Hero Me Gen7 Platform Release4

Hero Me Gen7.4 is a modular printhead platform for 3D printers with excellent part cooling and the most compatibility across 3D printers, hot ends, extruders, ABLs, and other components.

The Hero Me Gen7 is all about choice and personal preference. If you have been upgrading your 3D printer, you've made choices about what is important to you, Your choices are likely going to be different from everyone else. When choosing a hot-end, extruder, and ABL combo (not to mention fans and accelerometers), where are you going to find a printhead platform that will accommodate all your selected components (which could be a rare combo), for your specific 3D printer AND provides part cooling that gives you great print results. This is what the Hero Me Gen7 is all about!

The Hero Me Gen7 printhead platform replaces your 3D printer's stock printhead as supplied by the manufacturer. Most stock printhead components, such as the hot end, bed level sensor, and fans can be reused with the Hero Me if desired, or completely replaced with higher quality 3rd party components.
 

Think of the Hero Me platform as Lego blocks for printhead assemblies, there are mounting parts for each component (hot end, extruder, fans, ABL sensors, etc.) that stack and mount to the core Hero Me Base. Component-specific mounting parts can be interchanged for another of the same type. So, should you change your component selection(s) in the future, you do not have to start over, you simply replace the single STL mount that is matched to the new component. There is no need to yet again go looking for a new set of mounting hardware that was not likely to have been designed to work with each other in the first place.

Updated Aug 3rd, 2023:
 

Hero Me Gen7 Documentation: You can get a detailed 56-page parts selection and illustrated assembly guide by supporting me here on Printables by clicking on the orange Support and Join Club button in the left column for as little as $5 here on Printables or if you prefer Patreon or Thangs.

If you become an All-Access Club supporter, you also get assembly videos, private Discord server access, direct technical support, as well as exclusive access to new releases 30 days before being posted to Printables, Thangs, and other STL libraries.   Membership is available via Printables or Patreon or Thangs.

Or if you prefer, you can purchase the Hero Me Gen7 parts selection and illustrated assembly guide in the Printables Store here: https://www.printables.com/model/529268-hero-me-gen74-documentation

UPDATED July 14th, 2023: 

Uploaded Hero Me Gen7 Release 4. This release has 187 new STLs and 50 updated STLs since Release 3 and a total of 328 new and updated STLs since Release 2.

• 29 new 3D Printers/models and X carriage options
• 16 new Hot ends
• 8 new Extruders
• 6 new ABL sensors/probes
• Plus many improved STLs. 

Check out the V1.6 Change Log and 7.4 Printer-Component support docs for all the details.

Here is the latest install and review of the Hero Me Gen7 by Michael from TeachingTech! (Starts at the 4 minute mark)

Below is a 10-minute overview of the Hero Me platform when I spoke with Joel the 3D Printing Nerd at RMRRF in April 2023.

So to give you a choice and fulfill your personal preferences in 3D printing, the Hero Me Gen7.4 now supports over 115 3D Printer models (plus clones), 47 Hot Ends, 37 Extruders (over 45 mount options), 20 ABL Sensors (34 mount options), 35 Part Cooling Duct options, 12 Cable Management options, 14 ADXL345 mounts, and 4 LED bar mounts (among many other options).

Watch this clip for proof that the Hero Me provides the best part cooling possible.

https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkx0NFEqadxJbh9YY3L7-5i9Ui0j1Av_cl3

Can your printer do this? 240mm, no support, no sagging. With part cooling like this, the Hero Me Gen7 can properly cool anything you print.

Documentation: The Zip file containing all the Hero Me Gen7 STLs is organized into folders by component category, with sub-folders by Brand and Type. Individual STLs have very descriptive filenames to make it easy to find the parts you need. If you want detailed illustrated documentation to help you select and assemble the Hero Me Gen7 for your specific 3D printer, you can get a 56-page parts selection and illustrated assembly guide by supporting me here on Printables by clicking on the orange Support and Join Club button in the left column of in my Profile view https://www.printables.com/@MediaMan3D for as little as $5 or on Patreon.

