# 3D Printing > 3D Printer Parts, Filament & Materials >  Solidworks files of Gregs ,wades extruder with gears

## ROBOCOP

ANyone have soldiworks files for wades extruders and/or of the gears? Also if anyone has any dimension+gear ratio for the wades extruder gears?

On another note what are the differences/various types of wades extruders out there? Which do you like best?

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## Wolfie

Don't think they have solid works files, but I think they have free cad and scad files on the Lulzbot dev server.  You can download the files freely.
http://devel.lulzbot.com/TAZ/Juniper...printed_parts/

And here is the "reloaded" version:
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:20413

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## ROBOCOP

Thanks . I can get STL,scad etc everywhere but need solidworks files specifically as i want to be able to edit in solidworks to make my own design off of it.

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## Wolfie

You can't import the other files into solid works?  Sorry, don't have SW so I am not familiar with it.

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## soofle616

The parts should be simple enough to import into solidworks as .stl's and be able to edit them. You won't have a full history tree but they will still be recognized as a solid body that you can cut/extrude/etc from. If for some reason you can't or don't want to do this, import the .stl's and use them as a measurement base to make your own model.

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## ROBOCOP

> You can't import the other files into solid works?  Sorry, don't have SW so I am not familiar with it.





> The parts should be simple enough to import into solidworks as .stl's and be able to edit them. You won't have a full history tree but they will still be recognized as a solid body that you can cut/extrude/etc from. If for some reason you can't or don't want to do this, import the .stl's and use them as a measurement base to make your own model.


STL's arnt editable in solidworks that i know of.It imports a graphics only which is like a 3d picture .It has no bodys/faces,dimensions or anything you can work off off. Something like dxf step igs i can work with but id much rather have a full solidworks part file. Id even be happy with just a dimensional drawing

Edit: Thanks, All these years using solidworks i never used stl files. Just found out you can change the option when opening from stl graphc to solid body.Then i ran featureworks and it turns it into a full editable part. Thanks .

So on to my other question. What types of gregs/wades extruders are there and what are the differences?

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## soofle616

Glad you figured it out. For future reference, SW does kinda suck for stl editing. Anything over 2000 faces will not import as a solid body, graphics only which as you know is not editable or even measureable. So simple parts will come in fine but very large or very complex parts won't work.

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## ROBOCOP

> Glad you figured it out. For future reference, SW does kinda suck for stl editing. Anything over 2000 faces will not import as a solid body, graphics only which as you know is not editable or even measureable. So simple parts will come in fine but very large or very complex parts won't work.


Already learned this the hard way. Feature recongnition just wont load on big parts and my computer is built for solidworks running 5ghz 8core 32gig ram with worstation graphics Firepro w8100 8gig . It loads massive assemblys and rotates etc with 0 lag but cant load feature recognition on a medium size part. Even on smaller parts it doesnt do well with circles and stuff and needs a lot of rework.This is only with STL. If its step or igs feature recognition works better.

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## printbus

> ANyone have soldiworks files for wades extruders and/or of the gears? Also if anyone has any dimension+gear ratio for the wades extruder gears?


As already suggested, Greg's Wade evolved in openSCAD, so that's where you find (most) source files.  Many of the Greg's Wade versions are available on Thingiverse.  Gear options can vary. IIRC, it originally used 11/45 gears (11 teeth on the motor and 45 teeth on the large gear).  Many current ones use 9/47 gears as a way to provide a bit more torque from a NEMA17 motor for use with 3mm filament.  




> On another note what are the differences/various types of wades extruders out there?


This becomes evident once you start to read the descriptions for the numerous Greg's Wade designs in at least Thingiverse.  They're all basically the same or they wouldn't still be called a Greg's Wade extruder.  I already mentioned differences in gearing. One major reason for variations is the difference in dimensions and mounting requirements for various hot ends.  Hole placements and sizing, especially for the motor mount, is another common tweak.   




> Which do you like best?


I can't say it is the 'best', but I encourage you to take a look at my redux of the entire Greg's Wade suite published at http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:812899. Like you, I wanted to make some fitment and other adjustments. Unfortunately, I found the available openSCAD files to be hard to use - perhaps because the designs had been through so many revisions by so many different developers, each with their own way of doing things.  The updated designs provide a complete overhaul of what I identified as the latest openSCAD source, with every equation, dimension, or other aspect scrubbed as best I could.  The source files are now heavily commented, and are specifically intended to make it easier for other people to tweak minor things about the designs.

More information on my improvements to the Greg's Wade designs is available in the description area of the Thingiverse page. Even more detail is provided as comments at the beginning of each openSCAD file. openSCAD files are just text files - so you can open them in any text editor.

The STLs I provide are specific to a MakerFarm i3v with a particular hot  end and hobbed bolt configuration, but the intent is for people to  tweak the openSCAD source to their liking and generate new STL files  from their updates.

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## ROBOCOP

Thanks. Your redux version looks nice. I ended up recreating it in solidworks myself for my needs . My version made for the Robo  http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1411833

Not much difference in the extruder itself other then depth of hotend hole ,tweaked for E3D and minor cosmetic differences . Most of the design was in the carriage , fan etc.

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