The FT-5 printer has the potential to print fast. One limitation, with all fast printing, comes from oscillations. The best way to reduce printing oscillations is to reduce the moving mass. A remote extruder (Bowden setup) removes the mass of the extruder assembly from the moving part. Unfortunately, the length of the bowden tube introduces latency in the system (extrusion / retraction accuracy). Therefore, it is best to reduce the length of the bowden tube without making the angle of movement so tight that the filament binds against the bowden tube.
Enter the extruder gimbal (extruder flymount). This idea was of my own design, although I'm sure others have come up with it, too. Suspend the extruder from the middle of the chassis above the hotend so that it follows the movement of the hotend from the center, rather than one of the sides. This decreases the length of bowden tuben required by almost 50%. (On the FT-5, my current measurements indicate that 8.5" is sufficient. This will require testing and may be a different number in the end. Please let me know if you find a better bowden length)
The gimbal mount uses integrated 636 bearings (with airsoft BBs) to reduce friction of movement.
Here's the Thingiverse link to the gimbal mount:
< https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3452472 >
Here's the Thinigiverse link to the Titan extruder cable saver that is necessary to protect the extruder cable while it moves:
< https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3453392 >
If you're interested in this idea, please print it out and let me know of any improvements you suggest. I'm still in the testing phase and likely have more iterations along the way to make it work well. Even if this doesn't work, I'm posting it here so that it might inspire others to improve upon the design down the road.
There are no pictures of the whole setup because I haven't finished building my printer yet. Yes, this is in alpha stage. Yes, I'm super excited about it.
