Creality Ender 3 V2 - No More Movement at the Bowden Tube Fitting to Extruder By Doing This!

[@joaosimoes5508]

I don't usually comment on videos. I just absorb the knowledge and go live my life. I had a difficult clog today and during the dismantling, broke those theeth inside the fitting. I can't tell you how much joy this video brought me. Even though I will soon get a replacementfitting I was staggered with the ingenuity and the simple methdology of this fix had me in tears. Applied it ipsis verbis as per recommendation. Back on track. Thank you very much.

[@id104335409]

Appreciate that you spent time on this and shared it with everyone. Not everyone would think it's worth the effort to do that. Hope it helps a lot of people! And hope more people are like you!

[@NeedItMakeIt]

No problem, it is a bit of a creative outlet, and lots of leaning from both the video and technical sides, it keeps me busy. I am getting better, so it is taking a bit less time to make these now. Most of my videos will center around finding problems and solving them, it is helpful and lots of people struggle and I enjoy a challenge to try and solve them.

[@konohh]

Simple and effective. As an owner of an Ender 3 V2 I ran into the same problem, of course. Just to be ahead of the failure of the plastic Extruder to come, I purchased the full metal one. So I ended up of having the M10 Push-Fit connector. This one does not bottom out in the Extruder assembly. I hadn't suitable washers at hand and so I put a simple M4 nut in. That fits perfectly and the widened up PTFE Tube is hold firmly in place since. No movement the past 3 weeks (~300h printing). Thanks for this ingenious tipp!

[@monicawu5800]

Brilliant! Brilliant brilliant brilliant. Such a simple and elegant solution. Did not have to buy new parts or 3d print new parts, and was a nearly instant fix. I watched a dozen videos trying to figure out this problem, and yours was the only one that suggested this. As a side effect, the print coming out right now is shocking in its precision and perfection. Turns out that the loose bowden coupling had also been affecting print quality.

[@musca8803]

I tried you solution and it seems it's working perfectly on my Longer LK5 Pro. I think that you have solved a problem that concerns a large part of the 3D printers. Great job, thank you!

[@joshtripp4701]

Just want to say thank you for putting so much time into finding such a great solution.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

My pleasure, I have another useful one coming up in about a week.

[@thanasakos77]

yeh

[@azaharuddinsk100]

Wow.. thanks for this lovely solution.. Today my extruder got clogged, and when my open the Bowden tube, all the teeth inside the nut are broken. And I don't have any spare M10 PTFE tube nut, so I thought I have to order some of them and I have to wait untill it's delivered. But I found your video and tried this and voila.. It's again started working within 5min.. really easy and amazing solution.

[@xavierlipscomb2000]

This video and method just saved me literal time and money! Thanks so much man. Mine wouldn’t actually hold onto the Bowden tube anymore and would just slip out!! Now I don’t have to order another one and never will have to!! Thanks again man!

[@bucklogos]

Thanks for this video. This gave me inspiration for my own fix. The extruder coupler on my machine failed and spares weren't coming for a few days so I attempted to fix it. I did something similar that works just as well but removes the step of drilling it. I took my coupler and popped out the little plastic insert you normally need to push in. I saw the little metal ring with teeth inside was broken apart so I just took it out. Next I slid the plastic bit over the bowden tube and used the drill trick to mushroom out the end so the plastic sleeve can't come off. Finally I slid the mushroom end of the bowden tube back into the brass fitting, and then pushed the plastic sleeve back inside. Final result is that the mushroom end gets clamped between the plastic bit and the brass housing so it can't come out. Not the perfect solution, but it will keep me printing for the next couple of days until the upgrades arrive. Thanks again.

[@Loneman_OG]

I've been looking forward to this vijayo and wasn't disappointed. I've been using the aftermarket connectors with the Capricorn PTFE for a while now and after having to replace the first couple along with cutting off 20-30mm of tubing I found a similar solution. What I did was push the tube through a little more than normal, flair the end out with my countersink/deburring tool by rotating it the non-cutting direction while pushing then giving it a couple of light turns in the cutting direction. It lasts quite a bit longer now but your method is clearly superior.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

That's a great compliment, thank you! Like you I have some Capricorn, but I've been waiting to install it because I wanted to do a test on it as well, I've been wondering how short of a tube I can get away with in order to reduce a little friction, make filament changes a bit quicker and increase the precision slightly also. Now having a much better connection at the extruder, that extra movement shouldn't affect it over time and we might be able to get away with something around 10" I started with using heat to flare the tube, but this stuff is poison when heated and we needed something safe and this was the result. The manufacturer should really make a better connector. Maybe I'll design one and send it to them. Yours is a great solution as well, I had the advantage of getting a lot of feedback from people online and just put everyone's ideas together, I call it 'crowd-ideaing'. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment also!

[@Loneman_OG]

@@NeedItMakeIt _'crowd-ideaing'_ Haha, I like it. :D

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Maybe we can crowd-idea a new name for it too!

