Prusa Mendel Electronics Shelf Mount by ChatterComa

Last crawled date: 2 years, 12 months ago

One of the shortcomings of the Prusa Mendel design is that, while the mechanical print mechanism is brilliant, it doesn't really have any provision for the associated electronics. I have seen Mendels where the driver boards are just flopping around on the table next to the printer; I've also seen clamps and other things to affix the RAMPS and Arduino boards in hard-to-see positions on the side of the frame, etc. None of this is too satisfactory.
I wanted something that worked better, so I augmented the normal frame vertex part for the printer with a rearward-facing projection that can be used as a shelf support. This lets you put a wooden (e.g.) shelf up high and to the rear of the printer, and attach your electronics to that as needed. This arrangement makes the entire printer into a solid one-piece unit that can be lifted and moved without problems, and also puts the electronics up high where you can see them easily and make intricate connections without hurting yourself. It's also a nice "centralized" location, so the wire runs from the motors, switches, and heaters are short.