i3v Dual Extuder Setup

[Zulfe]

Hello all,

This is my first post in this goldmine of information. I've been asking Colin at MakerFarm all of my questions since I ordered my i3v, so I'll give him a break and post here from now on.

I've been trying to find a way to install a dual Bowden extruder onto the i3v X-Carriage for a few weeks now, without any luck. There are not any available solutions on Thingiverse or in what I've found in my Google searches. The i3, as well all know, gets more love that the i3v; however, that's understandable due to the age differences. It's just a matter of time... unless someone here has a solution. The i3v features an extruder support for both the hot end and the extruder block. In a dual extruder setup, your blocks will (hopefully) be installed elsewhere. Does this make the supportive pieces necessary? You could completely avoid a substitution of the extruder support pieces and flooring by completely redoing the X-Carriage, backplate and all. This method isn't truly necessary. Not as long as you can find a way to fit two fat, metal hot ends in that small, boxy area that comes default in the kit. I'd design and test it myself, but I don't own two E3Dv6 hot ends to do test fitting.

[AbuMaia]

I saw somewhere on Thingiverse a dual extruder setup where the two hotends were aligned in the Y-axis, with the one to the rear of the printer being driven with a direct extruder block, and the one in front being driven with a bowden extruder. Not only does that save room in the X axis, but many of these printers have extra room in the Y axis that can be used.

Edit: here it is: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:116880

For a setup like this, it's not the X carriage backplate that would need to be modified, but the shelf piece that the extruder block sits on. Just copy it, and extend it out the front to make room for a bowden hotend.