Anet A8 LED Illumination MOD

LED Illumination MOD for the Anet A8. You don't need to print anything!

I'm always trying to get the best result with minimal effort, and this is the perfect example. On Thingiverse you can find some structures made for support leds for your printer.. but are they really needed? Led strips have an adhesive layer on its back, and the small 3528 leds are mounted on an 8 mm wide strip that is exactly the width of the Anet acrylic frame.

I used 3528 led strips to illuminate my Anet A8 while printing. I also added a small led strip chunk under the extruder assembly to have a brighter view of the current printing job. This is controlled by OctoPrint and a 2-relay board, but you can simply use a rocker switch getting power from the power supply.

Video showing how it works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMFnYT3vU9w

Info on how to use a relay board with OctoPrint: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1428478

Check out all my Anet A8 projects:

• Anet A8 Prusa i3 Simple filament guide (Horizontal) http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1764285
• Anet A8 RPi Camera Bed mount http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1867549
• Anet A8 Y Axis Cable Chain v2 http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1915486
• Anet A8 hotbed thermal insulation http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1917197
• Anet A8 Power supply cover w\LCD power meter http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2087761
• Anet A8 Z-Axis RPi Camera mount for panning timelapses http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2265949
• Anet A8 LED Illumination MOD http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2285674
• The One - Anet A8 - Universal Spool Holder https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2456038
• Anet A8 Easy Magnetic Extruder Access Mod (8x2 magnets) https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3512382

Post-Printing

What you need

• 1m 3528 led strip (perferably waterproof, but not mandatory)
• 1m red\black thin wires (actually any color is ok, but I like to keep it consistent)
• 30 cm red\black wires (a bit thicker)
• heat shrink tubing (optional but recommended)
• (if using OctoPrint) 2-channel relay board like this one http://www.gearbest.com/power/pp_348958.html
• (if not using OctoPrint) a rocker switch of your choice

Installation

1. Cut the led strip in chunks as follow:

• 2x 30 cm
• 1x 25 cm
• 1x 5 cm (you will also have a spare 10 cm strip for some other projects)

1. Cut the 1m wire in chunks as follow:

• 1x 75 cm
• 2x 10 cm
• 1x 3 cm

1. Solder wires and led strips as follow:

• extruder assembly: 75 cm wire -> 5 cm led strip
• left frame: 10 cm wire -> 30 cm led strip
• top and right frame: 10 cm wire -> 25 cm led strip -> 30 cm led strip (see picture) Use heat shrink tubes to protect solder points.

Since 3528 led strips and the Anet frame are both 8mm wide, you don't need to print anything: simply use the strip adhesive back to place the chunks in place. See pictures to correctly place the one under the extruder assembly and the top-right angle. You can use the existing cable organizer to carry the wire from the extruder assembly to the top of the frame.

Once placed, you should have all wires behind the top left angle of the frame. Carry power there from the relay board using the thicker 30 cm wire chunk. Connect all red wires together and all black wires together with the method you prefer (I used those transparent screw caps)

If you aren't using OctoPrint, carry the power directly from the power supply or from the main board power wires, putting a rocker switch in between.

The extruder assembly light

Don't forget the heat shrink tube!

Strip for the left frame (at the top) and the top-left one (bottom)

Place the 5 cm led strip under the extruder assembly, near the screw

Use the existing cable organizer for the led strip wire

Led strips on left-top-right frame

Angle detail (out of focus, sorry)

Where all wires come together (out of focus again :-)

Go through the hole to have that stuff out of sight

My setup with a Raspberry Pi 3 B for OctoPrint, a 2-channel relay board and 2 MOSFETs

All the mess hidden :D

Here is how it works

Support me

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Category: 3D Printer Accessories