[@Loneman_OG]

@@NeedItMakeIt Just a quick update. I was waiting for my "fix" to finally fail, and I was then going to try your method... but it hasn't failed at all since I posted my original comment, and it's had many spools passing through it, too! 😲 I can't get over how such a simple solution fixed what was quickly becoming a real PITA. 😎

[@hologos_]

This should be the standard! The tube doesn't move at all. Finally I can't stop ordering fittings every month. Thank you

[@tonyweavers4292]

Nice to see a proper engineering solution to the problem. Well thought out.

[@outcry27]

Followed the suggestions in this video, drilled out a QD fitting to 4mm to allow the tube to pass through, flared the end as shown, carefully reinstalled... and the threads immediately sheared off inside the extruder top plate. Next stop, $20 for a replacement extruder assembly (the M10 one shown at 4:12). YMMV, but I can't say I recommend trying this with the M6 fitting.

[@Hondrus]

A video on Z-banding? My printer started doing this all of a sudden, after a month of life. There are too many "fixes" around the internet, and it is explained messy too much often. Thank you for your videos :D

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Perfect, thank you. I have had this problem and on occasion this printer produces them as well. I can certainly put this on the list and investigate the causes and look for the right solutions. Do you have this exact model of printer as well? I appreciate that you took the time, and also watched the video to the end.

[@jameslaine2472]

@@NeedItMakeIt if you remove the X-Gantry from an Ender 3, and spin the Z-motor with only the coupler and leadscrew attached (no X-gantry or leadscrew nut), you will easily see the problem visually; the motor-to-leadscrew coupler is not 100% perfectly centred, resulting in the Leadscrew moving laterally during operation. If the leadscrew nut attached to the X-gantry is attached too tightly, then this lateral movement will translate to the print head. One solution is to ensure that the leadscrew nut is only loosely attached to the X-gantry, so that the lateral movement is not translated to the X-Gantry. Other solutions (like the ball bearing trick) focus on mechanical changes at the coupler. Current models of Prusa Printers mostly avoid this by making the motor shaft be the leadscrew, so no coupler is needed.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

At 19 upvotes so far, I think we're going to investigate this one. I'll be doing some research and will perform tests on my own parts. Do you have a part that you have some trouble with that you would like me to include in the video? Also if you have any images that you think could help, would you be able to send them to [e-mail]?

[@Nordic_Goon]

@@NeedItMakeIt Please, please do one on the Voron Afterburner direct drive printhead if you do this. It's plagued with z axis extrusion problems that that devs ban you over asking questions about. A very huge community woukd be thanking you deeply if you managed to get to the bottom of it.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

@@Nordic_Goon I've seen the Voron printer go and I was impressed with the speeds it can achieve, I wasn't aware people outfitted just the direct drive to their other printers. When you say z-axis, do you have something to reference for the results you're talking about? I have 2 Ender3V2s now and I'll be making more testing videos.

[@chrismckay3868]

I solved it too.. in about 2 minutes with an hour drying time.. I used shoe goo to glue the ptfe tube to the plastic pull out fitting so it can still rotate. it has now been going for months. No primers no anything.. only glue the tube to the top hat and your nut will still turn so you can unscrew the fitting.. no movement period but I can peel the shoe goo off and remove it if I need. I did this with the stock white ptfe tube on my ender 3 pros, it worked so good on my first one I glued the tube on my second pro before ever using it. You will want to do the ender 3 pro hotend mod with the separate section of tube in the heat break so you don't ever have to replace the overheated section at the bottom at maintenance times. And you don't need a lot, just a fine coating about half inch up the tube and over the top ring of the pull out fitting. Feel free to use cheap fittings when you do this as they hold just fine this way :) As for the superglue? That would be a bad plan, the shoe goo (and of the amazing goop products really) Can with effort and patience be completely remove and it stays flexible, I have some things I have glued on with it years ago still holding firm. Superglue as I said is brittle and does not remove readily or easily and will always leave residue.

[@LaurenceGough]

Thanks so much, what an amazing and simple fix. Even a brand new Capricorn tube and brand new included fittings were moving on my new high end extruder, much to my annoyance! This resolved the issue super easy!

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Another solution is to change to a metal extruder with the larger m10 fitting, they tend to perform better.

[@LaurenceGough]

@@NeedItMakeIt yes true it is a omg V2 F1 extruder the machining is absolutely stunning but the couplers are terrible. All my stringing issues are gone now. I didn't think it even moved that much!!

[@sirukin7849]

This is such a helpful video. I've gone through several of the pneumatic fittings for my CReality CR-30 3D printmill. I replaced the extruder with an all-metal extruder for the CR-10S, however the M8x1.5 Pneumatic fittings are hard to find. However, this tip for taking a screwdriver bit to the end of the PTFE tube when it's threaded through the inside of the fitting so it's flared at the end is a clever hack.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Cool, I'm glad you found it helpful. I was having all kinds of problems with mine, but it wasn't that easy to see.

