Micro Swiss NG™ Direct Drive Extruder Installation Instructions for Creality CR-10 / Ender 3 Printers

Tools needed

Gather the required tools before starting installation.

• Phillips-Head Screwdriver
• Flat Head Screwdriver
• Utility knife
• 3mm Allen wrench
• 2.5mm Allen wrench
• 2mm Allen wrench
• 1.5mm Allen wrench (included with the kit)
• 10mm spanner wrench
• 8mm spanner wrench
• Flush cutters

Image: A collection of screwdrivers, Allen wrenches, a utility knife, and flush cutters.

What's in the box:

• 1x Master Extruder Assembly
• 1x Adaptation plate
• 1x Stepper motor
• 1x Fan Shroud
• 1x Custom extension cable
• 1x Hotend assembly

Hardware:

• 1x Eccentric nut
• 1x M5 x .8 x 30mm CAP SCREW
• 1x 5mm ID 10mm OD Washer
• 1x M5 x .8 Nylon Lock Nut
• 2x M5 x .8 x 20mm Nylon Patch CAP SCREWS
• 4x M2.2 x 8mm Thread Forming Screw for Plastic
• 4x M3 x 12mm Thread Forming Screw for Plastic
• 1x 7mm spanner wrench
• 1x 1.5mm Allen wrench
• 5x Zip Ties

Image: A box containing the extruder parts and a bag of hardware including screws, nuts, washers, and zip ties.

Preparation

Print a probe mounting bracket if your printer has BL-Touch, CR-Touch or a proximity sensor. Download here

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

Step 1: ⚠️ For your safety, turn off and unplug your printer.

Step 2 – Remove the fan shroud

Remove the fan shroud by unscrewing the two screws holding the shroud to the carriage plate.

Cut the zip ties holding the Bowden Tube and cables together.

Image: Two images showing the removal of the fan shroud and cutting zip ties holding the Bowden tube and cables.

Step 3 – Remove fans and fan duct

• Remove the screws holding the hotend fan.
• Remove the fan duct to get access to the part cooling fan screws (some printers).
• Remove the screws holding the part cooling fan.

Image: Three images showing the removal of the hotend fan, fan duct, and part cooling fan.

Step 4 – Remove the silicon sock

⚠️ Make sure the hotend is at room temperature!

Remove the silicon sock off the heater block.

Image: A hand removing the silicon sock from the hotend heater block.

Step 5 - Remove heater cartridge and thermistor

• Remove the heater cartridge set screw using 1.5mm Allen wrench.
• Remove the thermistor screw using the Phillips-Head Screwdriver.
• Gently pull the thermistor and heater cartridge out of the heater block.
• ⚠️ Be careful not to damage the delicate wires.

Image: Three images showing the process of removing the heater cartridge and thermistor from the hotend.

Step 6 - Remove the hotend

• Remove the two screws holding the hotend using a 2mm Allen wrench.
• Remove the retaining C-clip from the Bowden extruder.
• Press the plastic Bowden Coupler lip down and pull the PTFE tube out of the original extruder.
• Remove both the hotend and PTFE tube from the printer together.
• (Save the PTFE tube to be reused during the installation of the NG Extruder)

Image: Three images showing the removal of the hotend, C-clip, and PTFE tube.

Step 7 – Remove the belt

• Loosen the X-axis belt tension (either unscrew the knob or loosen the screws holding the tensioner in place).
• Remove the belt from the carriage plate.

Image: Two images showing the loosening of the X-axis belt tension and removal of the belt from the carriage plate.

Step 8 – Remove the roller wheels and the carriage plate

• Unscrew the roller wheels by holding one side with the 3mm Allen wrench and unscrew the nut with the 8mm spanner.
• Remove the cartridge plate.
• (Save the V-rollers to be reused during the installation of the NG Extruder)

Image: Two images showing the removal of roller wheels and the carriage plate, and a separate image of the roller wheels.

Step 9 – Remove Extruder

• Unplug the extruder motor cable connector.
• Use the 2.5mm Allen wrench to remove the plastic extruder arm and the tension screw.
• Use the 2mm Allen wrench to release the extruder stepper motor.

Image: Three images showing the unplugging of the motor cable, removal of the extruder arm, and release of the stepper motor.

Step 10 - Prepare the NG extruder for assembly

Prepare the NG extruder for assembly by removing the fan shroud.

Image: Two images showing the NG extruder parts and the removal of the fan shroud.

Step 11 - Install the eccentric nut and a bottom roller

• Start by installing the bottom V-Roller first.
• Insert the longer M5 screw into a V-Roller.
• Insert the eccentric nut. Note the correct orientation - the longer boss facing away from the roller.
• Install the provided washer and a nylon lock nut.
• Tighten the lock nut. Make sure the roller is still free spinning.

Image: Two images showing the installation of the eccentric nut, screw, washer, and lock nut onto a roller, and the roller assembly.

Step 12 – Install the top V-rollers

• Insert the provided shorter M5 screws into the two remaining V-Roller wheels. Be sure to use provided nylon patched screws!
• Install the two V-rollers onto the carriage.
• If it is difficult to fit the last V-Roller wheel, adjust the bottom V-Roller position by rotating the eccentric nut using a 10mm wrench.

