WANHAO Duplicator i3 Z-Axis extension

thingiverse

I decided to extend the Z axis on my Wanhao i3 printer as it was eager to print some rather tall teardrop lampshades. The whole process is very simple and only requires about $40 worth of parts, you will need: 1.5 meters of 60 x 3mm equal mill aluminum angle. This can be found pretty readily at window manufacturers and good hardware stores. Two T8 8mm screw length 500mm pitch 2mm lead 8mm trapezoidal screw with 1pcs brass copper nut http://www.aliexpress.com/item/T8-8mm-screw-length-500mm-picth-2mm-lead-8mm-trapezoidal-screw-with-brass-copper-nut-T8/32695471104.html?spm=2114.01010208.3.50.4sfxjz&ws_ab_test=searchweb201556_8,searchweb201602_5_10057_10056_10055_10037_10049_10059_10032_10058_10017_10060_10061_10062_10063_412,searchweb201603_1&btsid=0ba87918-6766-4968-ba09-ad2caf842c50 Two 8mm L600mm linear shaft OD 8mm x 600mm Cylinder Liner Rail Linear Shaft Optical Axis cnc parts http://www.aliexpress.com/item/New-8mm-L600mm-linear-shaft-OD-8mm-x-600mm-Cylinder-Liner-Rail-Linear-Shaft-Optical-Axis/32355714675.html?spm=2114.13010608.0.58.IAWctS You will also need a about 30 M3 x 8mm socket head screws A 2.5mm drill and an M3 tap (or if you can't justify buying a tap just drill the holes out and use nuts from behind)* A 1.6mm (or 1.5mm if you ream the hole slightly) drill and an M2 tap* The original cable chains are enclosed and require the wire be fed through them which would mean removing the connectors from the end of the wires. So I designed some open top extensions to fit into the original Z axis cable chain, this negates the need to disassemble the loom connectors. I fitted one of the open topped extensions between each original so that there was no chance of the cables popping out, you will need 20 of these. A second Z axis chain for the opposite side will also need to be printed, but this one can be enclosed as it is easy to remove the connector and feed the wire through. Then just thread your cable through the chain and wire things back the way they were. I'm using a 20x30mm build plate, but this cable chain should work just as well on the 20x20mm beds, it just might require a few less links, so experiment before bolting things into place. REMEMBER! when printing the cable links make sure that you get your orientation right, you want the lobes at the end of the chains to face upward, otherwise the chain will overextend back onto itself! To cut the rod, measure your old bearing rod against your old feed screw. You then add this distance to the length of your new feed screw and use this to mark and cut your new bearing rod. After doing this I realised that it would be a piece of cake to give the heater bed cable the same treatment as it was infuriatingly cumbersome and easily snagged. I simply printed another 22 closed cable chain pieces, designed a bottom bracket that clamps onto the steel frame, and a top bracket that mounts to the bottom of the build plate carrier so as to keep things well clear of the heat. The bottom bracket slides over the frame and is held in place with two M3 bolts which tighten into captive M3 nuts. If you have trouble getting the nuts into groove, heating them with a hot soldering iron will do the trick. The top bracket just bolts through the carrier plate using M4 bolts into captive nuts at the bottom of the bracket, again a little heat with the soldering iron helps guide and lock the captive nuts in place.