[@scottjacobs4816]

This is the only fix. Been going strong without any issues for close to a year now.

[@Id10tRex]

Wow, great. I just woke up to a poped out bowden tube. This is going to solve it. Awesome. Thank you.😊

[@tamaskajfis3649]

You saved my day, it happens about every 3 months with me the ptfe tube wear out and the connector also, yesterday broke again, Thank You!!!!

[@caughtinlens4460]

I used to soldering iron. Heated it up up to max and pressed it in. Works great so far.

[@saddle1940]

I have noticed that the bowden tube is also chewed up by the couplers. This is because the design of the printer also makes the tube rotate about 8 degrees or so as the head moves back and forward on the X carriage. The teeth chew into the tube during rotation. If the extruder were moved to be inline with the carriage movement, it would stop this. I could imagine the extruder mounted on the end of the carriage facing vertically so the tube loops up and then down into the hot end. Also, the end of the tube can be cut way more cleanly and perfectly square it you push it through a coupler and cut it flat against the screw end. The tube cutter doesn't always cut it square as the tube has a bend in it and it doesn't sit perfectly in the cutter. It needs something to force it down into the v-grove. Sounds like a 3D design and print job!

[@SalettaRocks]

Good idea! What i did was to drill out the connector 2mm over size about 5mm deep. I deformed the tube as was done in the video except I inserted a pop rivet in to the tube so that the tube is wedged between the pop rivet and the connector. Then tightening down the connector then uses the head of the rivet as a washer which also prevents the tiny piece of tube in the extruder from sliding up (which was another modification)..this is for Ender 3. Seems to work great. I also tried crazy glue which did not work.

[@sss-tw3jh]

if your bowden tube fitting is in a cylindrical piece and too difficult to un-thread and has a diameter too large to try the Phillips head drill fix (like what happened to me on my Flsun Q5) i found that passing it through the fitting, wrapping in somewhat stretched and thinned PTFE plumbers tape, and liberally applying super glue created a concrete-like bung that immobilizes the tube within the fitting. For whatever reason, the plumbing tape sticks well to the tube, and the super glue cures the tape like a rock, and sticks to the aluminum piece. IDK Why this works. But it worked for me. Cheelz.

[@gregkretchmer3588]

I checked mine and behold! slop!! I got some capricorn tubing and, as I have the equipment, my spacer washer looks sort of like a cone, made with a round cutter so it flairs the tube while it is tightened into place. I noticed the little plastic guide holding the blades in the fitting move along with the bowden tube so the blades themselves are creating the slop. Your fix covers that well.

[@nunopereira6092]

After years of struggling with my Ender 3's and 5's and doing all matter of fixes for the Bowden system, i gave up and went with a BMG direct drive conversion and a Petsfang V2 duct. Never had any problems since, and i'm still using the standard MK8 Creality hotends.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

I'd love to look into this as well, are you able to provide a link, I had a look and I'm not sure if I'm looking at the right one.

[@nunopereira6092]

@@NeedItMakeIt Here's what I use for the Ender 3, you may need to print the correct parts depending on the hardware you plan to use, i.e., MK8 vs E3D V6, Stock extruder vs Bondtech BMG, Bltouch or inductive sensor bracket, or none, Stock part cooling fan VS 5015 blower, etc. My particular setup is the MK8+Bltouch+BMG+single 5015. www.thingiverse.com/thing:2907538 Also, since the Bondtech BMG extruder does 3:1 gear reduction, I could get away with a lightweight pancake stepper motor instead of the heavier stock motor.

[@JohnSmith-mk8hz]

Direct drive has it's advantages but because of the added weight ,you will get some noise in the prints that you won't have with Bowden.

[@deanolivier2508]

Awesome video, I have the M10 through fitting and was going crazy trying to sort this out. Your video saved a lot of time and possibly spending money unnecessary.

[@bundinilsson9160]

Thank you for posting this solution. Solved my issue with my broken coupler, kept slipping off.

[@dehoffe]

thanks for the vid. i had the same problem on ender 3 pro, driving me nuts with troubleshooting. i tried your method, but i failed the "drill through" part. it ended with the coupler having no insert at all. i just finished the rest (bead the bowden on the other side) and screwed it in. so far it works too since 3 weeks, even without the plastic/metal inner clamp piece

[@ShwarzBelij]

I just converted a Bowden 3D printer into a direct one. And no problem. Also with direct you can print with Flex filament.

[@pvc988]

I've used your idea in a slighly modified form. Instead of drilling out existing fitting I used plain old 2 cm M6 steel bolt. It works perfectly. The problem with using drilled out existing fitting was that it snapped right off when I was tighthening it. There was simply not enough material left and brass just couldn't handle it. I just had to be careful not to to overtighten it and pull the threads from aluminum extruder housing.

