When I switched to a direct drive, using an all metal extruder and the full size stepper motor, I figured dual-Z would overcome the added mass, and would prevent X-axis sag on my Aquila X2. Then I found that it was more work keeping the Ceality dual-Z setup aligned, so I added a top belt. I discovered that a 640mm timing belt coupled with two 30 tooth gears would actually work without an idler pulley if the lead screws were properly aligned. I also aligned the printer frame with the Y-axis extrusion, not just the side extrusions. To reduce the top mounted filament mass, I built a filament holder for the left back extrusion, so now the printer fits under my shop cabinets for a compact setup. Looking forward to see what the Type III setup looks like here....
Those are awesome modifications you made. Would love to see your side mounted setup, I am thinking of re-arranging my printer setup and I might lower the over head of some of them. The other option is to open the tops and have them pull filament directly from the RepRack shelves I have my filament stored on. The 3rd installment is a really cool modification that you need to take special care when adjusting and initially calibrating but it performance is terrific. Thanks for watching and adding information.
@@PrintsLeo3D I found that the vertical extrusions were 0.45 & 0.30 deg off vertical relative to the Y-axis extrusion, so aligned them with shims. I am a life long woodworker, and only a ~2 year 3D printer, so I still find it easier to make some parts in wood, and faster, so my add-ons are all made from walnut. How do I send you a picture?
Oh wow, I love combining the two materials! I'd really love to see this. The easiest way is probably through email, you can reach me at: printsleo3d@gmail.com If there is a better way for you let me know !
Thank you so much! I think now that CoreXY are en vogue some of the small tweaks and mods to the printer designs of yester-year (like 2022 lol) are falling a little out of favor. That doesn't mean these printers are still not capable of amazing things and can be upgraded/modified to our high standards.
Been wanting to do this to at least one of my machines. heard horror stories about out of sync steppers without an upgraded dual z stepper driver motherboard. so I've avoided it so far but looks like I need to watch your full series on it at least.
So far I haven't had any issues with either of the setups. I have stayed within the 'magic numbers' for my layer height using the double stepper setup, but that's a usual precaution I take anyway. To be honest if you aren't adding weight or seeing noticable dag if the gantry then this is the type of upgrade that isn't imperative for high print quality. As always thanks for watching and for leaving a comment, you always take the time to write something and I appreciate it!
Thank you so much!! I appreciate the love! This is certainly the cheapest of the 3 ways I installed a dual z axis, and it's the most straightforward way. If you're interested in 3d printing parts for a dual z setup I would HIGHLY recommend looking into KevinAkaSam's dual z setup. I have a video that goes over that mod and it' super fun and mostly 3d printed! Either direction you go good luck and enjoy! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Do0L4yVF0so.html
@@PrintsLeo3D thank you so much for suggesting this video! I seen in one of the comments you're slowly converting all of your printers to this mod, just curious how many printers do you have and how many have you converted so far?? Have you seen a positive difference in all that you have converted?? Obviously you must! I'm literally just waiting on my sovol sv06 and sonic pad to come in the mail today or tomorrow.. I'm so excited. Since I'll have two printers I'll feel comfortable enough to do a big mod like this on my ender 3 v1 neo.. I gotta soup that thing up or it'll become obsolete real soon
I have converted 4 printers total. 2 are belted dual z, 1 is dual z with 2 motors, and 1 is dual z with timing belt. Dual belted z is my fave. The dual motor is second, and the timing belt is my least favorite.
@@PrintsLeo3D Very interestng can i ask why the single motor timing belted one is your least favorite? i definetly understand how you could get more banding with that. that would be a great topic to make a video on i would love to watch you explain that and your printer farm
The reason the timing belt is my least favorite really just has to do with cost and assembly. It's the most expensive of the pre bought options(not including dual belted Z which can vary), and it has some of the trickiest parts to assemble. Also after any of the installs you still need to tram the X axis gantry, and the timing belt version is the 'hardest' of the three to tram. These are all minor annoyances but it's enough to differentiate one from the other.
Nice but price is abit steep unless I'm missing something. Cheaper to go dual Z motor. Only upside is it won't be out of sync for those who have that issue. But that almost doubles the price for that feature alone. 30 ish to 50 ish for me on amazon.
Yea you're not wrong about the price. I had purchased both the stepper and timing belt kits awhile ago, they were both on sale too, do the prices were nearly identical to one another. As far as either one going out of step I haven't had any issues yet, and I am sure to keep my layers in multiples of 0.04mm to protect against it.
I need help i set up the dual z with a stepper motor but when printing at some point one side the model will be grinded by the nozzle i have the belt timer any idea if i can combine both until i get a dual z motherboard?
