Filament path
The filament path of the Creality K1 squeezes the filament, especially in the left-rear part of the print bed. Furthermore, this position can also lift/throw down the top panel. Two printable modifications solve this problem. I have decided to use the following mods.
Top Spacer / Raiser
With this mod, the top panel is raised by around 17.5mm. This allows the bowden incl. filament, to pass more freely and does not clamp the filament so firmly during specific movements.
Cable Chain Bowden Clip
The next step is removing the bowden from the cable chain and attaching it onto the cable chain with the clips. This way, the filament is not bent in the tight curves of the cable chain but can deform itself with more freedom. I used a cable tie at the very beginning of the cable chain to fix the bowden. This also facilitates the removal/addition of the top panel.
Fix Cable Chain
Three chain links are inserted reverse. You can see them in the following picture. These are used in the default setup to lead the Bowden out here. However, this causes a problem when you move the print head to the left and then to the back. These three chain links block because they are turned in the wrong direction.
These three links are easy to recognize because they are close to the front, compared to all other links that are close to the chain's back side. To fix the issue, you have to unhook these three links at the beginning and once at the end. Then you can turn them around and hook them back in. After that, the whole chain should look the same.
I have seen this fix here in this YouTube short. In this video, he hangs these links out and puts one of them at the beginning of the chain, which I find is an unnecessary work. Just turning around and maybe take one out is quite enough.
Thanks, Omran Al Sayed for this fix!
Replace Bowden Tube
I have also replaced the standard bowden tube with a reverse bowden tube. This has an inner diameter of 3mm; thus, the filament has more space in the bowden, and the extruder needs less force to pull the filament through the bowden. Furthermore, this change has a positive side effect. The bowden I use is completely transparent, so it's easier to see the current position of the filament and which filament is inserted without having to look at the back of the printer.