[@km077]

literally me 💀

[@km077]

Pro tip: if you start feeling some resistance while screwing that fitting, do a half of a turn and LEAVE it... or you can just continue like me, have the threads' section shear itself off staying inside forever (blocking any new fitting) and order an aluminum extruder mount AND hope you don't break it this time. Such an easy fix and I stil managed to break it somehow...

[@PanayiotisMenelaou]

I double this, that's exactly what happened to me. Luckily I was able to remove the broken part. Fitting a brand new all metal coupler was the proper fix to me.

[@plusina]

This is the best solution I did try, with PC4-01. Thank you for share.

[@lsellclumanetsolarenergyll5071]

All you do need it 2 things to solve the problem. Get yourself some correct MC4 connectors of amazon and the safety clamp called "Boden Tube Clamp" those will prevent the tube from slipping within the fitting. Biggest problem we facing on 3D printing is on the hotend side. We have vulcano hotends in use but applies to all units. The Boden tube goes into the Heat break cooling block and connects where to the all metal heat break. 80% of the time there is a gap in between the MC4 and the hotend heat break especially when you use titanium after market pieces they do come in all sorts of different length which often even when bought from the same vendor leave us with a gap in between those 2 parts. Now if you are not careful and don't know about it it can happen that your boden tube is not perfectly slipping into the heat break leaving you with a not visible gab between those 2 parts and often cause clogging during prints. It took us 2 weeks to find out that the one heat break we had floating around was 2mm shorter than all others we used which caused the gap and the boden tub to button out on the top and not sliding into the drilled out tight fitting. 2 solutions. Hotend chamfer it out but because it is titanium it's not really a good solution. Best solution would be an infill piece which bridge between the MC4-M10 connector end and the hotend to fill the gap so the boden tube slip thru it into the heat break opening.

[@Ken7ray]

This is sooo amazing! Thnx for your effort and brilliant idea! Been dealing with this for years and finally a viable and so reliable solution! Because good/better grade ptfe tube/connector not easily available in every country as for glue/bond method is not so reliable as it’ll introduce another inconvenient (and probably not so reliable as well) in unscrewing process -that will happen ALOT when dealing with cheap filament in humid tropical area. I’ll try this method with standard non capricon tubing and see how it goes. Thank you so much. This probably should be next new standard for every tube/bowden set-up.

[@toddcoello6461]

This is a great idea. Idk about anyone else but 1 of my printers is a geeetech a20m and for some reason anytime I try Capricorn tubing it just hates it. If you use the cheap stuff I have zero issue.

[@ilyas5708]

Doing this in two days when i get my new fittings and drill bits. Thanks for the video man. That 2mm makes petg a mess. Hopefully i'll have less boogers everywhere and sleep in peace knowing that the slop is gone.

[@eselliebe2741]

I fixed this issue in 1 minute with 2 inches of tape. Just pull the tube out as much as possible and then wrap the tape tightly around it, adjacent to the fitting. Works perfect.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

This acts as a type of pre-load for the springs? The tape rests against the fitting preventing the tube from moving inward, is that correct?

[@sep2345]

Hey buddy, excellent video! Very helpful and easy to follow! My Capricorn tube was moving in and out about 4-5mm with each retraction after only a month of use! Crazy! The stock couplers that came with my Ender 5Pro just aren't very good! I ordered some new ones that are hopefully push through (they say they are) but in the interim I did your mod, drilled (5/32"-bit) out the center of my existing coupler, and now I have ZERO movement! Thank you so much for showing us how!

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Nice, I've found that the push through version also works well with the pre-load technique, leave the fitting about 1/2 a turn loose push the tube in until it bottoms out and then tighten. The same process as the hotend. Now why don't they send the thru fittings with the printer?

[@sep2345]

@@NeedItMakeIt Thanks for your reply. So you are saying to loosen a push through coupler, push the Bowden tube through until it bottoms out in the extruder, and then tighten? So, I would skip the part where we deform the end of the Bowden tube with the Phillips head on a drill? That seems like the magic part of your original technique. Not sure I want to skip that. Am I misinterpreting things? Thanks again!

[@NormanHumal]

I am in the middle of converting a used delta kossel kit over to a duet2 wifi, and I am DEFINITELY going to use this technique!

[@KandiceKoon988]

Hi I have an Anycubic Kobra, my husband put it all together, back in February 2023, so we haven't had it too long, he took it apart last week to clean the extruder wheel and boden tube area, since it had some plastic stuck in the gear and stopped extruding 3 weeks ago. He put it back together and the extruder wheel only moves when adding filament manually by the LCD screen or if I take my fingernail and move the extruder wheel that way...that is tedious and exhausting with as much as it moves back and forth to create whatever is being printed. It will not automatically turn like it's supposed to. I've tried everything I can think of, I've asked others on Anycubic Kobra specific Facebook pages they were saying new nozzle and clean out again we've done all that multiple times, didn't solve the issue and asked a cousin who has a 3d printer. I don't know or have anyone local to get hands on with it. My cousin lives 6 hours away so not much he can do other than over the phone. I almost want and need someone to go babysteps and show me a video with my exact printer and walk me through this issue. Nothing in the settings (ie retraction) has been changed. I have a 0.4mm brass nozzle. I have Cura set to use the suggested parameters for PLA. All I use is PLA everture and another brand that starts with a G I believe, and haven't had any issues until 3 weeks ago. I print at 60°c for the build plate and 220°c for the nozzle. I've also noticed that anytime i autolevel and set the z axis it disconnects and can't connect the printer to Cura. Why would it be doing that now? If you can help I'd really appreciate it! Thanks so much!

