EasyHack 3D Printer

This is EasyHack — a full rebuild of an EasyThreed X1 Mini printer into a V-slot machine with Nema 17, Sherpa Mini, J-Head V5 and belt-driven Z. You can reuse the control board and its wiring, the endstops, and the two plates that hold the extruder carriage bearings. Some of the screws are reusable as well. But you can also build it completely from scratch without any of these parts. Build Instructions Print area: X195 Y150 Z190. The first reason for the non-standard print area is the custom 70W heated bed, made from double-sided copper-clad FR-4 (210×150mm) by etching the conductive traces. The second reason is that I didn't want a large and heavy bed. For making the heater, I'll share the files Hot_BED_TOP.lay6 and Hot_BED_BOTTOM.lay6, which open in Sprint Layout, a PCB design program. The layered stack of the bed surface consists of cork insulation, a steel frame with adjustment screws in three planes, the heating element, and a regular 4mm mirror measuring 170×227mm, matching the frame size. The bed base (carriage) — file Carriage.m3d for Kompas-3D — is made from a milled 4mm plate with a large number of lightening holes. The base (carriage) size is 223×162mm, with holes for either 3 or 4 adjustment screws. (I use a non-standard three-screw leveling solution.) The aluminum V-Slot frame profiles for this print area: 321mm — 2 pcs, 288mm — 2 pcs, 296mm — 2 pcs, 328mm — 1 pc. That's 2138mm total, plus the saw kerf. I listed 3 meters because V-slot is usually sold in fixed lengths or cut to order. To increase the bed size along the Y axis to, for example, 200mm, you need to increase the length of the 321mm segments to 371mm. You'll need to replace the 300mm linear shafts with 2 pcs of 350mm, and use a 3500mm GT2 timing belt. As you've already noticed, the Z axis uses a belt. This solution has both advantages and drawbacks. The biggest drawback, IMO, is that the gantry free-falls onto the bed if power is suddenly cut or when a print finishes. If power is cut, the nozzle just gets stuck in the model — but when a print finishes, the gantry crashes down onto the bed at speed and can damage it. The fix is to edit the end G-code in the slicer: Z parks last, after X and Y have homed and the bed has moved all the way forward — so the gantry doesn't fall onto the bed, but lowers smoothly to the Z endstop and stays there. Here's an example of the end G-code: G91 ;relative positioning G1 E-1 F300 ;retract the filament a bit before lifting the nozzle, to release some of the pressure G1 Z+2 E-10 X-20 Y-20 F2000 ;lift Z by 2mm, retract filament further, and move X/Y 20mm toward the endstops G28 X0 Y0 ;move X/Y to min endstops, so the head is out of the way G1 Y155 F1000 ;move the bed forward 155mm at 1000mm/min (so the gantry doesn't fall onto the model) G28 Z0 ;home Z — the gantry lowers smoothly to the Z endstop and stays there To increase the height of the printer's lower bay, you have two options: - Print 4 pieces of 70mm V-slot profile (model from this post: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3307232) plus 4 connectors (file: V-slot_2020_connector_x4.stl). - Use 20×40 V-slot profile instead — in this case, replace the two 321mm pieces with 20×40 profile of the same length.

For printing the plastic parts, use ABS with 50% infill and at least 4 perimeters on all sides. For heavily loaded parts — such as motor mounts, belt tensioners, and linear shaft supports — it's better to print with 100% infill. The extruder assembly needs to be built separately. I followed the instructions from this thread: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5980774 The holes for the linear shafts are sized with ABS shrinkage in mind: +0.2mm, i.e. 6.2mm. If anyone needs other tolerances, I can make them. The printer reliably prints PLA, PETG, and TPU. Around 10 kg of filament through it so far — the only issues have been nozzle clogs. Links to remixes and parts from other threads: Remix of the X motor mount and hotend holder from this thread — https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4877136 Remix of the heatsink fan duct from this thread — https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:962161 Remix of the bed leveling knob from this thread — https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3145976 Remix of the RAMPS 1.4 case from this thread — https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:761806 Remix of the cable chain (inner hole 10×8mm) from this thread — https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2043493 Cable chain link for the bed from this thread — https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4324625 Remix of the RepRap 12864 LCD Display Extrusion Mount from this thread — https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3893463 Remix of the Spool Holder