The extruder is the most important piece of equipment in a 3D printer.
FDM printers create models by layering filaments one layer at a time. The extruder is the tool that moves, heats, and extrudes the filament out of the printer. The type of extruder and print head used will affect the quality and style of the print. For this reason, it is considered an essential component of a 3D printer.
In this article, we will discuss the basic information you need to know about extruders and print heads in 3D printers.
3D Printer Extruder Types 2022
Table of Contents
What is an extruder for a 3D printer?
The extruder is the part of the 3D printer responsible for extruding the filament, melting it, and placing it on the bed to create the model. 3D printer extruders consist of multiple tools that serve different tasks. These are the cold end and the hot end.
The parts of the 3D printer that move, melt, and deposit the filament are called the cold end and hot end assembly. We may also simply refer to the part that moves the filament as the extruder and the part that melts it as the hot end.
The cold end is responsible for moving the filament to the hot end. A motor and gears work to move the filament through the PTFE TEFLON tubing (PolyTetraFluoroEthylene) or directly to the hot end. There are two types of cold ends with slightly different mechanisms, which will be discussed in the next chapter.
The hot end heats the material, melts it, and extrudes it layer by layer through a nozzle. The two main components of a hot end are
A “heater” that heats and melts the filament. The nozzle directs the filament as it is extruded.
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Best 3D Printer Extruder | Comparison Table 2022
Top Quality | 5-Star Pick | Great Prices
| Image | Title | Buy | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Genuine Bondtech BMG Extruder (EXT-BMG) | Bondtech | Check Price | |
| Micro Swiss Direct Drive Extruder for Creality CR-10 / Ender 3 Printers | Micro-Swiss | Check Price | |
| BIQU H2 Extruder Direct Drive Extruder for Creality Ender 3 H2 V2.0 Dual Gear Extruder Not Stuck Direct Extruder 1.75mm Filament 270°C High Temperature Printing New Upgraded 3D Printer Kits | BIQU | Check Price | |
| Official 3D Printer Extruder, Upgraded Aluminum Drive Feed Extruders Accessories for 3D Printer 1.75mm Filament Works with Creality CR-10 Series, Ender 5 Series, Ender 3 Series | Creality 3D | Check Price | |
| WINSINN Dual Gear Extruder, Ender 3 v2 Upgrade Motor Shaft>20mm, Compatible with Ender 3 Pro CR10 Series 3D Printer TPU Filament Drive Feed | WINSINN | Check Price |
Prices and images pulled from the Amazon Product Advertising API on:
Best 3D Printer Extruder | 2022 Product Overview
1. Bondtech BMG Extruder (EXT-BMG)
- The Bondtech BMG extruder combines high performance and resolution with low weight.
- Together with our proven and highly celebrated Dual-Drive technology you can expect problem free material feeding.
- The BMG works in both bowden and direct driven applications. Built-in fitting for the E3D hotend and fits Nema17 stepper motors.
- Please mind the bowden adapter is not included.
- Weight without motor: 75g
2. Micro Swiss Direct Drive Extruder
- Fits: CR-10 / CR-10-S5 / CR-10-S4 / CR-10S / CR-10 MINI / CR-20 / CR-20 Pro / Ender 2 / Ender 3 / Ender 3 Pro
- Orifice size: .4mm
- Filament size: 1.75mm
- Hardened tool steel, CNC precision cut gears
- Prints flexible filaments with high speed and accuracy
- Hardened tool steel, CNC precision cut gears
- Outstanding extrusion control
- Lightweight aluminum body
3. BIQU H2 Extruder
- √【BIQU H2 V2.0 Direct Extruder】①The design of output gear modulus is changed from 0.5 to 0.25, reducing gear outer diameter,which can effectively solve the weakness of gear getting stuck in the V1.0 and the extrusion is not smooth. ②The transmission gear processing technology adopts high-precision gear hobbing to ensure extrusion smooth during printing.
- √【 Dual Stainless Steel Gear】H2 extruder V2.0 is upgraded to new high quality stainless steel output and transmission gears with higher surface finish, which has high precision and durable even after using for a long-term.
- √【All Metal Titanium&Copper Alloy Heat Break】BIQU H2 extruder V2.0 adopt titanium&copper alloy all metal heat break, the best quality material on the market. It has excellent heat insulation during printing.
- √【High Performance Unique Cooling System】The heat sink structure on H2 extruder V2.0 is optimized to ensure airflow is diverted up and away from the nozzle,accelerating heat dissipation, keeping an excellent heat dissipation environment for long-term printing of the extruder.
- √【Wide Compatibility】H2 extruder has wide compatibility for variety 3D printer on the market like Creality Ender & CR Series Printers, Geeetech, Anycubic Mega S and Prusa I3 through install the mount suitable for your printer , we provide plenty of mounts of all kind of hot sell 3D printer.
4. Creality 3D Printer Extruder
- ✔️Durable Material -- High quality aluminum alloy material and sandblast to surface oxidization, ensuring this red extruder is last for long term use!