[@AkiraFurball]

slight movement at the extruder end is not an issue, its movement at the hotend that is the issue because it creates a gap between the tube and the nozzle which can fill with plastic, burn and end up clogging the nozzle

[@jlkoelker]

I received a ender 3 v2 on 3/26 and they had a better fitting with more metal teeth. I haven't printed with it yet. But they appear to be an improvement on the previous fittings. Edit: Prints great! I did the tape test and there's no movement at all. Still upgrading to capricorn for high temp printing, but the stock tubing prints great. Also the extruder knob has a brass insert now which is a major plus.

[@ResistCircuitResist]

I got my v2 about a month ago and it had multiple teeth vs the 4 shown in the video.

[@Rick104547]

For me this was the same, there actually 10 teeth inside

[@idiotluggage]

Thanks for sharing this tip. I have been having problems with the tube slipping in the last week. Hopefully this will help the issue.

[@park0rdie]

Thanks bro!!! Just ran into pop out problem. So happy u share this video. I believe this method is key!!!

[@1000rdreamer]

Thank you for the video. That is a really good idea to solve a problem that I have. I asked a few people but it never really get it answer. I had a print that had ALOT of retraction and it really messed up my fitting and tube.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

There are still better solutions, however they do require more expensive fitting, this is cheap and something anyone should be able to do with a few tools (or borrowed tools).

[@1000rdreamer]

@@NeedItMakeIt kzbin.info/www/bejne/mV7GoGp8jJ5jg7M This is an option I found too that possibly can work. The other option I found is a direct drive does way better with the multiple retractions. Cuz it only moves roughly about a millimeter.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

@@1000rdreamer These better fittings will help for sure. I would look into a direct-drive down the line, my goal with this fix is the make the solution accessible for everyone who just purchased one and may not have the means to upgrade to direct drive. Of course direct drive also can cause more ringing/ghosing in the prints at higher speeds. for high quality printers, Bowden seems to be the common choice, I would tend to rely on their engineers making good decisions about this as well.

[@1000rdreamer]

@@NeedItMakeIt Good point. Definitely is a good point on finding a good easy solution. I use some Amazon Capricorn tubing and fittings and I had two of the fittings fail. I use TH3D fittings and tubing and it lasts longer. I was printing a RC mini milk crate that had a lot of start and stops. It just ate up my Capricorn tubing and fittings. Have a Monoprice maker select V2 that is direct drive and it did it with no problems. So I guess it all depends on what type of print it is makes a big difference on what printer should use it on.

[@webslinger2011]

Printed a PC4-M10 coupling from thingyverse 3455092. Holds well for my CR10s Pro v2 machine.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Cool, I'll have a look. I think the M10 must be better, there certainly is more room inside the fitting for the springs compared to the m6. There is a really interesting connector called the Aglet, for the M10 thread. I'd really like to try it out. It is made for very high-end printers. hotends.com/bowden-aglet/

[@TheRainHarvester]

4:15 what needs to bottom out? The blue tube? Or the metal arround the blue tube?

[@duanesapp4914]

This looks like my fix. The only thing I had to do different is go up on the drill bit size. I had to use a 11/64 drill bit due to I did not have a 4 mm drill bit.

[@dagdernit572]

going to try this today as I received my new line last night from Amazon. Thank you!

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Nice, I have a capricorn XL waiting to be installed, just trying to finish up my next video before I do it. I am told it has less friction, we'll see if there is any noticeable difference.

[@thetraviss]

This is good stuff. Watched more of your channel after getting this one recommended and I'm really enjoying your content so far. Subscribed, and thanks for pointing out a problem I didn't realize I had! (but totally do)

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Hey thanks! I've been working hard on sound quality/video and researching, the next videos should be even better!

[@Hyratel]

A note on the printed fittings - they're vulnerable to layer failure if printed vertical, but are ridiculously strong if horizontal. The only downside is the amount of cleanup the downfacing threads require

[@fransdeklerk5013]

I only wish I saw this a few weeks back! My fitting broke and I had to make a plan as there was no spares around. Ended Up rounding the outer of an M4 nut to fit snugly in the fitting housing after removing all the inner stuff and heating up the fitting. Once done I used a second M4 nut to thread the PTFE tube and after that I screwed in the tube to the fitting. Now I have 0 movement and know this if a permanent solution.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Sorry, it takes me a few weeks to make a video, I wanted to test it for a few weeks to make sure it works as well as I expected. I like your solution, you're the first person to mention this idea to me.

