January 6, 2018
Description
I wanted to share an X carriage design for the Anet A8 and other similar printers. The goals are for it to be light weight, have a 40mm part cooling fan, and an accessible hotend.
The part cooling fan I am planning to use for this is the Noctua 40mm however others will fit. Instead of using screws to mount the fan silicone press-in anti-vibration mounts will be used.
https://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NA-SAV4-silicone-anti-vibration-mounts/dp/B071W6KYCG
Please post images if you make them and let me know if something isn't right so I can fix it. Enjoy!
UPDATE: I made a test print of the parts and found that the fan sits 2.5mm below the nozzle. I have temporarily removed the file. I will make some changes and re-upload the file.
UPDATE: 9 Jan 2018
Many changes were done to this thing so all the original files have removed and replaced with the new versions.
ADDITIONAL UPDATE: Made changes to the BLTouch mount, raising it up. NOTE: in the images the BLTouch is shown in it's "sensing" position which is below the nozzle....
ANOTHER UPDATE: The LM8UU bearing were 46mm C-T-C I have also added one the measures 45mm C-T-C. The files are marked accordingly. Please measure yours to determine which fits better...
UPDATE: 11 January 2018
Made some minor changes to the BLTouch mount making it stronger.
UPDATE: 14 January 2018
With some help from Brad on the Anet A8 3D Printer / Unboxing Facebook page, (Thanks!) it turns out that fan shroud will hit the acrylic frame returning to the X endstop switch. So it looks like this might be an AM8 only for the time being. I will be converting one of my Anet A8's over the next couple days to the AM8 and testing this carriage. Upon initial inspection it looks like it should work fine... More to follow...
UPDATE: 18 January 2018
The assembly has been installed on my latest AM8 frame and it works great. This is 67g lighter than the previous assembly I was using.
Since this design is so small it required that the X axis switch be relocated so that it would come into contact with the carriage. The file is now in the list....
UPDATE: 20 January 2018
Today I replaced the fan shroud with a new version. After some testing I found that the original wasn't performing well.The new version is performing much better.
A small modification was added to the original BLTouch mount. An access hole was created in the top. Also a second version of the BLTouch mount was also created. This one turns it 90 degrees to the front.
UPDATE: 24 January 2018
Today I added a new carriage with 2.8mm holes. This will allow you to directly screw 3mm screws into the plastic without the need for the brass inserts. This carriage is for the rod spacing of 45mm...
UPDATE: 17 March 2018 Due to limited air flow through the fan duct I have redesigned it to allow much more air flow. I have been running this new duct on my current printer with great success...
If you decide to print these files please post images and leave a small comment on how it worked for you. If tolerances are to tight or something please let me know so I can fix it. :-)
NOTE: If you appreciate the work I have done please buy me a coffee by clicking on the tip icon. :-)
License:
Creative Commons - Attribution - Non-Commercial