Hey Mohammed! I think we are now talking on Discord , but getting the belted mod running shouldn't be hard. I'll have a video for it ready really soon too. I'll continue to communicate with you on Discord and figure this out !
So I bought (another) creality dual z kit before I saw your 3 part series, and they don't come with a timing belt. I bought some belts and gears, do I also need longer z lead screws?
Judd, if you're going to try for the timing belt dual Z then no, I don't believe you don't need longer z screws. The stock length should be fine. The secondary lead screw will not reach the bottom extrusion , it sort of just 'hangs' in the air. I am on vacation now, but when I get home I will double check the length and let you know so I'm 100% certain. Thanks for watching !
Well done explanation of the whole process. I think this is the upgrade I will do when I need dual z. Any idea if a dual z would effect printing at higher speeds? I’m just thinking of the extra mount parts adding potential for binding.
Thanks for the compliment I appreciate it! These videos take me a lot of time and I'm so nervous during the process I just hope the end result is helpful. As far as speed goes that's a great question, and to answer: I'm really not sure. I think under normal printing scenarios this dual z shouldn't give you any binding issues. The Z axis is only under speed during layer changes, which given the model, could be a long time between layers. However if you have z hop enabled I could see that causing quick and constant movements of the z axis. The belt on this setup is pretty tight , but under high enough speed I'm sure slippage could occur. I'll be putting Klipper on this very machine shortly, I'll do some high speeds test (with and without z hop) and let you know the results.
Installed this last week. Wasn't happy with the way it's designed., specifically the 2nd z screw is left floating relying only on gravity to keep it in place. In theory shouldn't matter but at times it would lift slightly. I ended up buying a cheap z motor kit and installed the two together. Now it not only stays rock solid but the belt keeps the two stepper motors in sync
I had the same thoughts at first, I did not like the floating screw. I found out that it there is any 'jumping' present it's usually due to the upper gear not being seated properly. This has worked great for me, just as well as the dual Z setup actually, even though I was skeptical at first. At this point, from the two different setups, I usually recommend the dual Z stepper basically for the points you made, it's stiff and secure, but also a little easier to install and about half the price currently. Thanks for watching and letting me know your experience!
It's worked fine for me. Definitely does not feel as solid or secure as the other two methods I have covered, but it hasn't caused any issues on its own. Sometimes it feels like the main lead screw is really doing the work and the other is just along for the ride (which is sort of the idea), and isn't helping all that much.
When you say belted do you mean the dual belted z mod? I'm gonna assume that's what your talking about and that's what I am referring to in this reply: I would put the belted and the dual Z motor mods about on par with each other. The dual motor is quicker to set up but the belted mod is way more fun to put together. The belted z feels like a project, you can pick some colors, source the materials, and then it feels good when you're done. The single belted z (which runs along the top extrusion) is my least favorite. It's not fun to put together and it's somehow the most or second most expensive.
No, I wouldn't necessarily say so. I've had my Bowden style 3d printers for a long time, and they print really well. The one upgrade I could absolutely recommend is a BMG style extruder (for the cold end). That is a covered dual gear extruder, which offers better filament movement, and the covered aspect will allow you to print flexibles at normal printing speeds. As for high temps you'll want an extruder that is 'All Metal', and there's some direct extruders that don't satisfy that condition. So just be on the lookout when you're looking to upgrade.
@PrintsLeo3D also can I ask which of the 3 dual z would you say is the best overall I kinda like the idea but what you pointed out with the dual motor kinda has me not wanting to go that route
Blizzy I'm sorry I never replied to these, I never saw your replies. I think we are talking through email now though so I'll answer your questions there
Thank you for commenting! If I had my choice between the different dual Z setups I would choose the dual motor design. Right now both designs are printing just as well as the other, so I think the slightly easier setup and lower cost of the dual motor makes it a better option. That being said I didn't see a noticeable difference with either dual z setup compared to my single z printing.
I didn't encounter any problems either during installation or afterwards while printing that would make land firmly on one side over the other. The setup was similar for both and I have gotten reliability from each. If I had to choose only one, I think I would choose the double stepper motor. The setup and the leveling of the X axis is slightly easier, at least for me, so that would be my preference.
@@PrintsLeo3D Yeah I just finished watching both videos and thought the double stepper motor was a simpler installation and the cheaper option. Btw does the Ender 3 version fit the Aquila? It's cheaper right now and from the product pictures it looks like they're the same besides the Ender kit including an extra plate that the Aquila doesn't need.
Yea I forgot to factor in price lol the timing belt version can sometimes fetch double the price. Yes the Ender 3 version will fit the Aquila. The kit I installed was in fact billed as an Ender 3 kit.
Awesome! Good luck with both, I'm sure you know I have a bl touch installation video :) If you need any help during the installations drop me a line on here (or discord) and I'll be happy to help.
