Anycubic Kossel vertex reinforcement

cults3d

I was planning to print some other vertex models from Thingiverse, but they seemed to have too much clearance or didn't fit my 3D model perfectly - it's extremely accurate, so I've found. I started playing around in FreeCAD and discovered that the Anycubic Linear Plus doesn't align its outside arc with the junction of lines extended from inside the extrusions using the method I'm familiar with; it's off by a strange amount that alters the relationship between the extrusions. Once I figured this out, I was able to model a reinforcement bracket that fits extremely snugly and slides into place without any filing needed. I designed this to have a broad shell instead of a skeleton because it's much more rigid. After printing it, I think it looks better too! The bracket has protrusions that go into the extrusions, ensuring consistent alignment. The opening for the vertical extrusion also has two more shallow ones along its sides that allow the part to be snapped into place and then slid (with resistance, it's very snug by design!) down to the horizontal extrusions. The legs are longer than the common models, matching up with the length of the stock vertex parts. You may notice what appears to be a lack of holes in the model - the holes are there, but with a 0.4mm wall on the ends of the vertical holes and a 0.16mm floor on the bottom of the horizontal hole. This is to prevent the need for supports when printing small-side-down as simple bridges will be printed (preview in your slicer to see this). The holes and reliefs are sized for M5 button-head cap-screws, which can be seen in the pictures. If you use all available holes, you'll need 10 screws per bracket. The cube in the pictures was printed after I installed these reinforcements and switched to a flying extruder (and reduced my retractions to 0.4mm). I picked a font that's as close as I could find to the stencil font Anycubic uses. If anyone knows of a free font that's closer, please let me know and I'll switch and regenerate the STLs.