Bowden setup places extruder on printer’s frame and doesn’t weigh down the carriage. Direct drive setup places extruder above the nozzle.
We’ve explained already what direct drive printers can do, so let’s focus on pros and cons for the Bowden. First and foremost – since the extruder is placed farther from the printhead, it requires more powerful motor. This makes your device rather expensive in maintenance and re-setting. Bowden extrusion type limits your filament choice, flexible materials can damage the tubes they travel through. We also find it rather inconvenient that Bowden extrusion takes more time to respond to your set ups and changes you’ve made throughout the printing process.
On the bright side, Bowden method is mostly used to build grand projects that can’t be build with the use of direct drive extrusion. We also find it beneficial how it allows to have a quiet printing process with less motor vibrations and cleaner cuts.