If you become an All-Access supporter for just $5 more, you also get assembly videos, private Discord server access, direct technical support, as well as exclusive access to new releases (including Gen7.3 and more) 30 days before being posted to Printables, Thangs, and other STL libraries. In my Profile view here on https://www.printables.com/@MediaMan3D or  https://patreon.com/MediaMan3D or  https://thangs.com/designer/MediaMan3D

X Carriage Weight: For those who may think that the Hero Me is heavy, I can see why you think that, but the Hero Me is comparatively quite light. A full complement of printed parts (with threaded inserts) for a dual fan, hot end/direct drive configuration, with ABL, ADXL, and LED mounts is just under 87 grams.

The Hero Me Gen7 is lighter in total weight than many stock printhead setups and most other replacement setups. A simple Bowden setup with no ABL can be as few as just 4-5 printed parts. A fully loaded printhead with hot end, extruder, ABL, dual fans, ADXL345, LED, and wire management is only 12 printed parts.

4/28/2023: Here is a new interview with Daniel of Crosslink that provides a great overview of the Hero Me platform:

3D Printers & Components Supported by Hero Me Gen7.4
 

Over 115 3D Printer Models/X Carriages Supported:

• 3DFused V1, V2, V3, CoreXY, Master X carriage
• Alfawise U20-U30

• Anet ET4, ET5, E10, A8

• Anycubic Vyper, Chyron, Mega S, Mega Zero, Kobra Go
• BigTreeTech HermitCrab
• BIQU B1
• BLV Ender 3 Linear Rail Upgrade
• BLV MGN Metal Cube
• CR-6SE*
• CR-10, V2, V3
• CR-10 Mini
• CR-10S, S4, S5

• CR-10S Pro, Pro V2, Pro V3
• CR-20
• CR-MAX

• Ender 2 Pro
• Ender 3
, 
• Ender 3 Pro
• Ender 3 Neo*
• Ender 3X

• Ender 3 V2
• Ender 3 V2 Neo
*
• Ender 3 MAX
, 
• Ender 3 Max Neo*
• Ender 5, 5 Pro, 5 Plus

• ENDER 6 CoreXY

• Elegoo Neptune 2, 2S, x
• Elegoo Neptune 3*, 3 Pro*, 3 Plus*, 3 Max*
• Eryone Thinker SE
• Exoslide

• Geeetech A10, A20, A30
• HyperCube
• Kingroon KPS3
• Kywoo
• Labists ET4
• Lantro
• Linear Rails MGN9-H, MGN12-C, MGN12-H 

• Longer LK1, LK5 Pro
• Mercury One
• Micro Swiss DD kits (Ender 3, Ender 5, Exoslide, Linear Rails)

• OpenBuilds Mini V

• PrinterMods xChange & MDD kit V1.2, V1.3
• RepRap i3 Clones
• Prusa MK3S/+*
• SainSmart Coreception 300
• Sovol SV01, SV02, SV05
, SV06, SV06 Plus
• Sunlu S8

• Tevo Tarantula Pro, Tornado

• Tronxy X5SA Pro

• Two Trees Bluer, Sapphire Pro, Plus
• Wham Bam MUTANT

• Wham Bam Universal X carriages (v-wheel, linear rails)
• Voron 2.4, Switchwire-Afterburner

• Voxelab Aquila-Pro

• ZYLTech Gear V3

• Most clones of Creality CR & Ender printers

 * Printer models listed above with an Asterix may have limited support. The 3D printer model and its X carriage are fully supported, but a component (most likely the stock hot end) of the stock printhead assembly may not be compatible with the Hero Me Gen7 Base or other assemblies. Replacing the stock part with a 3rd party equivalent component will resolve this.