- ✔️New Upgraded Design -- The upgraded red extruder has removed pneumatic joint so as to increase gear density, preventing the joint fracture between pneumatic joint and Teflon tube. Whats more, you can adjust the gear pressure of extruder in time by adjusting bolts.
- ✔️Improved Performance -- The optimized extruder with metal extrusion and original hot-end kit pushes the filament into printer nozzle, greatly making the red extruder retain powerful in filament feed-in. And the beveled filament intake can prevent scraping the filament as it is pulled into the feeder.
- ✔️Install Easily -- You just remove the old Creality extruder & screw and then install the new red extruder. All the necessary accessories are included in the package.
- ✔️Wide Compatibility -- Red extruder is suitable for Creality 3d printers accessories: Ender-3 series, Ender-5 series, CR-10S, CR-10, CR-10mini, CR-10 S5, CR-10 S4.
5. WINSINN Dual Gear Extruder
- ✔️【Purchase Note】ONLY for 3D Printers with motor shaft over 20mm, please measure the shaft length before placing order. Due to Creality batches, the original motor shaft of the Ender 3 series printer may not be perfectly fit for our dual gear. You can replace the full size of 42mm high stepper motor if the original motor shaft is too short to Install the gear.
- ✔️【Replacement Kit】Perfect extruder replacement kit for Ender 3 v2, Ender 3 Pro, Ender 3, Ender 5 Pro, CR10 S series, Tornado, etc.
- ✔️【Stable And Durable】Upgraded extruder kit made of aluminum alloy material, more stable and durable than the other plastic one while working. Double gear extrusion mechanism, high extrusion force, ensure smooth feeding and gives snappy retractions.
- ✔️【Kindly Reminder】Please calibrate the E-steps from 100 to 139.
- ✔️【Packing List & Warranty】1 x Dual Gear Extruder (This Kit NOT include the stepper motor, motor bracket and instruction manual). 1 Year Warranty. Each product of WINSINN had passed strict QC, If you have any problems when you use the product, just contact us, and we will help you solve it at any time.
Types of Extruders for 3D Printers
There are two main types of extruders for commercial 3D printers: direct and Boden. Some types of 3D printers are also equipped with double extruders; let’s take a look at the differences between the three.
Direct extruder
In a direct extruder, the filament passes from the gear to the cold end and then to the hot end, all at once. In other words, the drive and gears that move the filament are mounted directly above the hot end.
Because the extruder is directly above the oven, it is heavier and slower. However, many people prefer to print flexible 3D filament using a direct extruder. Direct extruders allow the filament to travel a shorter distance before melting and settling. Therefore, problems are less likely to occur during the extrusion process.
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Bowden Extruder
Bowden ExtruderIn a Bowden extruder, the cold end and hot end are separated by a PTFE tube through which the filament passes. Instead of placing the cold end directly on top of the hot end, the tubing separates the two parts.
Unlike direct extruders, Bowden extruders are extremely lightweight and fast because the only moving part is the hot end. The cold end, which has a drive unit, is positioned in a fixed position on the printer.
Bowden extruders can print high-quality patterns and are suitable for printing long, continuous patterns. It was once said that soft materials could not be used with Borden extruders, but that idea is now outdated. There are no gaps for filaments to move or twist, allowing them to move smoothly through the tube to the heating block.
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Dual extruders
In addition to various styles of extruders, some printers can be equipped with two or more extruders.
Dual extruders allow you to print more than one material at a time or two models simultaneously. Dual extrusion speeds up the printing process because there are two tools to move, melt, and deposit the filament.
Dual extrusion can also be equipped with an independent dual extrusion system (IDEX). This means that each extruder operates independently. So while a typical dual extruder can run simultaneously, each IDEX extruder runs independently. This results in higher efficiency, increased productivity, and potential time savings.
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Extruders
One cannot talk about extruders without mentioning hot ends. As mentioned above, the hot end is the part of the extruder that is responsible for melting the filament and pushing it onto the bed.
Depending on the nozzle installed, the hot end can be customized. Since the filament is extruded through nozzles, the size and type of nozzle you choose can have a significant impact on the style and effect of your model.
3D printers are equipped with a wide variety of nozzles, depending on the type of material and design to be printed. This subject is so vast that we could spend an entire article on it.
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If you are having trouble
If you are having problems with these printer components, it is most likely due to “insufficient extrusion,” the most common printing problem with 3D printers. This problem is caused by inadequate extrusion of material into the printed part and manifests itself in the form of insufficient filament extrusion, missing layers, and spongy prints. Insufficient extrusion can be caused by
- Older software
- Wrong material selection
- Bowden tube condition
- Insufficient capacity
- Hot end problems
- Extruder board problem
- The extruder motor does not push the filament correctly.
3D Printer Extruder Types 2022 | Video Explanation
3D Printer Extruder Types 2022 | Infographic
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Conclusion:
The next time you look at a 3D printer, you’ll appreciate a little more all the work that goes on inside the little device called an extruder, and like many other aspects of 3D printing, understanding this tool and how it works will help you become a more efficient user and improve the quality and features of your prints.
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