Micro Swiss Direct Drive Extruder for

Creality CR-10 / Ender 3 Printers

INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS
Tools needed
Gather the required tools before starting installation.

• Adjustable wrench
• Phillips-Head screwdriver
• 7mm socket wrench
• 7mm spanner wrench (supplied)
• 10mm spanner wrench
• 1.5mm Allen wrench (supplied)
• 2mm Allen wrench
• 2.5mm Allen wrench
• 3mm Allen wrench

Step 1

⚠️ For your safety, turn off and unplug your printer.

Step 2 - Remove the fan shroud

• Use the 2mm Allen wrench to remove the

fan shroud
Step 3 – Remove stock hotend

• Remove the hotend using the 2.5mm Allen

wrench

• Unscrew the two screws holding the hotend

to the mounting bracket

• ⚠️ Make sure the hotend is at room

temperature!

Step 4 – Remove heater cartridge, thermistor and bowden tube

• Loosen the heater cartridge

with the 1.5mm Allen wrench

• Remove the thermistor

screw with the Phillips-Head
screwdriver

• Carefully remove the heater

cartridge and thermistor
assembly

• Remove the Bowden tube

Step 5 – Remove the extruder

• Use the 2.5mm Allen wrench

to remove the plastic
extruder lever

• Unplug the extruder motor

connector

• Use the 2mm Allen wrench

to remove the extruder
stepper motor

Step 6 – Remove the extruder gear

• Remove the extruder gear using the 1.5mm

Allen wrench
Step 7 – Remove the belt

• Loosen the belt with the

3mm Allen wrench

• Unclip the belt

Step 8 – Remove cartridge plate

• Unscrew the lower roller

wheel. Hold one side with
the 3mm Allen wrench and
unscrew the nut with the
8mm spanner

• Remove the cartridge plate

• Remove the other two roller

wheels
Step 9 – Begin installing Micro Swiss extruder

• Insert the provided 5mm nylon

patched screw into the roller wheel.
At this point, only install the top two
rollers.
Be sure to use provided nylon
patched screws!

• As you install those rollers, keep

tightening the screws until the
wobble disappears, but the rollers
are still free spinning

• Insert the unpatched 5mm screw into

the third roller

• Insert the eccentric nut

Note the correct orientation - the
longer boss facing away from the
roller

Step 10 – Installing Micro Swiss aluminum cartridge on the rail

• Install the new Micro Swiss

aluminum cartridge on the rail

• Use provided washer cartridge and a

nylon lock nut

• Make sure you are using a nylon lock

nut

• Tighten the nut. Make sure the roller

is still free spinning

• Adjust the eccentric nut to remove

any cartridge wobble
Step 11 – Reinstall the belt

• Reinstall the belt

• Tighten the belt by pulling on

the belt tensioner

Step 12 – Install extruder motor

• Install the extruder motor on

the aluminum cartridge

• Use the provided M3 screws

Make sure the motor
connector is facing upwards.

Step 13 – Install the lever

• Insert the precision shoulder

screw into the lever

• Install the lever. Use the 2mm

Allen wrench
Step 14 – Install the drive gear

• Install the drive gear on the extruder

motor. Note the correct orientation -
set screw against the flat part of the
shaft

• Engage the lever and insert a piece

of filament, preferably rigid PLA. Use
back and forth motion to align the
center line of lever and drive gear

• Once aligned, keep applying

pressure to the lever and tighten the
grub screw

• Double check to see if the gears are

centered

• Make sure the set screw is on the flat

part of the shaft and when tightened,
should be flush with the gear shank

Step 15 – Install the lever pin

• Screw in the lever adjusting knob until

the pin is flush with the knob.
This should be a good starting point
for the filament grip

• For Flexible filament, use less

pressure
Step 16 - Assembling the hotend

• Start by screwing in and tightening the

titanium thermal break. Make sure it is
flush with the heater block.

• Install the nozzle

Step 17 - Assembling the hotend

• Insert the heater block assembly into

the cooling block and tighten the grub
screw

• Insert the provided PTFE liner. Make

sure the beveled edge is facing up

• Install the hotend assembly on the

extruder plate. The beveled end of the
tube should align with the extruder
gear, to provide duly constrained
filament path
Step 18 - Reinstall the heater cartridge and thermistor

• Reinstall the heater cartridge and

thermistor

• Tighten the heater cartridge using the

1.5mm Allen wrench

• Secure the thermistor. Be careful not

to overtighten the screw as this can
damage delicate wires

Step 19 - Fully seat the nozzle

• Turn on the printer and preheat the

hotend to 220 degrees Celsius

⚠️ The hotend is now at 220 degrees

Celsius. Be extremely careful not to
burn your fingers when tightening the
nozzle and the grub screws

• Hold the heater block with the

adjustable wrench and use the 7mm
socket wrench to tighten the nozzle. If
using torque wrench, set it to 30in-lb
setting
• The heater cartridge might become
loose after initial heat up. Make sure it
is fully tightened. Be careful not to
burn your fingers!

• Tighten the grub screws on the

cooling block. Again, be careful not to
burn your fingers!
Step 20 – Cool down your printer

• Cool down your printer and shut it off

• ⚠️ Make sure the printer is fully cooled down. Turn off and
unplug your printer before finishing installation

Step 21 – Reinstall the fan

• Install the silicone sock

• Reinstall the cooling fan

shroud

Step 22 – Install the filament guide bracket

• Install the filament guide

bracket using provided M3
bolts and nuts
Step 23 – Install the filament guide tube

• Insert the filament guide tube

and secure it with the
provided retaining clip

Step 24 – Connect the motor

• Connect the extruder motor

with the provided custom
extension cord

Step 25 – Finishing the installation

• Secure the cables and

filament guide tube with zip
ties
Step 26 – Adjusting origin offsets

After the installation, X and Y origins will be off the bed

Adjustments procedure will depend on a type of the

firmware and the setup you are currently using

Chose the setup you have:

Without any leveling probe installed

Leveling probe installed with generic

or Creality Marlin Firmware

Leveling probe installed with TH3D

Unified Firmware

Step 27 – Fine tune

Extruder steps/mm needs to be calibrated.

Good starting point is 130 steps/mm

• Download this custom G-code file to your SD card and run it

in your printer. This will set the steps/mm to 130.

• For best results, you will have to fine tune the extrusion
multiplier/flow rate in your slicer.

The installation is now complete!

Tips and Tricks

• Reduce the retraction amount. Maximum recommended retraction is 1.5mm @ 35mm/sec.
• With All Metal Hotend, the nozzle temperature might need to be increased by 5-10 °C.
• Make sure the Z-axis rail wheels are adjusted properly to eliminate rail sagging.
• Download and print the Extruder Knob from Thingiverse. This makes the manual filament
changing process very easy.

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