Replicator 2X Hinged Hood

thingiverse

This thing was designed to allow the perspex hood of my Replicator 2X to be raised on a hinge - making it very easy to access the top of the machine without having to lift off the hood. Instructions I started by cutting 4 strips of 18mm plywood - these strips are 45mm wide and form the base which sits on top of the 2X, onto which the perspex hood is attached. These strips were then glued and screwed to form the rectangular frame which sits on top of the 2X. It would of course be possible to cut a sheet of 18mm plywood and then use a jigsaw to cut the central hole. Either way, you have a simple plywood frame covering the top of the 2X. This frame does not need to be plywood so MDF, perspex or another material could be used, however the 18mm depth is important for mounting of hinge components. Once this frame is made it is necessary to cut some dimples on the underside so that the raised bolts of the 2X frame don't cause the plywood frame to be lifted away from the 2X metal frame - you want a snug fit between the plywood frame and the 2X. The hinge blocks on which the hinge rotates are fixed to the standard 2X mounting holes on the top rear. These hinge blocks require M6 x 50mm bolts (cheesehead preferred). These bolts do not need to be super-tight, however it would be wise to apply loctite to the thread to prevent them turning once in place. All hinge attachments are fixed to this plywood frame. The perspex hood is attached by fixing with raised extrusions - no cutting of the perspex hood is required. A very simple prop is attached to a front corner to allow the hood to be raised and kept in place. Further requirements that are required to complete this project are M4, M5 and M6 bolts. I made good use of aluminium rivnuts to hold things together - I felt uncomfortable trusting screws which would have been screwed into the side of the 18mm plywood, so instead drilled right through the 45mm plywood member and captured the M4 bolts using a rivnut - that meant that the stresses of the hinging arrangement weren't dependent on a screwed fixing which could potentially cause plywood to delaminate.