Anet A8 monolith frame plus new braces and all printer parts refined

thingiverse

Published files are now fully functional, but new enhancements are on their way... This project began as a concept to create one solid main frame for Anet A8 to replace the two loose stock frame parts, but during the verification process I realized it would be much better to design all printer components. Apart from the obvious main improvement - the new front frame, some errors in the original stock version have been corrected and additional enhancements were made. All parts should be backwards compatible, meaning they can mix with the existing stock parts. Update 20.02.2017 The frame and other printer parts are almost complete. I will be laser cutting them soon, and posting the results. A few words about the frame versions: The first frame version is a single piece version of the stock design, with the display mount inside the frame. I added two columns of extra slots at the top on either side of the display for mounting optional accessories (spool holders, filament guides, etc...). If cutting this version, it's a good idea to use the two fixers shown in one of the enclosed pictures to secure the middle section of the vertical trapezoid stock braces to the frame. These fixers are included in the "minimal cut" dxf file. In this file there are some other parts included that should only minimally increase the cost as they are positioned inside the main frame. The second design differs from the first in the top. The top of the frame is used for slots for accessories and options, and in this case the display is mounted on top of the frame (or anywhere else) using the enclosed mounting plate and holder. There is flexibility to place it - from the left to the right side of the frame. There are two versions of this mount, use whichever you like more. I think the slimmer one looks better and is more flexible, leaving more of the accessories slots available. This version is included in the "full_set" file. This file includes all printer parts. If you do not want to print those, just delete what you don't need. One tricky detail: The original stock "walls" of the z-motors cages are cut from 5mm acrylic. Presumably nobody would cut them from 5mm, but I will do everything in one pass of 8mm. This is why there is an 8mm slots version of the frame and a 5 mm slots version of the frame. The difference is at the slots for the z-motor cage. Respectively, there are two versions of the z-motor mounting plates. Please pay attention and use what you need. I designed some simple inserts in case 8mm slots would be used with 5mm thick walls. The "full set" file includes 8mm versions. For now, that's it. Hope you enjoy it. Below is the older text: This is the first version of the one-part front Anet A8 frame. This should replace the two front frame parts, thus fully stabilizing the z-axis and completely eliminating the wobble. This part is to be cut from 8mm thick acrylic plate or similar material. The idea is to be fully compatible with the other parts. There are two small braces to fit and stabilize the middle points of the perpendicular trapezoid braces. These small braces differ for the left and the right side. The holes should fit exactly above the holes in the trapezoid braces, so bolting there should not require drilling. Please remember this is the very first version, and should be improved further. I enclosed an stl file just to get the thing viewable within Thingiverse, but of course it cannot be printed at least due to its size. Please, do not criticize. Another note to the FreeCad file - it is not cleaned up, so a bit messy inside, will fix it soon. The fixation of the braces is shown on the picture with the orange and light blue braces above. There are 2 pairs of square slots for fixing the middle section of improved future version of the trapezoid braces. This is the light blue braces in the picture. The fixing of the stock braces (orange in the picture) goes through the slots pair which is not in line with the others using the additional fixers (coloured red).