47+ Hot End Brands and Models Supported: 

• Anycubic Vyper V5 Stock
• Creality Stock MK8 (2 screw mount)
• Creality CR-10S Pro (2 screw mount)
• Creality Spider (350c max)
• Creality Spider High Temp (500c max)
• Creality Spider 3 Pro
• Creality Spider 4 Pro (Speedy Ceramic)
• E3D-Online V6 & Volcano
• E3D-Online Revo Six (aka Prusa MK3)
• E3D-Online Revo Micro (aka Mini)
• E3D-Online Revo Voron
• E3D-Online Revo CR
• Haldis Red Lizard K1 V6 (Dragon)
• Haldis Red Lizard K1 Pro-HF-UHF
• Haldis Red Lizard V5, V5 Pro
• Generic MK8
• Generic J-Head V5, V6
• Micro Swiss All Metal CR-10, 10S Pro
• Neptune Stock
• Phaetus Dragon
• Phaetus Dragonfly BMO-BMS-HIC
• Phaetus Rapido (aka ST, HF)
• Phaetus Rapido Plus (aka UHF)
• Phaetus X Voron Dragon ST-HF-UHF
• Phaetus TaiChi
• Slice Engineering Copperhead
• Slice Mosquito, Magnum, Magnum+
• Slice Mosquito for Creality
• TriangleLab Dragon SF-HF
• TriangleLab Rapido HF-UHF
• TriangleLab TCHC CHC, CHC Pro, PT1000 Pro
• TriangleLab TCHC TR6
• TriangleLab CHC Mini
• Clones of any hotends above

37+ Extruder Brand and Models Supported:

• Advanced 3D Printing FXD
• Bondtech BMG (and mirror)
• Bondtech BMG-M (and mirror)
• BMG Mini (clone)
• Bondtech LGX
• Bondtech LGX Lite
• Creality Stock Single and Dual Gear
• Creality E-Fit
• E3D-Online Titan
• EZR Struder
• HextrudORT
• Kingroon Titan Clone
• Micro Swiss DD kits: Ender 3, 5, Linear Rail, Exoslide • Micro Swiss Dual Gear
• Orbiter V1.5 & V2.0 (and mirrors)
• PrinterMods MDD Kit
• Phaetus APUS
• Sailfin A, B, Sherpa Variants
• Sherpa Mini
• Sherpa Micro
• Sovol SV01 stock
• Sovol SV06 stock
• Vz-HextrudORT
• TriangleLab TBG-Lite
• TriangleLab TBG-S
• Voron, Switchwire-Afterburner
• Clones of any extruders above (look-alikes may not fit)

20+ Auto Bed Level (ABL) Sensors Supported:

• Beacon3D
• BLTouch
• CR Touch
• Creality OEM
• Euclid Probe
• EryONE ER-20
• EZABL Pro
• EZABL Pro Mini & Micro
• HallON
• PINDA
• PL-08N, XY-08M, SN04-N
• Touch Mi
• TA Sensor
• Omron Sensor
• 8mm, 12mm & 18mm sensors
• Clones of any ABL sensors above

Heat Sink and Part Cooling Fans Supported:

• 4010 radial fan (single and dual)
• 4020 radial fan (single and dual)
• 5015 radial fan (single and dual)
• 5020 radial fan (single and dual)
• 4010 & 4020 axial fans for heat sink cooling

There are also 14 mounts for various ADXL345 accelerometer PCBs and other options like endoscope cameras and analog dial gauges.

If there is a generally known component (hot end, extruder, etc.) that is not listed in this document, it is either not compatible (too large, etc.) or has not yet been tested.

The Hero Me Gen7 does not support any of the integrated extruder/hot ends, this includes but may not be limited to the following: Creality S1 Sprite, Micro Swiss NG, E3D-Online Titan Aero, BIQU H2, E3D-Online Hemera, and the Bondtech LGX Shortcut. These extruder/hot ends setups are all too large, too wide, to fit into a Hero Me Base. I will be developing specific part cooling ducts based upon the Hero Me with ABL/ADXL345 mounts for as many of these integrated extruder/hot ends as is possible. ETA sometime in the Fall of 2024.

