Indicator holder for Monoprice Mini printer

thingiverse

Holding a Harbor Freight digital dial indicator against the stock hot end on a Monoprice Mini or Malyan M200 3D printer is essential for achieving accurate prints. Print Settings: Printer: Monoprice Select Mini Rafts: Doesn't Matter Supports: Yes Notes: To ensure smooth printing, print three rivets with a raft. Printing directly on the bed or with a brim can result in an edge sticking out, causing insertion issues in the holes. The bracket requires support touching the bed for the two spring clip ears. I set supports everywhere for the holder but Cura didn't add any for the clip overhangs, so it should print without. The rivets were printed at 50% infill because they need to be pressed in by hand with a punch or similar tool. How I Designed This: I grew tired of guessing with a sheet of paper. A sheet of paper and feel is too inaccurate for getting the bed really parallel to the printer motion. I didn't want to remove the mount from my Harbor Freight digital indicator, or print the other indicator mount for this printer to see if its mounting holes matched this indicator, so I decided to design a clip-on mount. Then I decided I was going to see if I could make it without needing supports. It only needs supports for the spring clip ears on the bracket. To assemble, push the rivets into the bracket so they're partly protruding on the front side. Twirl a sharp knife in the holes on the back of the holder to remove any flash edge then press onto the rivets. Use a couple of metal punches or similar items to finish pushing the rivets in so they're flush with the back of the bracket. You'll need some pointy tweezers or real small needle nose pliers to get the right spring clip hooked onto the bracket. For leveling this will get the indicator quite close to the left side, right up to the back edge of the front screws and all the way to the right side of the bed. It can't get close to the back edge but that's fine for most printing. The STL for the holder has been slightly modified from the version I printed. Going around the inside corner at one side of the four clips, my printer overshot the turn, making a lump which caused a slightly undersize fit. I cut those edges back some and added small ribs on the outside which should stiffen the clips some. Custom Section: Added one piece version. The one piece version has the indicator raised up and moved to the left a little, as well as being thinner so it will reach closer to the rear of the bed. Getting the right spring clip on may be tricky. Use some long tweezers or small needle nose pliers.