[@fransdeklerk5013]

@@NeedItMakeIt I understand completely and thanks to you and this tip there is an excellent way of solving the issue! It's brilliant.

[@samuelhelderman]

I saw this video and subscribed. Great work. Not sure if I know how to do any of this. I’m so new. I just put my ender3v2 together last night. Gotta learn how to level the bed today and feed line through the tube and how to print.

[@alessandrogiuliani2915]

I don’t have this problem now... but it’s a very good solution, nice👍 your video look really professional

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Thank you, that means a lot! I have been working hard to improve the video and audio and condense the videos as well.

[@KirkyRC]

Simple ideas are the best....thanks for passing this tip on 😊

[@facusoriano22]

Thanks you! This is the solution i was finding, regards from Argentina!!!

[@RichardThompsonCA]

This is a great idea, I'm going to give it a try on one of my enders. I only worry that the tube will try to return to it's original shape over time.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

So far so good, I wanted to test it for a while to make sure it was good before I released the video. Once the material is stretched beyond its modulus it seems to want to retain that shape. It is important to have a little pressure inside the threaded hole so that the PTFE can't move even if it wants to. I specifically wanted to stay away from heating it, because it is poison and pretty dangerous. Great point, and certainly a consideration. It would be best to come pre-done from the manufacturer with a similar solution... or even better to have a different fitting, like a tiny PEX tube.

[@claws61821]

You could also try getting a short piece of brake line or brass tubing that fits inside your bowden tube and flare that to fit. Finding the right size might be slightly difficult but that would make it less likely for the PTFE (or silicone, if you use Capricorn) (or whatever else you used if you bought your tubing at a hardware store) to spring back.

[@RichardThompsonCA]

@@claws61821 If I understand correctly, I don't think that would work. There's no real clearance between the filament and the inside of the Bowden tube. Tubes are around 1.9 mm I.D. and the filament is 1.75 mm O.D. But I think you are on the right track. I've thought about using some kind of metal interlock with the tubing to keep it in place.

[@claws61821]

@@RichardThompsonCA That's a good point, especially when you consider production tolerances of filament (I've read some articles where people where measuring as much as +-0.25!!! though the standard is +-0.02 to +-0.12). Then again, you're already flaring the tube to hold it in the first place. Flaring it a little deeper to a lesser diameter shouldn't hurt much, and might actually help that much more. Also, it occurs to me that you might be able to use aluminum foil to make this internal fitting if you can figure out a good press-mold design; and the flare from either the fitting or the tube should help considerably with the old "The filament won't ****ing go in!" issue on some extruders, like a countersunk hole. (speaking of extruders, narrow entrances, and pet peeves: WHY did Creality leave a sheer edge on the inlet side that encourages even good, brand new, dry filament to break?)

[@PerB_M]

I use the tip of my soldering station. Max. temperature and press it into the tube until it looks like a trumpet.

[@WalterCrumbcake]

Nice clear instruction. This is some next level modding.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Awesome comment, really appreciate it! I can do better and have some pretty cool videos coming up.

[@someguy2741]

Why not just use a hydraulic compression fitting that uses a ferrule? It costs pennies. This is the same thing you would use for a mechanical oil pressure gauge on a car. Tighten the nut and crush the ferrule into place to grip the hose. Then back off the nut a bit of you want to allow it to spin. You can put a little teflon tape on the threads of the nut so nut can be left a little slack. You can print an adapter with 1/8 pipe thread and get the entire fitting for a few dollars.

[@parkergipson4269]

You should make a guide on adding a filament run out sensor for the ender 3 v2. That would help a lot of people.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Good idea, I've never really had the need myself, I usually calculate it ahead of time, I'll look into it.

[@parkergipson4269]

@@NeedItMakeIt I'm always worried that I'll get to the end of the print and it'll run out just before finishing. If you decide against making the video, can you at least show us how you calculate it. Thanks for the response, and keep up the good work 👍

[@jemand8962]

Just used this method. The PTFE tube isn't moving at all now. Hope that it stays this way. Thanks a lot!

[@lautarogatti]

hello, is your tube still not moving after 2 months? thanks!

[@jemand8962]

@@lautarogatti Yes. Still working 100% perfect!

[@jemand8962]

And it is still working perfect!

[@The_Lo_Rider]

One of the best changes to my ender - thanks for thaat great idea!

[@ErtsenPlayGames]

SIMPLEST SOLUTION I USE screw the fitting in ....unscrew it by 0.5-1 turn push the ptfe inside screw the fitting the missing turn.....ready to go , no play at all if u do it correct simple , easy , fast make any hotend with ptfe tube with bore heat break work better than stock :)

[@NeedItMakeIt]

This does work as long as you have the thru fitting. You are 100% correct, the 'pre-load' method seems to work very well. The thru fittings are cheap, why don't the printers come with them?

