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I am looking for a new extruder for my machine. The one I have works, but its a bowden setup and does not extrude flex material very well. I have a 3D delta printer and would like to know if anyone have experience with the new Zesty Nimble extruder that is listed. It seems like an interesting extruder to back. I like to stay under $100 for the entire extruder and want it to be as light as possible. This extruder seems to fit the bill really well. I would like to know your opinion.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lykle/super-light-and-easy-to-use-extruder-for-your-3d-p/description

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For general/hobby printing a flex extended drive gear may not cause issues. For advanced materials or high speed printing this thing will have a lot of tolerance issues in retraction and heat issues at high speeds. The flex cable also adds a lot of mass to the cable bundle on a delta which will affect the effector movement proportional to speed. We couldn’t use it though it may work for a lot of people.

The new EZR from SeeMeCNC for the Rostock Max V3 is designed as a bowden that works with flex materials, without having to custom cut pfte tube like you had to do on the EZ struder. Even $20 3D cam extruders work fine for flex material with some minor modifications.

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I think that i can help you. You need to combine an direct extruder with a delta to work with flex filament.

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I have a bowden style extruder that i worked up in 123d design for printing my flex, works fine for me. Here is the link to it on Thingiverse. cheapest solution I can think of and still keep a bowden setup

Oh and the price was pennies

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If you want to print with flex, buy a cheap prusa with mk8 extruder, job done!

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you should investigate a sexxystruder on github dl and print your self, buy a nema 11 geared stepper & suspend it with silicone tubign. Cost : 50-$70 . Plus you can get insane speed.

If you need more info, direct msg me, I know the inventors.

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First off, Try out cheata filament from the makers of ninjaflex. It’s a semi-rigid, semi-flexable filament designed for the Bowden setups and no change. Couple of ways to go about this. RWG research on YouTube, has a delta that he hangs his extruder really close to the hot end. So this is possible with the use of counter weight and some elastic cords but nothing stretching on the counter weight. Also, just upgrade it yourself with many design on thingiverse. Fav was one that had a magnetic dock to dock a probe, then dock a hot end. I believe he went on to add another dock but not sure what. And then there is the new hot end that tom S. Reviewed a short while ago. Like ten or 15 videos back on YouTube. Then, add a small extruder that is geared. Many design on thingiverse to start with and make your own But really depends on a few things like what size filament and what size nozzle.

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A direct drive extruder is not going to work. I have magnetic ball joints and adding additional weight on the effector is not an effective solution. The only one I’ve seen that would work is using a flex shaft. I would get the benefit of a direct drive without having the weight issue on the effector. I narrowed it down to the Flex3Drive and the Zesty Nimble. So far, the Nimble looks like it would work better for me given the size and the configurability with my own custom effector that I designed.

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i do not have first hand experience with the extruder, but McHackney from seemecnc forums does and he seedy to have generally positive things to say about the company and extruder.

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I already have a very decent delta printer that is 70% customized now. It has a 800W bed heater, 310mm print bed, magnetic ball joints and a DuetWifi controller. Its a very good machine at this point. I already have a decent extruder using bowden setup, but nothing beats a direct drive system. The Nimble seems like a good fit since its mostly a direct drive with the motor mounted on the frame driving the extruder. Thanks for your input.

I will definitely support this kickstarter and hope others will too. I love seeing alternative products offered that will help 3D printer users in the long run. Please take a look and help support and make this an option available in the future for everyone.

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I’ve seen that setup before. Some call it the “flying” extruder setup. I’ve seen an exotic setup that even uses a separate Z motor to raise a platform to rest the extruder closer to the effector. However, I think all those solutions are not ideal. The problem with the flying extruder is the motor flops around wildly and it may cause print problems. As for the magnetic dock, I’ve seen that too, but its not for me. I have my own effector designs and I’m using DC42’s IR probe for my bed leveling. It is extremely effective and it provides an analog signal instead of just a digital signal to indicate a specific bed height has been reached. I just need something very light and bridges the benefits of a direct drive with a remote bowden setup. I will support this Kickstarter and hopefully others will take a look and join in. I like seeing something like this become a full blown product that is available for everyone. If there are not enough supporters, then it will be funded and none of us would have the option to buy one later on.

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No idea if the Zesty Nimble works but I’m in the pilot program for one of the new Flex3Drives. Flex3Drive is the original flexible driveshaft extruder: https://flex3drive.com/ The original has been around for at least a few years now.

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Hi all,

The first Nimble review was posted today, follow the link to read it:

I’ve personally tested and confirmed it to work with X60 (which i believe is the most flexible filament available at the moment)
Let me know if you are a customer and write a review!
Cheers

Brian
Co-creator of the Nimble