I am new into 3d-Printing and just got an Ender 3 Pro a month ago.

I wanted a clean printer with no cables hanging around. The design from johnniewhiskey is great. But i also wanted to add a cable chain on the x-axis.

I tried some extruder and hotend mountings and it worked but i was not satisfied. I searched on Thingiverse for a design. But there is no design i know that allows to move the z-axis to 250mm. There is no design that prints without support.

There are great designs for mounting the cable chain on the front, BUT it can be a pain to install it because of the cable lenght and routing.

So here is my design:

Slim X Axis Cable Chain for Ender 3 Pro

Full Z-heigt

Full X-width

Great filament guide

Absolute clean design

No supports for printing

Be careful when printing on full height, there may be some conflict from the cable chain with the ptfe-tubing!!!

I used the cable chain parts for the other axis from:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2920060

And the cable links from:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3491926 (do not use his bed spacers and mount!!!)

Instructions

Requirements

Material

6x slim cable ties (mine were 1mm x 2.5mm)

1x m6 push fit (optional, came as a spare)

1x piece of ptfe-tube about 25mm long (optional, cut it from your bowden)

Tools (all shipped with the ender)

blue cuter

allen keys

wrench

Print

1x hotend mount

1x extruder mount

16x slim links

16x slim link covers

Cable chain from thingiverse for Y and Z axis. As mentioned above.

Installation

Preparation

Make shure all the links are moving freely. Especially at the mountings!

#1

Cut the cable ties that hold the tube and the cables together.

Remove the filament out of your system.

#2

Unscrew the springt and remove it from the extruder.

Remove the extruder lever.

#3

Install the hotend-mount and secure the cable with cable ties.

Install the slim cable links with covers (16x) on the cable and attach it to the hotend-mount.

#4

Unscrew the two bolts from the lead-screw-nut and take them apart. Pay attention not to loose the 4 smal spring washers.

The lead-screw-nut must rest in place!

#4

Guide the extruder-mount over your lead-screw.

Place your cable on the inside of the extruder-mount and add some cable ties, do not tighten them yet!

#5

Wiggle the extruder mount in place. If you have the stock extruder pay attention to the cable claws (pictures) and guide it in there first.

#6

Reinsert the two screws for the lead-screw-nut to secure the extruder mount. Allign the mount before thightening.

IMPORTANT: Only use the 2 spring washers on the bottom!

If you have proper alignment of your complete Z-rod and extruder bracket you can assemble it without the spring washers

#7

Attach the cable chain on the extruder mount and secure the cable ties next to the x-axis. Make sure ther cable is not too tight or too lose in the chain.

Secure the lower cable ties for the z-chain.

#8 (optional)

Screw in the ptfe-push-fit and add some tubing.

You may could remove any printed filament guide on top of the printer.

#9

Reasemble your extruder in the oposite direction. The lever first and then the spring.

#10

Add cable chain for your z-axis. As mentioned above.

Whatch picture for routing the cables.