ABW-3DA8 Easy Filament Access Gate and Fan Cover

myminifactory

06-October-2019 This is a remix of my original "Easy Filament Access Gate." The extruder wires always seemed vulnerable to me, so after having a heater block work loose, I decided the wires needed support, and also wanted them to look tidier. I've got rid of separate add-on fan covers and added a right side panel that covers the motor and has a clip to hold the extruder wires. At the top, there are two holes to allow a zip tie to be threaded and hold the wires in place - above it, I made a piece that fits the right top bearing block, which I extended the holes on because I found some bearings slightly different but mainly to allow it to slide right over the lower clip. The filament access gate always seemed liable to pop open; the arm can't get much longer and just enters the metal carrier. I've removed the heat sink - never needed, but added a top cover to keep out dust and dirt. This allows the fan to blow out any filament chipping off the toothed extrude pulley wheel. As a newbie, I found it hard getting to change filament; this gate makes it easy, and with practice, if your Anet board allows "Pause Printing," you can change filament color and continue printing - just do it within 30 seconds, so prepare everything for the changeover. Being aware that we all like to customize our add-ons, I've included both gate and cover designs that allow the use of your own or other fan covers. This thing was made with Tinkercad.