M3206 Micro Swiss NG Direct Drive Extruder Installation Guide

M3206 Micro Swiss NG Direct Drive Extruder

Product Information

The SKU M3206 is a Micro Swiss NGTM Direct Drive Extruder designed for Creality CR-10 V2 and CR-10 V3 3D printers. The package includes a Master Extruder Assembly, CR-10V2/V3 Adaptation plate, LDO Stepper motor, Fan Shroud, Zip Ties, CR-10V2/V3 NG Extension Cable, M3 x 20mm Thread Forming Screw, M3 x 12mm Thread Forming Screw, M3 x 6mm Button Head Screws, 7mm spanner wrench, 1.5mm Allen wrench, 2 Capricorn PTFE Tubes, 3D Printed Guide Tube Bracket, Bowden Coupler, 3D Printed C-clip, Thermal break, Heater Block, Silicone Sock, and Nozzle (0.4mm Plated Brass MK8).

Product Usage Instructions

1. Gather the required tools before starting the installation.

2. Remove the filament from your original hotend and allow the printer to cool down completely.

3. Make sure the hotend and bed have cooled down to room temperature before starting any work on the printer. For your safety, turn off and unplug your printer.

4. Remove the original print head.

5. Remove the original Bowden extruder. (For CR-10 V2 only, reuse the Bowden tube as a filament guide tube)

6. Disassemble the original print head.

7. Remove the heater cartridge and thermistor. (Make sure the hotend is at room temperature before touching the heater block or nozzle. Be careful not to damage the delicate wires.)

8. Remove the original extension cable. (For CR-10 V3 only, remove the long stepper motor extension cable going to the print head. Do not remove the short (4) extension cable near the breakout board.)

9. Install the NG Extension cable. (Use the provided extension cable, as it has a special pinout that is required to connect the NG Extruder’s LDO motor to a CR-10 V2 and CR-10 V3. The stock cable or even one from a different direct drive kit will not work.)

10. Prepare the NG assembly.

11. Install the NG Extruder onto the X carriage.

12. Prepare the hotend. (The included hotend has already been preheated and the nozzle has been tightened to spec at the factory.
    There is no need to do the nozzle tightening procedure on the new hotend unless you are replacing the nozzle. When replacing nozzles in the future, the thermal break needs to be fully seated before the nozzle is tightened down. The hotend will need to be preheated to exactly 220C and then the new nozzle will need to be torqued to 30-inch pounds. See nozzle change procedure on last page.)

13. Install the hotend.

14. Install the thermistor and heater cartridge. (Be careful not to over-tighten the screw as this can damage delicate wires. Make sure the thermistor sits all the way inside the thermistor hole. The glass bead of the thermistor should not be visible from the outside.)

15. Install the silicone sock.

16. Attach the fans to the fan shroud.

17. Install the fan shroud.

18. Install the long filament guide tube. (For CR-10 V2 only.)

TOOLS NEEDED

Gather the required tools before starting the installation

• Phillips-Head Screwdriver
• 2.5mm Allen wrench
• 2mm Allen wrench
• 1.5mm Allen wrench (included with the kit)
• Flush cutters

WHAT’S IN THE BOX

1x Master Extruder Assembly
1x CR-10V2/V3 Adaptation plate
1x LDO Stepper motor
1x Fan Shroud
5x Zip Ties
1x CR-10V2/V3 NG Extension Cable

Main Hardware Bag

• 1x M3 x 20mm Thread Forming Screw
• 4x M3 x 12mm Thread Forming Screw
• 2x M3 x 6mm Button Head Screws
• 1x 7mm spanner wrench
• 1x 1.5mm Allen wrench
• 1x 2” Capricorn PTFE Tube

PTFE Bracket Bag

• 1x 3D Printed Guide Tube Bracket
• 1x Bowden Coupler
• 1x 3D Printed C-clip
• 2x 16mm M3 Screws
• 2x M3 Nuts

Hotend Bag

• 1x Thermal break
• 1x Heater Block
• 1x Silicone Sock
• 1x Nozzle (0.4mm Plated Brass MK8)

Spare Hardware Bag

• 1x Bowden Coupler
• 1x 3D Printed C-clip

PREPARATION

Remove the filament from your original hotend and allow the printer to cool down completely

STEP 1 – SAFETY

Make sure the hotend and bed have cooled down to room temperature before starting any work on the printer

