Prusa i3 Printed, Reinforced Frame

thingiverse

I increased the width from 10mm to 15mm, allowing me to carve 8 mm shafts throughout the frame. Next, I etched M3 hex nut insets for existing holes and added two M8 hex nut insets at the top of side shafts. Finally, I created notches for M8 hex nuts to fit at ends of top and bottom rods and bottoms of side rods. Assembly begins by installing all hex nuts. The insets are tight fitting, so you'll need to pound them into place. Then, file away at connecting sections to ensure a flush mount. Next, assemble the sides by inserting 8 mm threaded rod into chuck of cordless drill and drilling up from bottom, stopping at already inset M8 hex nut and finishing by securing an M8 hex nut at bottom. Assemble both sides before attaching top and bottom middle sections to one side. Using a discarded piece of threaded rod, drill into opposite sidepiece and then reverse rotation to clear shaft. This allows the piece to easily slide into place. Hold M8 nuts in place during these assembly steps. Finally, secure connecting sections with M3 x 16 mm button head hex screws. The rods do a good job locking pieces into place. You may be fine with just one screw positioned farthest from rod. Alternate approach might exclude the bottom rod, which would require cutting notches for M10 y-axis threaded rods to pass through. Removing the bottom rod won't negatively affect structural integrity, but will reduce heft and solidity of piece. Components include: 2 x 370 mm M8 threaded rod (sides) 1 x 225 mm M8 threaded rod (top) 1 x 220 mm M8 threaded rod (bottom)