Heat bed & Z axis mod

thingiverse

I wanted a side chain bed wiring mod and something to stabilize the Z axis. I wasn't finding exactly what I wanted but saw 3 different things that had elements of what I wanted. This is a remix of 3 different things by silentcarrier (2765233 wide chain and bed mount), malakid (2832253 bearing mount), and svideo (1864625 side cover with z mount). I also stole the idea of a hex grid cooling vent from falconman (1975491). I liked the idea of a wider chain so the connectors don't need to be removed to fish wires. I modified silentcarrier's chain so it had a larger radius to the curve of the chain and it meets nicely with the height of the bed. I also tweaked on his bed mount to work a little better for my needs. Install with 2 3mm X 15mm bolts with nuts. Be sure to lean it to the outside of the bed as you tighten it or it can interfere with the heated bed. It's a close fit. I don't want zip ties holding bearings on (looks tacky) so I grabbed malakid's mount and tweaked it so it lined up properly. Use the original screws to mount the base. 4 3/8" #4 wood screws to mount the bearing cover. As I said, I wanted the Z stabilizer AND the side chain so I needed a different side cover. Svideo had a rather plain one that would screw on over the metal original so I scraped the mount off the side of it and rebuilt it a bit beefier and made the cover itself a bit larger so there was room to add a mount for the chain. I don't use the USB connector and plan to use a micro SD extension cable once it arrives from China so the chain mount coming close to those was not an issue for me. Even with the chain right there, the USB and SD slot are still accessible. I made the side cover a 2 part design so it can be printed on the Mini. I included a passive cooling vent in the left section of the cover so it helps direct cooling air from the fan through the base and across the main logic board. This side cover can be installed in place of the metal original using the original screws so you won't need to drill and dremel a hole in the metal plate for the wires as would have been required if I just used svideo's design unmodified. It also has tabs to help hold the halves solidly together and stiffen the Z mod as much as possible. The tabs fit snuggly and require some trimming with an x-acto knife where they mushroom a bit against the print bed. Be sure to use zip ties as shown in the pic to keep the wires stationary where they exit the drag chain. I am including a 1 piece side cover for those who have another printer with a larger bed. Choose 1 or the other (not both). The Z axis mod is designed for an 8mm X 300mm rod. You'll use the original screws to install the side cover and 2 3mm X 10mm bolts with nuts to mount the rod. You may also need a few 3mm flat washers to shim the top or bottom of the side cover so the rod is parallel to the tower. I needed 1 washer on each of the top 3 screws. I printed everything with supports. You may not need them but that's your call. It can be a bit tricky getting the support material dug out of the chain mount on the side cover. I pulled off what I could get fairly easily and then knocked the rest lose with a screwdriver and pulled it out towards the front with needle nose pliers. The same for the Z rod hole. Knock it lose with a small screwdriver or allen wrench and pull it. The bed mount prints best upside down. Parts list ======= 1- 8mm X 300mm rod 1- LM8LUU linear bearing 4- 3/8" #4 pan or oval head wood screw 2- 3mm X 10mm bolt 2- 3mm X 15mm bolt 4- 3mm nut or locknut Enough wire to add 6" to both the bed heater and the thermistor. ** you may need 3 to 6 3mm flat washers for shims I printed using Monoprice PLA+ with extruder temp of 200 and bed temp of 45. The initial layer is 210 and 50 to aid adhesion. I have the stock V2 hot end and a glass bed with buildtak on it. The chain requires 16 links for this implementation.