My Anet A8 upgrades by doegox

Last crawled date: 3 years, 1 month ago

Intro
On this page, I'm enumerating various upgrades I made over time on my Anet A8.
All the printable parts I added are visible in red on the picture.
Expect this page to be updated from time to time.
SVG from Freepik CC 3.0 BY as I needed such type of file to publish this page.
Extruder
Fan
If you need to replace the radial fan (mine started vibrating and slowing down after a few months), look for 12V 50mm Radial Fan ball bearing on Aliexpress.
Fan duct
I like "Spriya" - High Efficiency Anet A8 Fan Duct.
Filament loader
The Anet A8 Ergonomic Retained Extruder Release Button will save your fingers.
Filament access
To dismantle easily the fan to access a stuck filament, consider Anet A8 modification for filament loader.
Insulation
You can find silicone covers on Aliexpress. Search for 3d+silicone+insulation+anet.
Belt
Belt replacement
I replaced the original plastic+steel wires belts by 2M GATES 6mm 2GT GT2 RF Fiber Glass Reinforced Rubber Timing Belt for 3D Printer, Ebay.
Y-axis belt
Anet plastic frame gets distorted by the Y-axis belt and looses its elasticity over time, adding these elements greatly improved the situation:
Anet A8 Front Frame Brace
Anet A8 Rear Frame Brace
X-axis belt
Put an Adjustable Belt Tensioner/Tightener and Belt Tie on the X-axis stepper motor side of the belt, close to the extruder head, so it won't hit anything.
Z axis
There are accessories to maintain the free tops of the Z screws... DON'T use them, the screws are meant to stay free. Still, you may have some adjustments issues and the screws are not vertical. A better way to fix the situation is to shift the stepper motors to correct the verticality. See e.g. Anet A8 Motor Mount Replacement (with Z Axis REAL Fix) or enlarge the stepper motor screw holes of the original support to allow for lateral adjustment.
For easy adjustment, see Z Endstop Fine Adjustment Prusa i3 - Anet A8, but with the larger foot provided in this remake.
I noticed that sometimes I've to readjust bed level. Actually, the problem is that when stepper motors are off, the right Z-axis stepper may turn a bit. Better to turn it back to make the bed levelling rather than compensating by adjusting the bed itself.
Electricity
MOSFETs
See why it's a good idea to add external MOSFETs.
I added two MOSFETs for the headbed and the extruder and used Mosfet_Holder_Small_2xVert from Anet A8 Mosfet Holder
Beware of the correct wiring! Else it will be turned on permanently and the extruder will smell funny...
Look for MOSFETs on Aliexpress with Heatbed power module keywords (not MOSFET!).
Power case
The lack of power switch is kind of problematic.
I added a Power switch Anet A8 3d printer box and adapted the holes to my switch and power plug.
Heatbed connection
The current to the heatbed is so large that the connector got destroyed twice.
You may (hardly) find replacement on Aliexpress. Search for VH3.96+6p.
Eventually I gave up and soldered the wires in place!
Fan controller
I added a 2.90€ Chinese temperature controller to turn on the permanent fan (FAN1) only when the extruder is heating. A bit overkill but I was bored hearing it every time the printer was in standby. The temperature probe is attached near the heating element and the box intercepts the 12V wiring coming from the board to FAN1.
Search for 12v+thermostat+w3001 on Aliexpress. Up/Start temperature: 33 °C. Down/Stop temperature: 29 °C. This sounds low but the probe is on the upper heatsink and doesn't heat much.
Heatbed
Tray
I'm mostly using a Borosilicate glass, 2132003mm, Amazon stuck in place with Rapesco Paper clips 19mm, Amazon and covered with Pritt Power Stick Glue.
I also tried BuildTak, Amazon (see tips) but found it less universal (some filaments hold nicely, some don't).
Levelling
This Anet A6/A8 Bed Level Thumbwheel Upgrade makes adjustments way easier.
Bearings
I replaced the original noisy bearings by Genuine Igus Drylin RJ4JP-01-08 8mm Linear Bearing x 7 Replace LM8UU 3D Reprap, Ebay
Insulation
I taped a 200x200x10 aluminium/foam/sticker sheet on the bottom of the heatbed. Search for heating+bed+insulation on Aliexpress.
Spool
Spool holder
I designed this Anet A8 giant spool holder for faster and less frequent spool swapping.
Filament clip
To hold the filament wire in place for storage: Filament Clip
Filament guide
I like this Hand filament guide
Filament cleaner
Consider using a filament filter/cleaner. There are many. Use one where you can fit some sponge. I use WD40 as lubricant and the Universal Filament Filter and Lubricator.
Camera
I designed an Anet A8 webcam support to put a webcam on the tray.