The Sidewinder V2

This is version 2.0.

The Sidewinder is a unique Nimble. It was custom developed for a customer. The result was interesting enough, that we decided to go ahead and turn it into a product. The Sidewinder has a horizontal drive cable, compare to the Nimble that has a vertical one. 

The Sidewinder V2 builds on that initial design and improves on it.

The Sidewinder V2 is a Remote Direct Drive extruder. This means the stepper is split away from the extruder itself. This removes almost all of the weight from the extruder part, making the Nimble weigh less than 30 grams. The Sidewinder V2 is powered via a drive cable that transmits the power of the stepper directly to the gear system inside the Sidewinder. The drive cable comes out horizontally. It is designed to be installed in CoreXY or Cartesian printers, especially when used inside an enclosure. It is less effective on a Delta type printer.
It is a little heavier than the Nimble (26 grams) but let's be honest, there is nothing as light as the Nimble.

It is a small and light extruder. Measuring only 32.8x30x31 mm, it is a very impressive extruder. The standard drive cable is 95 cm long and this is more than long enough for most printers. Other lengths are available. 

(The AAA battery is not included or required. Only shown for scale.)

The Sidewinder can be mounted using an adapter system. This makes it easy to install and easy to switch to another printer. For details, check out the adapter page.

The custom hob and the breech lever system allows any filament to be printed. From super hard carbon filled filament to X60, the floppiest filament in existence.

The Creality CR-10Pro currently does not support the Sidewinder. The driver used for the extruder stepper cannot handle the speeds needed for the Sidewinder. We have developed a solution using the Speedbox. 

Features:

• 20:1 gear ratio for a decreased load on your control board.
• Improved strength of printed parts.
• Shell halves click together for easy handling during installation.
• Increased temperature resilience.
• Even lighter than the original Sidewinder
• Unified mounting footprint between Sidewinder and Nimble.
• Completely overhauled easier to open breech.
• Inbuilt clamp for reverse bowden.
• Inbuilt hotend PTFE cutting measure.
• Injection-molded hotend PTFE clip that ensures centreline of Nimble.
• Improved strength.

What is in the box?

Everything you need, but the stepper.

• 1 Sidewinder, including the breech
• 1 Set of Gears, hob and bearings
• 1 Bottle of gear lubricant
• 1 Drive cable plus sleeve
• 1 Coupler for the stepper
• 1 Bracket for the stepper
• 2 Clamps for the sleeve
• All the nuts and bolts needed to mount and use the Sidewinder on your printer.
• 4 PTFE clips (you only need one, but they are small)

Facts and figures

• WxDxH is 32.8x30x31 mm for the unit itself and 42 mm wide with the sleeve clamp.
• Weight is less than 28 grams.
• Drive cable is 95 cm long. There are different lengths available if you want a different length.
• Only tools needed: a 2.5 mm and a 1.5 mm Allen key or hex key. If you need to use the M3 nuts you also need a 5.5 mm wrench or spanner.
• It will fit any Nema17 or 14 stepper, the suggested torque rating is: 16N/cm. We used: StepperOnline Nema17 Stepper Motor 17HS08-1004S 
• Filament size: 1.75 mm is standard.
• Any standard hot-end can be used. If it is a Bowden hot-end, remove the bowden connector, it is not needed.
• The SLS printed parts of the Sidewinder may exhibit mild variations in colour.