BMG FOR SIDEWINDER CONVERSION GUIDE / REVIEW BY: CHANH PHUONG 12/17/19

• Bondtech BMG Extruder (clone)
• E3D V6 Hot End Kit - V6 Heatsink, heatblock, heatbreak, heater cartridge, thermistor, and brass nozzle
• M3x35 Hex Bolts (3)
  

sO LET'S START OFF WITH SOME PROS TO DOING THIS UPGRADE VS THE HEMERA.

• The BMG extruder has been on the market since 2017. It has been tried and tested by many folks. It simply just works. 
• It fits right onto the stock mounting brackets. There's no need to print anything extra to get the extruder to work. This also means that the 20-pin ribbon cable remains in the same position.
• This upgrade is modular, meaning if something fails, it's easy to swap out that piece. Whereas the Hemera is all in one, if the stepper motor fails for example, you can't just pick up a new Nema 17 motor, you have to buy E3D's proprietary motor.

  INSTALLATION

  Before starting this upgrade, I recommend printing out parts coolers for this upgrade. I designed one for the BMG / V6 and BMG / Volcano:

  •  BMG / V6: 
  •  BMG / Volcano:https://www.myminifactory.com/object/3d-print-sidewinder-x1-bmg-e3d-volcano-parts-cooler-4020-radial-111062
  • Assemble the Bondtech BMG Extruder and V6 Hotend. There is an official video from Bondtech:   Watch here  
    Note: The extruder will come with instructions as well, please read them carefully to install the correct gear on the stepper motor and in the right orientation.
  • Remove the stock extruder. Here is the official video from Artillery:   Watch here
  • Install the BMG / V6 or BMG / Volcano Combo in place of the stock extruder. This lines up with the stock holes. Line up the stepper motor with the BMG extruder. I made a video showing how this looks:  Watch here
  • You will need to connect the E3D thermistor and E3D heater cartridge to the stock plugs. You have two options for this: 1) you can cut the stock connector and solder it on, 2) you can crimp the connection and reuse the stock connectors. The polarity is not important for these two components. For reference, the connectors are JST-XH, the thermistor is 2.54mm, the heater cartridge is 3.96mm.
  • Adjust the VREF on the E0 Stepper Driver. I adjusted mine to 0.50v, and it's been working great, some people do 0.65v. If you don't do this, the stepper motor will get very hot, shortening its lifespan. 

    THOUGHTS AND IMPRESSIONS

           I did this upgrade a little before the release of the Hemera. I was tired of dealing with under extrusion with the stock extruder. The Titan Aero's cooling design is somewhat lacking, so a clone would be worse off, in my opinion. That's what the stock extruder is, a Titan Aero Clone. Don't get me wrong, it's great for printing low-temp stuff like PLA but when it comes to anything above 220c, it starts to struggle.
        
           With this BMG / V6 extruder combo, my prints are reliably great. Like I said earlier, it just works. I like how clean this setup is, how it just fits, and how reliable it's been. If the Hemera came out 2 weeks earlier, I'd probably be blogging about that, but this is what I have.It costs a little more but hopefully this write up will help you make an informed decision.
    4020 V6 cooler
    https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3956274
    

  • 4020 Volcano cooler (you lose 25mm off Z)
    
  • https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3918721
  • Bondtech has been in operation since 2014, releasing the well-known two-gear BMG extruder in 2017. BMG extruder is the next generation extruder in the 3D printing world until the Hemera version from E3D. Most recently I used the extruder. BMG for many months now and has given me great printing. Therefore, I can not move to Hemera if you are interested in doing this upgrade. This is what I did and some advantages to Hemera in my opinion. What you need: Bondtech BMG Extruder (clone) E3D V6 Hot End Series - V6 Heatsink, heatblock, heatbreak, cartridge, thermistor and brass nozzle. Hex bolts M3x35 (3). Let's get started with some PROS to make this upgrade with HEMERA. BMG extruder has been launched in the market since 2017. It has been tried and tested by many people. It worksIt fits well with the stock mounting brackets. No need to type anything else for the extruder to work. Which means the 20 pin ribbon cable remains in its original position This upgrade is modular, meaning that if anything fails, it's easy to swap that part while Hemera has it in the same place.If the stepper motor fails, you can't get a new Nema 17 motor. Must buy a proprietary E3D motor to install. Before beginning this upgrade, I recommend to print the heat sink of the components for this upgrade. I designed one for BMG / V6 and BMG / Volcano:  BMG / V6: Click here.  BMG / Volcano: Click here. Bondtech BMG and V6 Hotend extruder has official video from Bondtech: Watch here.
    Note: The extruder will also come with instructions, please read carefully to install the correct sprockets on the stepper motor and in the right direction. Remove stock extruder Here's the official video from Artillery: Watch here. Install the BMG / V6 or BMG / Volcano Combo instead of the stock extruder. This line depends on the stock hole. Arrange the stepper motor with the BMG extruder. I made a video that looks like this: Look here. You will need to connect the E3D thermistor and the E3D cartridge to the stock plug. You have two options for this: 1) You can cut the stock connector and solder it on. 2) You can crimp the connection and reuse the stock connector. The polarity is not important for these two components. For reference, the connector is JST-XH. The thermistor is 2.54 mm. The heater cartridge is 3.96 mm.Adjust the VREF on the E0 Stepper driver. I adjusted me to 0.50v and it works very well. Some people do 0.65v. If you don't do this, the stepper motor will be very hot, shortening the lifespan. Thoughts and impressions        I upgraded it a little before releasing Hemera. I'm tired of dealing with extrusion under the stock extruder. The cooling design of the Titan Aero is quite lacking, so the mud will get worse in my opinion. That's what the stock extruder is the Titan Aero Clone. Don't misunderstand me. It's great for low-temperature printing like PLA. But when it comes to anything higher than 220c, it's struggling.           With this BMG / V6 extruder combo, my printing work is great. As I said before, it works. I like the cleanliness of this setting, how good it is, and how reliable it is. If Hemera came out 2 weeks earlier, I might have written a blog about that. But this is what i have There is a small cost. But hopefully this article will help you make smart decisions.