• For your safety, turn off and unplug your printer

STEP 2 – REMOVE THE ORIGINAL PRINT HEAD

• Unfasten the original print head from the printer by removing the screws located at the back of the X carriage
• (CR-10 V3 Only) Remove the two screws circled in orange

STEP 3 – REMOVE THE ORIGINAL BOWDEN EXTRUDER

• Disconnect the stepper motor
• Remove the gear tensioning screw (2.5mm Allen wrench)
• Remove the gear tensioning spring
• Remove the screw holding the extruder arm (2.5mm Allen wrench)
• Detach the extruder main body by removing the 3 screws holding it attached to the motor. (2.0mm Allen wrench)
• Remove the C-clip from the Bowden Coupler
• Press the plastic Bowden Coupler down while pulling the PTFE tube out

The Bowden tube will be reused as a filament guide tube on the CR-10 V2 installation only.

STEP 4 – UNFASTEN THE FANS

• Detach the hotend fan from the stock fan shroud by unscrewing the 4 screws
  (2.0mm Allen wrench)

• Detach the part cooling fan by removing the 2 screws
  (2.0mm Allen wrench)

STEP 5 – DISASSEMBLE THE ORIGINAL PRINT HEAD

• (CR-10 V3 Only) Disconnect the stepper motor
• Remove the three screws located on the back side of the original fan shroud (2.0mm Allen wrench)
• Separate the two parts of the fan shroud

STEP 6 – REMOVE THE HEATER CARTRIDGE AND THERMISTOR

Make sure the hotend is at room temperature before touching the heater block or nozzle

• Remove the silicone sock

• Loosen the heater cartridge set screw
  (1.5mm Allen wrench)

• Remove the thermistor screw
  (Phillips screwdriver)

• Gently pull the thermistor and heater cartridge out of the heater block
  Be careful not to damage the delicate wires

STEP 7 – REMOVE THE ORIGINAL EXTENSION CABLE

The long stepper motor extension cable going to the print head needs to be removed because it will be replaced with the NG Extension cable in step 8

• Cut the zip ties from the wire mesh cable sleeve
• Unplug the long extension cable from the shorter cable near the breakout board
• Remove the long extension cable from the wire mesh sleeve
  Do not remove the short (4”) extension cable near the breakout board

STEP 8 – INSTALL THE NG EXTENSION CABLE

It is very important to use the provided extension cable
This cable has a special pinout that is required to connect the NG Extruder’s LDO motor to a CR-10 V2 and CR-10 V3. The stock cable or even one from a different direct drive kit will not work

• Cut the zip ties from the wire harness that goes to the print head if not done in the previous step
• Feed the provided NG Extension cable through the wire mesh sleeve
• Connect the NG Extension cable to the printer’s original short cable near the breakout board

STEP 9 – PREPARE THE NG ASSEMBLY

• Detach the fan shroud from the NG Extruder by removing the two screws
  (2mm Allen wrench)

• Prepare the provided M3 screws and washer by removing them from the bag

STEP 10 – INSTALL THE NG EXTRUDER ONTO THE X CARRIAGE

• Align the NG Extruder with the holes in the X carriage plate
• Use an M3 screw and washer on the larger hole as shown in the picture (2.0mm Allen wrench)
• Use only M3 screws on the other two holes (2.0mm Allen wrench)

STEP 11 – PREPARE THE HOTEND

• Remove the silicone sock from an all metal hotend
  The included hotend has already been preheated and the nozzle has been tightened to spec at the factory
  There is no need to do the nozzle tightening procedure on the new hotend unless you are replacing the nozzle
  When replacing nozzles in the future, the thermal break needs to be fully seated before the nozzle is tightened down. The hotend will need to be preheated to exactly 220C and then the new nozzle will need to be torqued to 30-inch pounds
  (See nozzle change procedure on last page)

STEP 12 – INSTALL THE HOTEND

• Insert the hotend assembly into the extruder
• Verify the thermal break is fully inserted as shown in the image
• Tighten the grub screw (1.5mm Allen wrench)

STEP 13 – INSTALL THE THERMISTOR AND HEATER CARTRIDGE

• Install the heater cartridge and the thermistor

• Secure the thermistor using the provided Phillips Washer Head screw
  (Phillips screw driver)
  Be careful not to over-tighten the screw as this can damage delicate wires
  Make sure the thermistor sits all the way inside the thermistor hole. The glass bead of the thermistor should not be visible from the outside