from this thread — https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3044226 Remix of the V-Slot cable clips from this thread — https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2676595 Electronic: Power Supply 12V 250W ----------------------------------------------------------------— ~$10 Mega 2560 R3 + RAMPS 1.4 + 5× A4988 -----------------------------------------— ~$15 (AliExpress) RepRap Discount Full Graphic Smart Controller LCD 12864 for RAMPS 1.4 ---— ~$9 Nema 17 Stepper Motor 17HS4401, 1 pcs — Z axis ----------------------------------— ~$8 Nema 17 Stepper Motor 17HS2408, 2 pcs — X, Y axes ----------------— ~$12 Nema 17 Stepper Motor 20mm, 1A, 17HS08-1004S — Extruder ---— ~$11 Hotend J-Head V5 direct ---------------------------------------------------------— ~$6 12V Fan 40x40x10 mm, 2 pcs -------------------------------------------------— ~$2 12V Fan 40x40x10 mm, 1 pcs (for RAMPS) --------------------------------— ~$1 Mechanical endstop with 1m cable, 2A 125V — 3 pcs ------------------— ~$2 Mechanics: Aluminum V-Slot 20×20 machine profile, 3000mm ----------------— ~$13 Smooth Rod 6mm × 300mm, 7 pcs -------------------------------------— ~$8 Bearings MR126 6×12×4mm, 2 pcs (for the connecting shaft)-— ~$1 (AliExpress) Bearing 6001 2RS (12x28x8), 2 pcs (for the spool holder)--------— ~$2 Linear Bearings LM6UU, 12 pcs -------------------------------------------— ~$5 Pulley 2GT Bore 5mm, Fit Belt 6mm, 16T, 3 pcs ---------------------— ~$3 Pulley 2GT Bore 5mm, Fit Belt 6mm, 36T, 1 pcs --------------------— ~$2 (AliExpress) Pulley 2GT Bore 6mm, Fit Belt 6mm, 20T, 3 pcs --------------------— ~$3 (AliExpress) Idler Pulley 2GT Bore 5mm, GT2, Fit Belt 6mm, 4 pcs -------------— ~$8 (AliExpress) GT2 Timing Belt 3000mm, Width 6mm ---------------------------------— ~$3 GT2 Closed Loop Timing Belt 158mm, Width 6mm -----------------— ~1$ Sherpa Mini Extruder Gear Set KIT 2 -----------------------------------— ~$4 (AliExpress) Fasteners & Tools: Screw DIN 7981 ⊕ 2×7mm --------------------------------— 4 pcs (Linear bearing mounts E) Screw DIN 7981 ⊕ 2.2×8mm --------------------------------— 4 pcs (Radiator mount) Bolt DIN 912 ⬡ M3×12 ----------------------------------------— 2 pcs (J-Head V5 clamp) Bolt DIN 912 ⬡ M3×16 ---------------------------------------— 2 pcs (Sherpa Mini mount) Universal countersunk screw ⊕ 2.5×10mm --------------— 2 pcs (Fan duct) Universal countersunk screw ⊕ 3.3×17mm --------------— 2 pcs (Fan duct) Screw DIN 7985 ⊕ M3×19mm --------------------------— 4 pcs (X carriage) Screw DIN 7985 ⊕ M3×34mm --------------------------— 4 pcs + 4 washers (X carriage) Screw DIN 7985 ⊕ M3×18mm --------------------------— 4 pcs (X carriage) Screw DIN 7985 ⊕ M3×25mm --------------------------— 2 pcs (X tensioner) Bolt DIN 912 ⬡ M3×10 ------------------------------------— 4 pcs (X motor mount) Screw DIN 965 ⊕ M3×10 ---------------------------------— 1 pcs (Cable carrier bracket) Screw DIN 965 ⊕ M4×18 ----------------------------— 2 pcs (Y tensioner) Bolt DIN 912 ⬡ M4×12 -------------------------------— 10 pcs (Y axis hardware) Bolt DIN 912 ⬡ M4×8 ---------------------------------— 4 pcs (Y motor bracket) Screw DIN 7985 ⊕ M3×10mm ---------------------— 4 pcs (Y belt clamp) Bolt DIN 912 ⬡ M3×18 -------------------------------— 4 pcs (Y motor mount) Screw DIN 7981 ⊕ 2.5×17mm ------------------— 16 pcs (Bed carriage mount) Bolt DIN 912 ⬡ M4×25 ----------------------------— 2 pcs (Z tensioner) Screw DIN 965 ⊕ M4×10 -------------------------— 4 pcs (Z tensioner & Z axis bracket) Bolt DIN 912 ⬡ M4×10 ----------------------------— 4 pcs (Z tensioner & Z axis bracket) Bolt DIN 912 ⬡ M4×10 ----------------------------— 2 pcs (Z motor bracket) Bolt DIN 912 ⬡M4×10 -----------------------------— 4 pcs (Z axis rod stand) Screw DIN 965 ⊕ M4×10 -------------------------— 2 pcs (Z axis rod stand) Bolt DIN 912 ⬡ M4×10 ----------------------------— 4 pcs (Z connecting shaft bracket) Bolt DIN 912 ⬡ M3×8 ------------------------------— 4 pcs (Z motor mount) Bolt DIN 912 ⬡M4×10 -----------------------------— 2 pcs (Spool holder) Bolt DIN 912 ⬡M4×10 -----------------------------— 4 pcs (Rubber foot) Screw DIN 965 ⊕ M4×8 ----------------------------— 2 pcs (RAMPS 1.4 case) Nut M4 DIN 934 --------------------------------------— 4 pcs Nut M3 DIN 934 --------------------------------------— 21 pcs T-nuts DIN 508 M4 -------------------------------------------— 42 pcs — ~$3 Corner connector for 20×20 profile, black -----------— 2 pcs Steel corner plate for 20×20 profile -------------------— 2 pcs Inner corner connector for 20×20 profile ------------— 6 pcs — ~$2 T-connector for 20×20 machine profile ---------------— 2 pcs Rubber foot D15/19mm, H11mm -----------------------— 4 pcs. TOTAL = $134 + about $5–10 for misc. small parts not priced above. Thanks for reading. Happy printing!