[@stevewhite9765]

Used the Thingiverse solution that worked great. Thanks for the suggestions

[@johnsterne178]

2 years later this saved me ty!

[@tonisterasmaa1813]

Nice fix. My biggest problem currently is severe elephants foot effect occurring and thus makin my CHEP cube about 19,6..19,7 mm high in the z axis. If leveld the bed and champfered the plate contact surface to no avail. Also tampered with ultimaker cura and creality slicer settings for first layer expansion and what not, but still getting more than 0,2mm shrinking in z axis... But it is only on the print surface contact faces that get this squishing effect that reduce the z-axis part height.. I have Ender 3 v2 (un-modded) .

[@PeterAcrat]

Thanks for linking through to this update 👍 I suspect my Prusa mini is suffering from this... I know it's not the filament or the retraction settings as same file and filament gets different results in each of my two minis. 🤞

[@privet246]

Wow, unbeliveble! I can reduce retraction from 7mm to 3mm in 5min work without new parts on my CR10 v2.

[@mrdriver511]

That’s a great idea I have been struggling with this issue for a while Thanks

[@JayJay-rb6rt]

Hey Buddy, excellent video as it solve the issues i had with my printer. ANET A8v2. Thank you so much!

[@yiucycle]

I just "upgrade" to Capricorn tube and better couplers and still observe movement on the extruder end. This method should solve the slipping issue.

[@813Floridaman]

Your a saint thanks for your help I tried everything but this worked thanks man

[@NeedItMakeIt]

You can also try switching to the larger m10 fitting, I've found them to be far more reliable than this small m6 I believe it is.

[@Jttorbey]

Since you asked for problems, i have an issue on my v2. Some prints don't come out right. I think it might be the slicing though. Some walls, consistently on the right side of the build plate, just don't print right. The infill is sticking out through the outer walls, and sometimes the outer wall doesn't print at all. I chalked it up to random error but i printed 2 identical sides of a square box and both had the exact same problem. The issue actually shifted the dimensions so the edges of the 2 don't line up. I haven't been able to find anything that covers walls not printing.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

That is a tough one, are you able to email me a photo for reference and give me a little info on which slicer you use and maybe email me the profile as well? My initial thought is that this is mechanical due to the location change, however there really isn't much that can go wrong consistently so maybe you're right. I have never experienced this myself, but maybe I can reproduce it with my printer.

[@Jttorbey]

@@NeedItMakeIt I'll shoot both over in a bit! First thought was a leveling issue, but that didn't seem to be it. I'm new. And forewarning its a fairly large piece so cutting it down might be good if you plan on printing it

[@jameslaine2472]

sounds like loose belts.

[@f.d.6667]

Sounds a bit like the old "underextrusion at the beginning of an outer wall" issue! Slicing in Cura? Support is looking ok? If you print two objects the pattern of underextrusion is pretty much identical?

[@Jttorbey]

@@f.d.6667 yes, they're virtually identical on both pieces. It seems to ignore the entire wall, however, and its a fairly tall wall. Its happened on several pieces, but when I print the other pieces with a different layout on the bed it doesn't happen. Edit: yes in cura.

[@NicksStuff]

I've printed the thingiverse fitting when mine stopped working altogether: it is extremely fragile, the threads are really thin. The same in metal or with bigger threads (if you drill & tap your extruder & hotend) would be great, though. I've seen a guy who has had a Microswiss hotend drilled and taped for one of these big metal fittings, sounds promising

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Yes, the M10 is the best solution, however there is also an M6 Thru fitting available, they work on the same principle and it works very well. With the PC4-M6 Thru fitting, press the tube in all of the way until it bottoms out in the threaded hole with some sandpaper, then tighten the fitting the final 1/2 turn. These fittings are cheap, you just might need to wait a month for it to arrive. Hope that helps.

[@NicksStuff]

​ @NeedItMakeIt I was talking about the fitting you can find on thingiverse that you mentioned (so, printed in PLA & in PETG in my case)

[@Juan-wy9oe]

Hi, great video this tip save my day keep doing this man you are helping a lot.

[@eucharistenjoyer]

Great guide. For those of us that aren't native English speakers, could you explain the "bottom out" part better?

[@MrCrankyface]

Really clever solution, thanks for sharing!

[@Futschikatores]

Thank you for this wonderfully practical solution! I was about to order a new fitting, but with your trick the old one works better than ever before.

