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https://github.com/cookiengineer/anet-a8-upgrades

:orange_book: Anet A8 Upgrade Tutorial - A Step-By-Step Guide
https://github.com/cookiengineer/anet-a8-upgrades

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:orange_book: Anet A8 Upgrade Tutorial - A Step-By-Step Guide

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README 

        

# Anet A8 Upgrade Tutorial



This repository contains all necessary upgrades for the

Anet A8 to increase its printing quality, sorted by

priority and in a form of a step-by-step-for-noobs

guide as it was a bit hard to find all the things on

the interwebz for me.



Hopefully this guide can help others upgrading their

Anet A8 and ease up the process.



## TL;DR Parts List



This is the third-party parts list that you will

need to buy to do all upgrades explained below



- 2mm/4mm PTFE (teflon) tube (min. 50cm length)

- 2.5mm GT2 timing belts (min. 200cm length)

- 2x 4mm pneumatic adapter (tube feed)

- 2x M5x50 screws

- 2x M5 self-sealing nuts

- 2x NEMA 17 stepper motors



Note: The PTFE tube needs to have inner diameter

of 2mm and outer diameter of 4mm. If you want to

use bigger filament diameters, change the pneumatic

adapter sizes accordingly.



Important: The Z-Axis stepper motors should be

replaced with stronger 17-ones, as many users

(including me) had troubles with a stuck Z-axis

motor driver that was too weak to lift the

X-carriage.



## Step-By-Step Guide



This Guide can be followed after you've already

assembled your Anet A8 3D printer.



The [installation instructions](./instructions/installation-instructions.pdf)

are also available.



The Anet A8 is delivered with varying power supplies.

If you are unsure on how to connect it, compare your

power supply with [this photo](./instructions/power-supply.jpg).



The mainboard's schematics are also available at

[this picture](./instructions/mainboard.jpg).



**IMPORTANT**: The connectors for the power cables

of the heatbed and extruder on the mainboard are of bad

quality, it is important that you connect the cables with

some space to the insulation. Otherwise your cable

insulation will overheat and burn down.



The [printing quality troubleshooting guide](./instructions/quality-troubleshooting-guide.pdf)

is also available in case some prints are deformed or broken.



----------



**1: Belt Tensioners, Belt Holders, GT2 Belts and Z-Wobble Fixes**















If you can't use another printer, print these parts and

immediately upgrade the Anet A8 afterwards, so that later

prints will have a better quality.



Suggested print settings:



90% honeycomb infill for all prints.



* 0.12 mm layer height for x-belt holder and z wobble.

* 0.2 mm layer height for the rest.



- Print the [x-belt holder](./parts/belt-holders/x-belt_holder.stl) 1 time. 

- Print the y-belt holder [top](./parts/belt-holders/y-belt_holder-top.stl) and [bottom](./parts/belt-holders/y-belt_holder-bottom.stl) each 1 time. Su

- Print the [x-belt tensioner](./parts/belt-tensioners/x-tensioner.stl) 1 time.

- Print the y-belt [tensioner](./parts/belt-tensioners/y-tensioner.stl), [adapter](./parts/belt-tensioners/y-tensioner-adapter.stl) and [holder](./parts/belt-tensioners/y-tensioner-holder.stl) each 1 time.

- Print the [z-wobble fix](./parts/z-wobble/z-wobblefix.stl) 1 time and the [t-corner](./parts/z-wobble/t-corner.stl) 2 times.



Install the belt tensioners, the belt holders, the t-corners

and the z-wobble fixes on your Anet A8 printer.



Note that the x-tensioner requires 2 M5 screws with at

least 35mm in length with matching self-sealing nuts.

In order to have some space left for not-so-tight belts,

use the M5x50 screws there.



Make sure to use proper fiber-rubber GT2 belts, not the

plastic OEM ones that came with the printer. It is best

to buy a GT2 belt set, so that you have bigger cog wheels

that you can use for the bowden extruder upgrade :)



----------



**2: Glass Plate with Clip Holders**






(Recommended) Install a glass plate with clip holders,

so that you don't have to use that shitty print tape.



Install the clip holders so that they don't conflict

with the `0/0/0` (Home All) position of the extruder.



When using a glass plate, it is recommended to use a

simple glue stick to make things sticky and to print

on it as the glass plate itself is too slick for the

initial layers of PLA or ABS.



Some other people often recommend to increase the

temperature, but this will cause more problems than

it solves. So just stick with the glue stick and

everything is fine, cheap and will work perfectly.



----------



**3: Level the Heatbed**



Leveling the heatbed is pain. It is recommended to level

the heatbed using a `mechanic's (water) level`. Make sure

to have a flat, leveled underground under the printer.



Afterwards follow [this instruction video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O55x7B-MsE4)

to level the heatbed correctly.



Take your time; correctly leveling the heatbed is 50% of

the print quality. It's seriously important to be done

right.



----------



**4: Replace Z-Axis Stepper Motors**



The OEM stepper motors are too weak to properly lift

the X-carriage. In my case, they broke down around 10 

hours after printing, typical symptom is thatthe Z-axis 

motors make a "loud shredding noise" and/or only one is 

reacting because the Z-motor driver on the main board 

already broke down.



