Bondtech DDX V3 for Creality printers

The Bondtech DDX extruder is a direct extruder specially designed to replace the Bowden extruder of most Creality printers. It is based on the Bondtech BMG, an extruder renowned for its excellent performance, compact size, and low weight.

Like the BMG, the DDX extruder for Creality is a dual-gear type extruder, ensuring excellent grip with virtually any type of filament. It has a system of hardened steel gears produced by high precision machining, as well as a ratio of 3: 1 that multiplies the drag force of the motor, thus being able to use a more compact pancake-type motor.

New V3 version, easier to install

The new V3 version of the renowned Bondtech DDX extruder has been redesigned to make it even easier to install. Thanks to its new integrated bracket for the layer fan, it is now possible to mount it directly without the need for screws.

In addition, thanks to the new height adjustment system of the layer fan, it is now easier to adjust it when other hotends are installed, such as the Mosquito or the Copperhead.

Image 1: New Layer Fan Bracket. Source: Bondtech

Bondtech Dual-Drive

If the Bondtech brand is recognized for something, it is for its Dual-Drive system. This system is based on using two gear wheels meshed together to drag the filament. This allows the traction effort to be distributed along the perimeter of the filament, achieving more efficient traction with less chance of the filament slipping and being bitten. Thanks to this, it is possible to make 3D prints with thousands of retractions without fear that the 3D print will fail due to filament wear.

Image 2: Drive wheels of the Dual-Drive system. Source: Bondtech

Another great advantage of this system is that it allows you to drag filaments of practically any material with total confidence, whether they are flexible materials such as TPE and TPU, slippery filaments such as nylons or brittle filaments such as metal or ceramic.

Adjustable tension and accessibility

The manual adjustment screw allows adjusting the tension between the sprockets until reaching the optimum for each material. In addition, one of the wheels is connected to a lever, which allows the two wheels to be manually separated and quickly release the filament. Similarly, the screw can be completely loosened by releasing the lever and gaining access to the interior for cleaning.

Image 3: Access to the interior of the extruder. Source: Bondtech

Great printer compatibility

The Bondtech DDX extruder is compatible with most Creality brand 3D printers. For this it is available in two versions:

• DDX Extruder Kit for Creality Ender 3 / CR-10: Directly compatible with Ender-3, CR-10, CR-10s, CR-10 S4 and CR-10 S5 printers.

Image 4: Adaptation set for Creality Ender-3 / CR-10. Source: Bondtech

• Extruder Kit DDX for Creality CR-10S Pro: Compatible printer directly CR-10S Pro, as well as printers CR-10S Pro V2 and CR-10 Max simply printing new support for the BL Touch sensor available here.

Image 5: Adaptation set for Creality CR-10S Pro. Source: Bondtech.

Automatic leveling sensors

The Bondtech DDX extruder has been designed leaving enough space for automatic leveling sensors such as the BLtouch sensor to be added by simply printing a holder and placing it on the left side of the extruder. This opens the door to update those printers that do not have it* with this type of sensor.

Image 6: BLtouch probe installed on the side of the extruder. Source: Bondtech

The four phases of the Bondtech DDX

Bondtech DDX is directly compatible with Creality hotends, however one of the best extruders on the market should be accompanied by one of the best hotends, and that is why the Bondtech DDX extruder has been designed to be compatible with both the renowned hotend Slice Mosquito as with the new Slice Copperhead.

Image 7: Slice Copperhead and mosquito. Source: Slice Engineering.

For this, Bondtech has differentiated the possible updates to the hotend in several levels or phases:

• Phase 1: Use the original hotend: The Bondtech DDX extruder can be installed directly using the appropriate adaptation set, taking advantage of all the original hotend. The update can be done easily and need to update neither the firmware nor the cables. In addition, the kit contains an original Capricorn XS PTFE tube to replace the one that comes standard with the hotend, thus improving its performance.

Image 8: Original Hotend with Bondtech adapter. Source: Bondtech

• Phase 2: Updating the original hotend with the Copperhead heating block and heatbreak: Although replacing the original PTFE tube with a Capricorn XS greatly improves performance, it is not the ideal solution. When the PTFE tube reaches practically the nozzle, the high temperatures can cause tube contractions that lead to clogging problems or deteriorate performance. This is why a good solution that does not involve replacing the entire hotend is to upgrade the original heater block and heatbreak to the Slice Copperhead's high performance, bimetal heatbreak heater block. This simply requires the 3mm DDX Thermistor Adapter. This option preserves the original thermistor and heater cartridge, and no firmware or cables are required to update. Currently this update is only available for Creality MK8 compatible printers (Ender-3, Ender-5, CR-10, CR-10S, ...).

Image 9: Copperhead heating block and DDX thermistor adapter. Source: Bondtech

• Phase 3: Upgrade to Mosquito or Copperhead hotends: The next level of upgrade is to completely replace the original hotend with the Mosquito or Copperhead hotend, maintaining the original thermistor and heater cartridge. For this, two upgrade kits are available that include the adapter for the Mosquito or the Copperhead as well as the adapter for the original thermistor.

Image 10: Adapters for Slice Mosquito and Slice Copperhead. Source: Bondtech

• Phase 4: Complete upgrade to Slice Mosquito or Copperhead: For many users, level 3 is more than enough, however those more advanced who want to use materials such as PC or some nylons, will find themselves with the limitation of 260 ºC of maximum temperature of Print. To overcome this limitation it will be necessary to use the Slice Engineering thermistor and heater, which implies modifying the printer firmware and updating some cables.

The Bondtech DDX extruder is undoubtedly one of the best upgrades currently available to Creality printers. The transition from a bowden extruder to a low weight direct extruder allows to significantly improve the precision and quality of 3D prints without penalizing the printing speed. This is due to the possibility of using shorter and faster retractions, as well as a reduction of pressure in the nozzle, which translates into a more homogeneous extrusion of the material and a lower probability of dripping and of the appearance of grains on the surface of the piece, phenomenon known as "Blobs and Zits".

In addition, it allows you to quickly and efficiently print flexible materials, some of which are impossible to print with the original bowden extruder.

The DDS direct print system and DDX direct extruder are two of the upgrade options to direct extrusion offered by Bondtech for Creality printers. While the DDX extruder offers compatibility with a greater number of models and allows the use of the Slice Mosquito and Copperhead hotends, the DDS system offers a compact, integrated system compatible with the entire V6 system.

Image 11: Bondtech DDS direct extrusion system. Source: Bondtech

Kit's compatibility:

Bondtech DDX For Creality Ender/CR-10(S)

Ender 3
Ender 3 Pro
Ender 5
Ender 5 Pro
Ender 5 Plus
CR-10
CR-10S
CR-10S4
CR-10S5

Bondtech DDX For Creality CR-10(S)Pro/Max

CR-10S Pro
CR-10S Pro V2
CR-10 Max