MPMD v1 updated Effector and Carriages

Updates
2026-02-13
I just found my original carriages and effector and remeasured them. They are not very consistent ranging from under 34mm to over 35mm. The spacing of the rods needs to be accurate to ensure dimensional accuracy of the prints. I have designed the spacing of both my effector and carriages to be 34mm which is the outside measurement of the nuts on my carriages (averaged.) If you are using the original carriages these should also be 34mm. If they do not match you need to shim the parts to ensure they do. If for some reason you need a smaller effector rod spacing than the current 34mm, I have a 30mm variation. Just add a note in the comments and I will add it to the files.

2026-02-12
Note: I have not yet tested the new effector and fan shroud. I know my original version, from which this is based, works but I have not yet tested this one.
The Igus carriages, belt clips and 16.5A PS base are currently working on my printer. I also have a borosiicate glass bed on top of my original bed.

I have older versions of these parts on Thingiverse already but I decided to update the parts that I am currently using and put them in a single location. I haven't been using the printer in some time but decided I should get it out and working again.

There are a few other parts I have installed on mine that are not currently on this page. They include

1. magnetic heated bed hole cover (magnetic) : 3492971
2. magnetic bed clips : 3412636
3. magnetic enclosure parts : 3974319
4. extruder shim : 4124046
5. litho frame column shields : 3880713

I have IGUS bushings so the carriages are designed to fit those. They can't be too tight or the carriages will bind on the rods and cause homing and other issues. If you hear an awful grinding sound when the printer tries to home, that could be the issue. I use some snap rings to hold the bushings in place. They need to fit into the grooves but not be too tight. The spacing of the carriage is 34mm which is the same as the spacing for the effector base. This can be increased by adding additional spacers or nuts and washers. each set of effector rods need to be the same length and to be the same distance apart (parallel.)
My belts broke quite some time ago so I replaced them with standard belts. Of course these are not loops so I designed new belt clips to hold the slightly wider and thicker belts. Simply cut the belts to the proper length and slide the ends into the grooves.

To minimize size, the effector is designed to use the fans as walls. I have a 16.5A PS so I have updated my firmware to aegean-odyssey mpmd_marlin_1.1.x This allows me to auto level and calibrate the printer as well as run part cooling fans. To run the part cooling fans I have my main fan wired directly (runs all the time) and the original wiring for it is now split and, is controlling the part cooling fans as per mpmd_marlin_1.1.x
If you are still using the under powered 5A PS I would strongly recommend you move up to a 10A at least. I also run LED lights and had other fans attached, so I went with something a little more substantial.

The effector is designed to hold a V6 heatsink and am looking at using a smaller Kobra heat block and ceramic heater or possibly some other setup that will use the same V6 collar setup. The effector is made up of a base that holds the 3 fans and two top parts that clamp together and hold the hot end in place. I have included a 15mm fan shroud as a test and also included a 4mm shim to extend the shroud to 19mm. Different width shims could be used to get the exact height needed. Just set your Z scale in the slicer to whatever height you need to fit your hot end. I am not sure of how well the design will work. It provides 6 vents to try and encircle the nozzle as best I could. It prints without supports if placed flat on the bed.
The vents for the shroud may be too close for a regular sized heat block. It can be altered if necessary.

I have also included a "Tall Effector Base" that has a couple of advantages over the shorter one.

1. It moves the rod connectors to a lower point which should minimize any Z height loss
2. It will fit a longer heat block like the newer ceramic heaters, without having to add a shim to the shroud. I just need to locate an inexpensive 12V heater. I am waiting on a few parts to see if I can fit a Revo or something similar.

For mounting the effector I am going to use 60mm M3 threaded rods but you can probably just use 30mm (or slightly smaller) M3 bolts. With 30mm you will probably need about 2 nuts on each side to space the bolts so they do not hit in the centre. If your bolts are short they may wobble loose over time.

For anyone that may want to use the effector but are not planning to use part fans I have included some fan blocks which can be used in place of fans to provide the side walls.

I have also included the base that holds the 16.5A PS and the 2 switches that control the LED lights in the columns, as well as the switched AC power socket.

If I have not explained the parts well enough drop a note in the comment section and I will try and add any necessary information.