To avoid this, it is heavily recommended to replace the

Z-axis motors with larger ones. I suggest 48 mm NEMA 17

motors, as they are quite a bit larger than the OEM ones

but still fit well inside the frame.



There is a list of commonly used NEMA 17 motors available

from the [reprap wiki](http://reprap.org/wiki/NEMA_17_Stepper_motor).



Wiring-wise it is actually a lot of fiddle work. For me

the wiring was blue/black cross-paired and the outer two

wires being normally connected.



You have to try this out yourself, as every stepper

motor is differently wired and every stepper cable seems

to have different colors for each cable pair.



It takes a while, so grab a cup of camilla tea and stay

calm while doing it.



----------



**5: Download and Setup Cura Software**



The Cura software that comes with the USB Stick (or microSD

card) is outdated. Install the newest stable one from

[ultimaker.com](https://ultimaker.com/en/products/cura-software).



Important Note for Linux users: Pretty much all packaged

builds are totally broken, use the self-executing AppImage

from the ultimaker website. (Seriously, it even doesn't work

on Arch)



Start the Cura software, add a new printer (which is the

welcome dialog on first start).



Select `Custom` > `FDM Printer`. The detailed printer

settings are these:



```

// Printer Settings



x (width):  220mm

y (depth):  220mm

z (height): 240mm // use 235mm if heatbed has glass plate



build plate shape: rectangular

machine center:    NOT zero

heated bed:        yes



Printhead Settings



x min: 0mm

y min: 0mm

x max: 0mm

y max: 0mm



gantry height: 0mm

nozzle size:   0.4mm

```



Set the `GCode Flavor` to `RepRap (Marlin)`.



Enter the following Start GCode:



```gcode

G21            ;metric values

G90            ;absolute positioning

M82            ;set extruder to absolute mode

M107           ;start with the fan off

G28 X0 Y0      ;move X/Y to min endstops

G28 Z0         ;move Z to min endstops

G1 Z15.0 F9000 ;move the platform down 15mm

G92 E0         ;zero the extruded length

G1 F200 E3     ;extrude 3mm of feed stock

G92 E0         ;zero the extruded length again

G1 F9000

M117 Printing...

```



Enter the following End GCode:



```gcode

M104 S0                      ;extruder heater off

M140 S0                      ;bed heater off

G91                          ;relative positioning

G1 E-1 F300                  ;retract the filament to release pressure

G1 Z+0.5 E-5 X-20 Y-20 F9000 ;move Z up a bit

G28 X0 Y0                    ;move X/Y to min endstops

G90                          ;absolute positioning

G1 Y190 F9000                ;(optional) move heatbed to front

M84                          ;steppers off

```



Now go to `Settings > Profiles > Manage Profiles` and

import [this cura profile](./profiles/normal_quality.curaprofile).



It will lead to the correct settings that you need to make the

Anet A8 print awesome results.



You can verify that your Anet A8 machine is correctly set up by

comparing the [machine\_instances](./profiles/machine_instances)

folder with the one located at `~/.local/share/cura/machine_instances`.



----------



**6: Print the Calibration Cube**






Now it's time to test your settings. Make sure the printer

is ready, has its filament, is correctly leveled and ready

for a test run.



The test run consists of a [Calibration Cube](./calibration_cube.stl),

while setting infill to `50%` and printing it with support

structures.



If the cube is not `20mm` in all dimensions or its shape

does not look like in the picture, you probably have a not

correctly leveled heatbed and you should re-level it.



----------



**7: Upgrade the Spool Holder**






The OEM spool holder kinda sucks and does not work well

with a bowden setup due to causing more stress on the bowden

extruder than is necessary.



- Print the [spool holder bolt](./parts/spool-holder/spool-holder-bolt.stl) 1 time.

- Print the [spool holder nut](./parts/spool-holder/spool-holder-nut.stl) 1 time.



Install the spool holder afterwards. Make sure that the feeding

of the extruder motor is not hindered by other parts that are in

the way and that the filament is a straight line between spool

holder and the extruder motor.



----------



**8: Upgrade to Bowden Extruder**









The standard Anet A8 setup comes with an extruder motor

mounted directly above the extruder. This causes more

weight on the X-axis that has to be moved by the X-axis

motor and belt.



The bowden extruder upgrade allows the extruder motor to be

moved atop the frame, so that it both stabilizes the frame and

allows the filament to be fed through a PTFE (teflon) tube.



- Print the [motor block](./parts/bowden-extruder/motor-block.stl) part 1 time.

- Print the [motor mount](./parts/bowden-extruder/motor-mount.stl) 1 time.

- Print the [pneumatic adapter](./parts/bowden-extruder/pneumatic-adapter.stl) 2 times (1 replacement part, you will need it).

- Print the [extruder button](./parts/bowden-extruder/extruder-button.stl) 1 time.



Install the motor parts as in the photo above, do the same for

the extruder. It is necessary to have the PTFE tube and the

pneumatic tube feeds available.