[@colincampbell3679]

The one thing I've found is, The Bowdon fitting where the tube goes into my Mk 10 Hot end has the problem of not being able to un-clip the tube from there? When I needed to remove the Bowdon Tubing from the hot end to put in a new longer version, I found the original tubing was just a little bit too short for the movements of the hot end when printing, it was pressing the tube against the X axis belts at the edge of the metal frame where the Titan extruder was! So had to put in a new longer tubing, The extruder end of which easily come out when I pressed down and held the collar of the press fit tube fitting, But the end in the fitting on the hot end did not wish to come out at all, I held down the collar which is not easy anyway because of the closeness of the fan box to the fitting! The tube would not come out. In the end I had to turn off the printer and go through the fiddly process of unscrewing and removing the full fan and hot end unit, The removing the hot end it's self from the gantry and even then with full access to the collar I still could not remove the tubing? The only way I could remove the Bowdon tube was to push it through the fitting to the bottom end of it. So I think that the fitting on the hot end must be effected somehow by the heat? Such a big pain to have to dismattle the full hot end unit just to get the tubing out of it.

[@koyzumie]

Great video! I’ve been noticing this exact problem on my printer so I’m gonna have to give this a try!

[@NeedItMakeIt]

I have an even easier fix, the same through fitting, just make sure you purchase this through fitting, leave the fitting 1/2 a turn loose then grab some sandpaper push the tube until it bottoms out, tighten completely and you are set. Solid like a rock, this is the simplest solution possible with existing fittings, they really should come with this and instructions as well.

[@juanbautistacarballo493]

im having too much friction inside the teflon tubbing. I cant find an answer to how to fix it. I have changed the extruder, the nozzle, the PLA, the thing im printing, the temperature. But it all indicates that the problem is the tube. I will change the tube now to see if that solves the problem but it would be cool if you could find a way to fix it! Great video cheers

[@TrojanHorse1959]

New subscriber here, that is an excellent fix, thank you!

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Glad I could help, thanks for the support!

[@johnkelley9877]

I just subscribed. This will be helpful and I hope to get a printer soon.

[@abdelmohsenbenoudjit5108]

Thank you for this ingenious tipp, it works with me very well

[@quadplay2591]

A brilliant idea, works a charm 👌 well done for sharing

[@quadplay2591]

And your videoography skills are excellent too

[@eXtremeHeli]

Thank you for this inspiration! You are a genius, also works perfectly on the CR-6SE! :-)

[@FilipoLipos]

thanks for this I need to modify my extruder fitting as the bowden sliding to much and creating ripples on prints....it is chaging based on retraction of the extruder and I found out bowden tube is completely worn out...

[@NeedItMakeIt]

It really sneaks up on you and then all of the sudden we've got big problems. This one was tough to tell. The DD setup reduces these issues to nearly non-existent. That seems to be the way most companies are moving these days thanks to Klipper and input shaping.

[@JOXVOX]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise with us. kind regards from a fellow youtube content creator

[@vicentesaenz560]

At 4:45. Is this normal operation? My printer does that with a clicking noise while extruding. I'm new to 3D printing but I believe the stepper motor gears stripped due to torque limit exceceeding

[@jckf]

Retractions are a part of normal operation, but clicking would indicate that it's skipping steps - probably because of a clog.

[@jetranger47]

Thank you... Iv'e been fighting with this problem on my printer.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

My pleasure, if I had the problem, I'm sure many others have also. I'll keep investigating other solutions, some of the very expensive printers have better options, and come with a price, but it might be worth it.

[@tonycollins3505]

Mine is a straight thru direct drive extruder . It was pushing the Boden tube and collapsing it in the hot end . I thought I had this fixed but it seems the tube get clogged only after one small print . I’m not over temping and I have cleaned the hot end several times plus even bought the material that was said to “ clean “ extruders but I hav had zero luck …

[@WKfpv]

Just noticed mine is doing this even though I have the genuine capricorn tube and the industrial fitting. It lasted less than a month

[@NeedItMakeIt]

If you can, order a thru fitting, screw the fitting in most of the way and then press the tube in tight until it bottoms out. Tighten the fitting the rest of the way and it should last for quite a while. The method in the video works well also, some people have reported that it needs to be re-done after a while.

[@oisiaa]

How did you upgrade the stock fitting on the extruder? Mine just has the plastic clip style. Is it threaded in to the extruder? I bought a kit that has a brass bowden fitting.

[@MikelRChannel]

Just inserted a rubber band to keep the tube from slipping and it worked

[@THirstyCamel1023]

Help full video didn’t think about flaring out the tube with a Phillips drill bit

[@NeedItMakeIt]

We like our Robertson up here in Canada but I still find a use here and there for the good ol' Phillips.

[@deejayrelapz6903]

please teach me how to get those amazing smooth finishes from prints on bed. amazing

[@leaftye]

What about carbon friction paste? It works great at holding parts on carbon fiber bike handlebars even though the fasteners are lightly torqued.

[@NeedItMakeIt]

Sounds awesome, I've never heard of it before... The best solution so far is to purchase a thru fitting and tighten until you have 1/2 a turn or so left. Push the tube until it bottoms out and then tighten the fitting the rest of the way. It causes the teeth to dig in and pre-load them a little bit, a little simpler than my solution.

[@HeimoVN]

This is a great solution to this problem...