Wanhao Duplicator i3 Y-Axis extension

thingiverse

This modification allows for a 200x300mm heated bed to work on a Wanhao i3 Duplicator. You will need the following parts: MK2A 300x200x3.0mm PCB Aluminum Heatbed If you search for this term on aliexpress, you'll find it (MK2A 3002003.0mm RepRap RAMPS 1.4 PCB Aluminum Heatbed heated bed MK3 For 3D Printer / MK2B 300x200x3.0mm). Aluminum Y Carriage Plate XL 300x200mm You can find it by searching for this term on aliexpress (Large Size Aluminum Y Carriage Plate XL 300x200mm Prusa i3 RepRap 3D Printer Upgrade). 8mm x 500mm Linear Shaft Search for this term on aliexpress to find it (HOT OD 8mm x 500mm Cylinder Liner Rail Linear Shaft Optical Axis chrome For 3D Printer Accessory). GT2-6mm open timing belt You can search for this term on aliexpress to find it (3d printer parts Hot sale 2meter GT2-6mm open timing belt width 6mm GT2 belt 2GT). These parts should cost less than $100AUD or about $75USD. To start, you'll need to print two front extensions. One will be a mirror image of the other. Then, you'll want to print a mirrored image of the plain extension back and a normal version of the extension back with limit switch. Make sure to orient these parts in your slicer, as the STL files are straight out of CAD and not on the most efficient plane. You may notice some supports designed into the front extensions; they can be removed easily and make all the difference. After everything is printed, follow these steps: First, remove the heated bed from the Y carriage and put it to one side. Then loosen the build plate drive belt, and remove the front and rear panels from the printer, removing the bearing rods as you go. Remove the bearing blocks from your Y carriage, then place it on top of your new extended Y carriage as a template for drilling your new bearing block holes. I used a 5mm drill so as to allow for adjustment; it just made things more forgiving. Next, mount your bearing blocks loosely... we'll tighten them later. Then, make up a new drive belt for your Y carriage using the old cable tie method and feed it over your stepper pulley and idler wheel. At this point, I'd see if everything moves freely; if so, i'd get my Y carriage nice and straight, then tighten the bearing block screws up firmly. Next, you want to remove the temp sensor, corner mounting bolts, and power wires from your original heat bed. Once removed, solder the heated bed power wires to an appropriate power connector. Check that your new heat bed is nice and flat; if it's warped, bend it back into shape as best you can, then grind it flat using emery paper on a sheet of glass. Solder two heavy gauge wires to the base of your new heat bed, and connect them to the matching connector that you used from your control box. Tape the temperature sensor back to the underside using kapton tape and secure the connector and cable to the Y carriage using either a cable tie or more tape. Now put the corner mounting screws, washers, and springs back, and mount your heated bed to the Y carriage. You can fiddle around doing all the z-axis bracing later; there are countless tutorials on how to do that. The next problem is that the heated bed won't get to 90 degrees C without modding the drive voltage. Luckily this is simple and takes about 5 minutes: just take the back off the control box, loosen the four large screws underneath it, and slide the power supply out. On the corner of the power supply beside the row of joiners is a trimpot; turning this all the way clockwise will bump the supply up to 14 volts which will do the trick perfectly. To get the printer to recognize the extra 100mm of travel, you'll want to connect your printer via USB and use repetier. Once connected, you should be able to see your printers EEPROM settings and modify them; just change the Y axis travel from 200mm to 300mm and hit OK. If you don't already have it, you can download it from here: http://www.repetier.com/ If you're a perfectionist, it's time to cable tie all the wires out of harms way and rework the conduit around the looms; then take it for a test print and enjoy your extra length.