An important note here is that PTFE tube feeds have inch measurements,

not metric ones (as it's pneumatic hardware). So it is important to

buy a 3/8" tube feed (~9.51mm), as M10 (~10.18mm) would be too big to

fit the adapter. If you have an M6 thread cutter, it is recommended

to use it for the smaller side of the pneumatic adapter, so that less

stress is on the PLA (or ABS) material when being screwed into the

metal motor block on the X-carriage.



Mount the extruder motor on the top left of the printer's frame,

so that the PTFE tube-side points to the front-left direction.



Make sure that the cables and the PTFE tube don't conflict in

the whole movement area of the X-carriage.



Your printer should now look like this:



![printer-front](./photos/printer-front.jpg)



Important: The extruder motor will probably require a bigger

cog wheel, because the OEM one is a little too small to feed

the filament properly.



You can use the ones that came with the GT2 belt set that you

bought in step 1.



----------



**9: Upgrade Z-Endstop**






The Z-Endstop sucks hard. That's the truth, but there's a way

around it. The better endstop is adjustable, so that no matter

how your heatbed looks like, you can simply adjust one screw

without having to always recalibrate the endstop itself.



- Print the [endstop mount](./parts/z-endstop/endstop_mount.stl) 1 time.

- Print the [endstop holder](./parts/z-endstop/endstop_holder.stl) 1 time.

- Print the [endstop cap](./parts/z-endstop/endstop_cap.stl) 1 time.



Install the Z-Endstop afterwards. If you reset the position to

"Home All" in the printer's firmware menu, you can listen to the

sound of the endstop.



It has to be mounted in a way that it's directly clicking and in

the "Off" position when you move the Z-Endstop adjustment screw

by around 30deg.



Use a couple of M3 washers to adjust the distance, so that the

cap is able to hit the endstop correctly.



----------



**10: Fix the Heatbed Cable Connector**



Apparently most people build up the Anet A8 / Prusa i3 printer

by mounting the heatbed in a way that the cables of the heatbed

lead to the side and not to the back.



At first glimpse the Y-Cable Chain is a well-thought fix for

having nice clean cables. Turns out out that this causes a

burned cable connector because of too much stress.



![heatbed-solder](./photos/heatbed-solder.jpg)



It is recommended to re-solder the heatbed, and to mount the

heatbed in a way that the cables lead to the back, and NOT to

the side - so that the cables and soldered connections don't

have too much stress on them.



![heatbed-wiring](./photos/heatbed-wiring.jpg)










At first your heatbed will stop working, and the heat will stop at the connector, eventually leading to a burnt connector or worse - [it's a fire hazard](http://forums.reprap.org/read.php?392,493405).

The procedure is fairly simple, even if you are new to soldering. Just be patient and remove any excess solder you may use.

If the old solder doesn't come off, put a bit of new solder on it and it will melt immediately.



You can try removing the wires and pulling the connector with pliers, it will come off with a bit of force. If you desolder and remove the outer pins you can still use a piece of the original connector - cut to fit - for the thermistor.








You should use an higher-gauge wire to connect the heatbed, the one that comes with the printer is too thin to carry the 10A used by the bed. A thicker cable means that the wire will stay colder when transferring current.



Remember to insert heat-shrink tubing before soldering (keep it distant from the ends or it will shrink immediately) and put it between the wire and the metal frame of the bed. It shouldn't be an issue if the wire touches the coating at the bottom of the heatbed, but it's better to keep them separated.



**Do not connect both** the + or - pins, the bed will be able to take up to 20A from the motherboard, leading to a burnt motherboard.



----------



**11: Upgrade Frame Braces**



Under heavy load the frame of the Anet A8 could potentially

crack the acryl plates. But don't worry, there's a fix for

that.



If you have placed the Anet A8 on a wooden plate, it is also

better to mount it using the threaded frame holders.



- Print out the [rear frame](./parts/frame-braces/frame-rear.stl) 1 time.

- Print out the [threaded frame holder](./parts/frame-braces/frame-holder.stl) 6 times.



Install the rear frame and the threaded frame holders. The

frame holders are best mounted on each side of the acryl

frame, so that the acryl frame has less stress on it

afterwards.



Use wood screws to mount the frame holders and at least M4

screws to mount the rear frame.



**XX: X-Axis Rework**



This is currently work-in-progress. The X-Axis rework can

be found in the [./parts/x-axis](./parts/x-axis) folder and

it contains a modified X-motor mount with the integrated

adjustable Z-endstop and adjustable X-tensioner.



When this reworked X-Axis proves stable, I will replace the

previous steps accordingly.



## Firmwares



Currently I run the stock OEM Anet A8 mainboard and the stock

firmware with my Bowden setup. This works perfectly so far,

but in case I switch to RAMPS in future, I put the firmware

in the [./firmwares](./firmwares) folder.



## Problems / Suggestions?



If you have suggestions or problems of any kind; feel free

to open up an issue so that I can improve this guide!



Don't forget to give a star if you liked it ;)