OC3D 3D Printing enthusiasts

[Warchild]

Life does get in the way of our hobbies doesn't it, LOL! For the past several weeks, I've been "picking" at mine as time permits, and my bad back. Learned a TON lately, about linear rails, printing parts to very specific sizes, etc. Also learned a lot about Rat Rigs EVA hot end assembly, since I chose to combine that with the linear rail mods. Since I'm only doing a linear rail conversion, and NOT a core XY conversion, having to figure out what parts I needed to "keep it cartesian" was a bit of a pain. But I got there.

EVA almost assembled, just needs the fan + shroud face. Still need to do some wiring work there. This version will have a single 5015 fan for part cooling, rear mounted.

With the money you have dumped on that ender, you could have invested in a proper 3d printer with all the bells and whistles included!

 

[Bartacus]

With the money you have dumped on that ender, you could have invested in a proper 3d printer with all the bells and whistles included!

Nah not really, a decent Rat Rig is well over 2 grand for a big one. Modifying the printer itself is the main reason I got into the hobby. I'll build a Voron or Rat Rig at some point, this was just the trial run to get my feet wet modding, since I've never done any of this stuff before.

Besides even good rails aren't that bad, I paid $53CDN each for those 450mm rails, and those aren't cheap Chinese junk, those are LDOs. So A little over $150 for rails, a $75 extruder, a $125 hot end, and the rest is printed parts (and M3 nuts / bolts). The conversion itself isn't bad at all cost-wise, you can even maintain the stock hot end. I just chose a higher end path.

I love the idea of a Voron V0.1 though, and the full kit for that little bundle of fun is only $900CDN, so that might be next. By the time I'm done with the Ender 5 Plus, I will have no need for a Rat Rig or other large printer. Bartie-5 will be big enough. I might convert him to core XY at some point just as another learning exercise. 350x350x400 is more than enough build area for me.

 

[Bartacus]

My god I hate wiring, but sometimes ya gotta do things you hate for the things / people that you love. The amount of suffering that went into this was *palpable*:

 

[Bartacus]

I achieved a significant personal milestone this weekend. For several years now, I've been dreaming of getting rid of the squeaky Z axis structure on the Ender 5 Plus. Mine has been awful from day 1, and this weekend I *finally* gutted the thing. Then I cut and added two 490mm 2020 extrusion pieces to the center of the frame, and added two more LDO 450mm rails to those pieces. I was following bits and pieces of several online plans, so this is really a ghetto hodge-podge of mods. But it works, and works *brilliantly* so far. NOW I understand why everyone loves linear rails. Skateboard wheels will not be missed.


Bartie-5 is alive, again:

Not 100% done yet, but it's looking SHARP!

Best part is how QUIET it is now. Other than the new 5015 part cooling fan, but the MOTION noise is GREATLY reduced. I never realized how much noise the X-gantry makes when moving. With the rails, it's so smooth and quiet.

 

[Warchild]

I achieved a significant personal milestone this weekend. For several years now, I've been dreaming of getting rid of the squeaky Z axis structure on the Ender 5 Plus. Mine has been awful from day 1, and this weekend I *finally* gutted the thing. Then I cut and added two 490mm 2020 extrusion pieces to the center of the frame, and added two more LDO 450mm rails to those pieces. I was following bits and pieces of several online plans, so this is really a ghetto hodge-podge of mods. But it works, and works *brilliantly* so far. NOW I understand why everyone loves linear rails. Skateboard wheels will not be missed.


Bartie-5 is alive, again:

Not 100% done yet, but it's looking SHARP!

Best part is how QUIET it is now. Other than the new 5015 part cooling fan, but the MOTION noise is GREATLY reduced. I never realized how much noise the X-gantry makes when moving. With the rails, it's so smooth and quiet.

Quite interesting all these steps you made for silence. I guess my Ender 5 pro was a lottery win because the only sound is from the cooling fan. My skateboard wheels, or motors / axis dont make any sound at all.

 

[Bartacus]

Quite interesting all these steps you made for silence. I guess my Ender 5 pro was a lottery win because the only sound is from the cooling fan. My skateboard wheels, or motors / axis dont make any sound at all.

Mine had some miles on them too, so age was probably a factor. My main intention was to get rid of the Z rods, as those were squeaky as heck for me. The Plus is a unique beast with that dual Z setup, and if things are misaligned, it can make HORRIBLE squealing sounds, which are painful for an old man with tinnitus. Silence wasn't the main goal, more smoothing out the motion on Z. Plus since I figured I'd build a Voron 0.1 or Rat Rig at some point, I wanted to get experience with linear rails, I've not used those before. Most of this build has been for learning experiences, not necessarily with fixed goals in mind.