Huge Community of Support: There are now over 700 remixes, adaptations, and compatible add-on parts for the Hero Me Gen7 cooling system from the community via remixes and mods here:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3433619/remixes
https://www.thingiverse.com/mediaman/collections/hero-me-cooling-systems
https://www.printables.com/social/56045-mediaman3d/collections/113081

Hero Me Gen7.4 Documentation

If you skipped it earlier, the Zip file containing all the Hero Me Gen7 STLs is organized into folders by component category, with sub-folders by Brand and Type. Individual STLs have very descriptive filenames to make it easy to find the parts you need. If you want detailed illustrated documentation to help you select and assemble the Hero Me Gen7 for your specific 3D printer you can get a detailed 56-page parts selection and illustrated assembly guide by supporting me here on Printables by clicking on the orange Support and Join Club button in the left column for as little as $5 or on Patreon.

If you become an All-Access Club supporter, you also get assembly videos, private Discord server access, direct technical support, as well as exclusive access to new releases 30 days before being posted to Printables, Thangs, and other STL libraries.   Here on Printables or Patreon or  Thangs.

YouTube Videos about the Hero Me

Jim of The Edge of Tech visits me at the Rocky Mountain Rep Rap Festival in April (3 minute clip starts at 56:30): 

I was a guest on Grant Posner's 3D Musketeers Making Awesome YouTube Channel. We talked about the Hero Me, Prusa MUTANT upgrade, other 3D printing topics and plenty of live Q&A. I hope you can attend. When it comes to part cooling, everybody deserves a Hero!

Here is an example of Hero Me Gen7 performance compared to other cooling solutions. Note that a Dual 5015 fan setup in the Hero Me Gen7 never needs to be more that 70% power, and most commonly at 40-50% to get best airflow and all around cooling with the benefit of super quiet printing.

Kris from Kersey Fabrications lists the Hero Me as one of the Top 5 upgrades for the Ender 5. Check out the video below:

Thanks and Credits

I would like to thank Hangtight for his work on converting the Hero Me STLs into STEP files (available to my Patreon supporters).

I would like to thank ACWest for providing his awesome part cooling ducts to be part of the Hero Me Gen7 Master Suite. His cooling ducts have been CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) tested and validated to have the optimum focused airflow across the part at the tip of the nozzle.

Thanks to Kelokera for the original Hero Me design
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3092044

Thank you for choosing the Hero Me Gen7 to be part of your 3D printing experience! Please post your feedback, make, or remix on the Hero Me Gen7 project and share this with your 3D printing friends!

If you like my designs or want documentation and support, please consider supporting me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/MediaMan3D

Printing Instructions

Rafts: No
Supports: Yes
Resolution: .2mm
Perimeters: 3-4
Infill: 35% to 50%
Filament_brand: Any
Filament_color: Any
Filament_material: PLA, PETG, ASA, ABS, PC- CF, PA-CF, PC, Nylon

The Hot end mounts must NOT be printed in PETG (to much natural flex). Print the Hot end mounts in either PLA+, ASA, ABS, PA-CF, or PC-CF.

The Skirt must be printed in at least PETG, or preferably ASA, ABS, PA-CF, or PC-CF.

While Part Cooling Ducts can be printed in PLA+ (requires the use of a silicone sock on the heat block), I recommended printing the Ducts in at least PETG, or preferably ASA, ABS, PA-CF, or PC-CF.

Set infill to be between 35% and 50%. Use automated supports from the build plate only (these can be sparse; you need LESS support than you think!).

The lightweight cooling ducts can use a few well-placed supports just inside the part (NOT inside the duct).

I highly recommend using a silicone sock for your hot-end in all cases.