Quote Originally Posted by FrankV View Post
In an ideal world, the head should be able to be retracted vertically by a small amount when not in use. Thinking about reducing the heavy head mass by switching to a Bowden cable solution, perhaps I can think of a clever way to incorporate a small up/down mechanism. Even wondering if having a sprung head with 0.5mm restricted travel and using the extruder pressure to force the head down could work - probably create more problems somehow!
I've been thinking along the same lines recently. Unfortunately, while I have the mechanical and design prowess to come up with a variety of solutions, I don't have the programming knowledge to make any needed changes to the firmware for an active head retraction method. Something passive like your spring retract might work though.