• Tighten the two heater cartridge screws (1.5mm Allen wrench)

STEP 14 – INSTALL THE SILICONE SOCK

• Install the silicone sock

STEP 15 – ATTACH THE FANS TO THE FAN SHROUD

• Install the part cooling fan onto the fan shroud using the longer self-tapping screw
  (Phillips screw driver)

• Install the hotend cooling fan onto the fan shroud using the four smaller self-tapping screws
  (Phillips screw driver)

STEP 16 – INSTALL THE FAN SHROUD

• Install the fan shroud back on to the NG Extruder
  (2.0mm Allen wrench)

STEP 17 – INSTALL THE LONG FILAMENT GUIDE TUBE

• Using the provided M3 screw and nuts, attach the 3D printed Guide Tube Bracket in the spot where the printer’s original Bowden Extruder used to be
  (2.0mm Allen wrench)
  The printer’s original Bowden tube will be re-used as a filament guide tube. The 2” Capricorn PTFE tube included with the NG Extruder will not be required for the CR-10 V2 installation.

• Insert one end of the long PTFE tube into the Guide Tube Bracket

• Insert the other end of the long PTFE tube into the NG Extruder

• Secure both ends of the PTFE tube in position by inserting the red C-clips under the Bowden Collets, while pressing the PTFE tube in to prevent it from rising.

STEP 18 – INSTALL THE SHORT FILAMENT GUIDE TUBE

• Insert the 2” Capricorn PTFE tube provided with the NG Extruder kit into the top of the extruder
• Secure the Capricorn PTFE tube in position by inserting the red C-clip under the Bowden Collet

STEP 19 – CONNECT THE STEPPER MOTOR

• Connect on NG Extension cable to the stepper motor Make sure to give the extension cable some slack near the stepper motor

STEP 20 – CABLE MANAGEMENT

• Use the provided zip ties for cable management

STEP 21 – GEAR TENSION

• Adjust the gear tension by rotating the brass knob The gear tension can be gauged by measuring how much of the brass knob’s threads are exposed.
  (Distance from the head of the brass knob to the aluminum extruder arm)
  The good starting point for stiff filaments such as PLA, PTEG, ABS is 1.75mm of exposed threads
  (Use a piece of 1.75mm filament as a gauge as shown in the image on the left)
  For flexible filaments such as TPU, loosen the knob until about 2.75mm of the threads are exposed.
  (Loosen the knob two full turns, if starting from 1.75mm)

STEP 22 – POWER ON THE PRINTER

• Plug the power cable in and turn the printer on

STEP 23 – UPDATE THE ESTEPS

The E-steps will need to be set to 400 in the printer settings by printing a g-code file

• Download the Esteps G-code from the link below
  DOWNLOAD

• Save the G-code file onto your SD card

• “Print” the Esteps G-code file (

The gcode should take about 15 seconds to finish printing. It will not produce a printed object and will not give a confirmation that it was successful so just give it time to complete before moving on.

STEP 24 – CONFIGURE SLICER SETTINGS

• Set the Retraction Distance to 1.0mm in your slicer software
  Do not use any g-codes that were sliced with a Retraction Distance higher than 1.5mm

SERVICE TIPS

REMOVING FILAMENT

• Preheat the hotend to printing temperature
• Press the extruder arm to release the gear tension
• Push the filament down about 10mm to extrude any melted plastic from the hotend
• Quickly pull the filament out of the extruder

LOADING FILAMENT

• Preheat the hotend to printing temperature
• Cut the tip of the filament at a 45-degree angle
• Straighten the tip of the filament out
• Using the printer menus issue an Extrude command
• Insert the filament into the extruder as the gears are rotating
  When loading filament do not press the extruder arm until the filament has made it into the tube below the extruder drive gears

NOZZLE REPLACEMENT PROCEDURE

• Preheat the hotend to exactly 220C
• Remove the filament from the hotend
• Unscrew the old nozzle, while holding the heater block in position using an adjustable wrench
• Screw in the new MK8 nozzle and torque it to 30- inch pounds (3.4Nm) while holding the heater block in position using an adjustable wrench
• Verify that the thermal break is still seated flush on top of the heater block after installation

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