Extruder Placing

The placement of 3D Printing extruders is another spec that can drastically change how well the printer functions and what it can do. When it comes to the options, there are 3 major placement styles.

Direct Drive: This system placement involves placing the extrusion system inside of the Toolhead. This is a very common orientation, because it makes it very easy to print all kinds of materials, even flexible materials such as TPU. You also gain a lot of control when it comes to movement when using this setup. However, all of the weight from the extrusion system does make the Toolhead heavier and sacrifices a little bit of speed.

Bowden: This is another common orientation type that involves fixing the extrusion system to the frame of the printer. This results in a faster printing experience, and less calibration is generally required to start printing. In this setup, the filament runs through a Bowden tube after passing the extrusion system, so problems might arise with filament clogging the Bowden tube, and retraction will be required.

Floating: This is a rare placement where the extruder system is not affixed anywhere and just hangs somewhere between the frame of the printer and the Toolhead, usually connected via strings and/or counterweights. This setup, despite not being very common, is mostly seen on Delta printers, due to their increased need for speed. Like Bowden, floating improves the speed the Toolhead can travel and minimizes inertia. It also maintains the benefits of Direct Drive and is still very good at printing flexible materials. However, this presents its own unique challenges, specifically with precision and handling of the filament.

Additionally, when talking about extruder placement, people often combine the type of placement with the type of gear system, so instead of saying “Direct Drive Extruder that is also a Geared Extruder,” you should say, “Geared Direct Drive Extruder.” This makes it more clear what you are talking about and reduces confusion.

In conclusion, the way an extruder system is mounted can have a great influence on the actual printing speed and filament it can print.