Image: Two images showing the installation of the V-rollers onto the printer carriage.

Step 13 – Adjust the eccentric nut

Adjust the bottom V-roller position by rotating the eccentric nut using a 10mm wrench to eliminate any carriage wobble.

Image: An image showing the adjustment of the eccentric nut with a wrench.

Step 14 - Reinstall the belt

• Insert the X-axis belt into the carriage plate slots.
• Tighten the X-axis belt.
• Move the carriage left to right to verify the belt is seated properly.

Image: Two images showing the reinstallation and tightening of the X-axis belt.

Step 15 - 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 hotend will need to be preheated to exactly 220C and the new nozzle should be torqued to 30-inch pounds.

The thermal break needs to be fully seated before the nozzle is tightened down.

Image: A bag containing the new hotend assembly and nozzle components.

Step 16 - Install the hotend

• Insert the hotend assembly into the extruder.
• Verify the thermal break is seated as deep as possible in the extruder (compare with reference image on the left).
• Tighten the grub screw using an 1.5mm wrench.

Image: Two images showing the hotend assembly being inserted into the extruder and the grub screw being tightened.

Step 17 - Install thermistor and heater cartridge

• Reinstall the heater cartridge and the thermistor.
• Secure the thermistor. ⚠️ Be careful not to overtighten the screw as this can damage delicate wires.
• Make sure the thermistor sits all the way inside the thermistor hole. If you can see the glass thermistor bead, adjust.
• Tighten the heater cartridge using the 1.5mm Allen wrench.

Image: Four images showing the reinstallation of the thermistor and heater cartridge, and tightening the screws.

Step 18 - Install silicone sock

Install the silicone sock.

Image: A hand installing the silicone sock onto the hotend.

Step 19 - Install fans on the fan shroud

• Install the hotend cooling fan onto the fan shroud using the provided larger self-tapping screws.
• Install the part cooling fan onto the fan shroud using the provided smaller self-tapping screws.

Image: Two images showing the installation of the hotend cooling fan and the part cooling fan onto the fan shroud.

Step 20 - Install fan shroud

Install the assembled fan shroud back on the extruder.

Image: Two images showing the fan shroud being attached to the extruder.

Step 21 - Install filament guide tube

• Cut about 2.5 inch of PTFE tubing from the original Bowden tube that was previously removed.
• Install the PTFE liner on the extruder. This will help smoothly guide the filament inside the extruder.

Image: Three images showing the cutting of PTFE tubing and its installation into the extruder.

Step 22 – Install extruder cable

⚠️ It is very important to use the provided extension cable. This cable has a special pinout to use the NG Extruder's LDO motor on the specific printer listed as compatible in the NG Extruder's fitment page.

• Connect one end of the extension cable to the original E cable and the other end to the LDO stepper motor.
• Make sure to give the stepper motor cable some slack.

Image: Three images showing the connection of the extension cable to the stepper motor.

Step 23 – Cable management

Use provided zip ties to manage your cables neatly.

Image: Two images showing cable management using zip ties.

Step 24 – Filament holder

• Loosen the two screws holding the Filament Holder.
• Rotate the Filament Holder so that the spool hangs in front of the frame.
• Retighten two screws to secure the Filament Holder.

Image: An image showing the filament holder being attached and adjusted.

Step 25 – Adjust tension knob

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).

Image: An image showing the adjustment of the tension knob with a piece of filament used as a gauge.

Step 26 – Power up printer

Plug the power cable in and turn the printer on.

Image: Two images showing the power cable being plugged into the printer.

Step 27 - Update e-steps

The e-steps will need to be set to 400.

• Download the Esteps G-code.
• Put the G-code on your Micro CD card.
• "Print" the Estep G-code on your printer as you would with any G-code that was made using a slicer.

Image: Multiple images showing the printer interface for selecting and printing the G-code file, and the e-steps setting.

Step 28 – Reduce the Retraction Distance

⚠️ Important

Set the Retraction Distance to 1.0mm in your slicer software.

Image: A screenshot of slicer software settings showing "Retraction Distance" set to 1.0mm.

Service Tips

Removing Filament

• Preheat the hotend to printing temperature.
• Press the extruder arm to release the gear tension.
• Purge the nozzle by manually pushing the filament down about 10mm to extrude any melted plastic.
• 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 initially do not press the extruder arm, until after the filament has made it into the lower guide tube below the extruder gears.

After the filament is in that lower guide tube, you can then either continue to issue Extrude commands using the printer menus or pull the lever back and push the filament manually until you see melted filament coming out of the hot nozzle.

Nozzle Replacement Procedure

• Preheat the hotend to exactly 220C.
• Remove the filament from the hotend (First push the filament down in order to extrude any melted plastic and then quickly pull it out.).
• Unscrew the old nozzle while holding the heater block using an adjustable wrench to prevent it from rotating.
• Screw in the new MK8 nozzle and torque it to 30-inch pounds.
• Verify that the thermal break is still seated flush on top of the heater block.

Image: Two diagrams illustrating correct and incorrect nozzle seating, with text labels "Flush", "Thermal break not fully seated", "Small Gap", "Nozzle does not reach the thermal break".