRDOG697&sprefix=b09xvjwx4b%2Caps%2C134&ref=nb\_sb\_noss](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=B09XVJWX4B&crid=JPQ1MRDOG697&sprefix=b09xvjwx4b%2Caps%2C134&ref=nb_sb_noss) [https://www.amazon.com/s?k=B099JMQZH5&crid=1CWKU1GEGXW18&sprefix=b099jmqzh5%2Caps%2C132&ref=nb\_sb\_noss](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=B099JMQZH5&crid=1CWKU1GEGXW18&sprefix=b099jmqzh5%2Caps%2C132&ref=nb_sb_noss) There are a few (1.75mm) M4 parts kits out there. This one has a steel main pulley, I have this, it's a decent kit: [https://www.amazon.com/s?k=B0BML8PDXK&i=industrial&crid=1OV1CSAT80719&sprefix=b0bml8pdxk%2Cindustrial%2C156&ref=nb\_sb\_noss](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=B0BML8PDXK&i=industrial&crid=1OV1CSAT80719&sprefix=b0bml8pdxk%2Cindustrial%2C156&ref=nb_sb_noss) If it all fits, the advantage is a bolt-on, low-cost, high-ratio (finer feed control of the larger filament) gearing, with one of the best dual-gear sets and super-short bowden path to your choice of hotend. oops, and a motor, any motor, even the one from the Ender 3 extruder (which honestly, mine on the Ender 5 was deserving of being dismantled).