Quote Originally Posted by gmay3 View Post
Wow this looks awesome clough42! Thanks for the comparison shot with the greg's extruder. Your new design is much smaller than I would have thought! Can't wait to see it in action.
I spent most of the weekend working on this. Here's how the whole X axis assembly is shaping up. I'm incorporating the double groove mount, X-axis platform, hexagon cooling, servo Z-probe and a print cooling fan. The back plate shown in these photos is the MakerFarm original, so you can get a sense of the scale.

HexagonFan.jpgRightFront.jpgTop.jpgBack.jpg

Keep in mind, this is all still a work in progress.

The drive system has proven itself in the Itty Bitty Belted Extruder (single) but this design has some new concepts. The filament path is longer and it's slightly curved. I don't think friction will be a problem, but that remains to be proven. I'm gambling that I can cool two hexagons with the same 25mm fan if I constrain the air input path tightly around the heat sinks. If I can get the overall input cross section similar to the single shroud, then I can harness the air that bypasses the single hexagon to cool two. I'm making the same bet for the print cooling. The tension springs on the idler blocks are also a gamble. I'm betting I can adjust tension by cutting and bending loops and that the lever arms will be sufficient to get good bolt traction. My suspicion is that most extruders are running with more tension than they need. The MakerFarm bolts are sharp and we only need enough traction to transfer available torque. As long as the motor skips first, there's enough tension.