My AM8 Build

thingiverse

This is a document dump of everything that went into converting my (already heavily-modified) Anet A8 to (an improved version of) an AM8. I retained the A8 upgrades that made sense to keep, while taking the opportunity to improve on the original's hodgepodge aesthetic by standardizing on one color: purple. I ordered my frame kit here: https://all3dmakers.com/collections/bear-upgrade-kit/products/am8-color-frame-upgrade-for-the-anet-a8 It drop-shipped from Hong Kong, but still only took maybe three or four days to arrive in Las Vegas. With one of these in hand and a printout of all of the STLs in this post, you can upgrade your printer. (I'd recommend getting some additional M5x8 and M5x10 button-head screws and M5 hammer nuts, as I ran out of the included hardware. I've also had a Hypercube build in the works for a while now, so I just raided what I needed from that.) I printed the plastic bits in eSun solid-purple PETG: https://amzn.to/2DR27Aw Some signficant differences between the stock A8 (or AM8) and mine: * Re-ARM and RAMPS 1.6 instead of the A8 motherboard (mine croaked about one month in) * Toshiba FlashAir SD card plugged into the Re-ARM (through an adapter) is visible on my LAN as a WebDAV share, making firmware upgrades easy (the no-name cards are anywhere from more troublesome to impossible to get working, while this was easy) * 200W bed heater, switched by a fairly large MOSFET board * HP 750W server power supply * 5V buck converter to power a Raspberry Pi 3 B+ running OctoPrint and a BLTouch * bowden extruder and E3D-knockoff hotend with 3D Passion titanium heatbreak (works like the full E3D kit, costs a fraction as much) * BLTouch bed sensor (don't buy the knockoffs; they're imprecise hot garbage) * self-rewinding spoolholder to keep your filament from getting tangled I've included the original AM8 build document in this package for reference; it'll mostly still apply here. The printer's not 100% done yet, but it's to a point where it's running and able to upgrade itself again. The last photo shows an underbed Y-axis cable chain that I got dialed in once the printer was reassembled...you can find it at https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4037725. Notes ===== Most parts are printed with the PrusaSlicer defaults for PETG, including 20% infill. For load-bearing parts like belt tensioners, you might want to go to 60-80% infill and/or higher extruder temperature. I ended up printing the spoolholder nut scaled 101% on X and Y so it'd spin onto the axle somewhat freely. 102% might be even better. This scaling wasn't necessary when I've printed this part previously in ABS or PLA. Since holes in PETG tend to print a bit on the small side, you might want to chase the holes for the Y- and Z-axis rods with an 8-mm drill bit.