Monolith Gantry Updates

This is likely my final post about the conversion itself. Apart from some wiring and modifying the Klipper configuration, this is almost a fully functional printer again, ready for Z-motion prototyping…

We have shown a significant temperature drop in the melt zone with the sims. To counter this, I designed a 360 in the middle to achieve a more consistent viscosity across the cross section at the nozzle. Despite our current sub-optimal HF geometry, the print quality doesn’t seem to be affected noticeably compared to the SF design, which definitely has worse melting performance…

We'll make the bottom of the main body completely flat flush with the Beacon mounting surface. This will improve printability and lessen the potential warping.

Now that all of the M0 prototype content is out, and there still aren’t many interesting things I could share about the ongoing toolhead development, I thought I’d summarize what to expect in this next phase:…

Here’s what I’ve been working on for the non-kit extruder:…

I’ve never actually seen the full potential of my old milled heat block. Back then, we had a limitation with the filament grip. Fortunately, the first toolhead design provides a great platform for testing different hotend blocks and extruder internals…

We haven’t observed a significant increase in frequency with the all-metal gantry compared to the enhanced FDM one, which makes sense since the moving mass is probably heavier, offsetting the rigidity increase…

The heat loss through the aluminum panels is significant. Without the sheet cooling (acting as bed fans) and the extra heat from the bed, steppers, hotend, and CPAP, the temperature can barely reach about 50°C in 30 minutes…

There are 3 options I’m considering for the CPAP mounts, all of which have their pros and cons…

Zruncho and I already have these working prototypes, and our experiences have shown us better approaches in multiple areas for the next iteration. Nothing is finalized at the moment, so we can easily redo everything from scratch before involving more people. Besides, the XY gantry’s simplicity makes future upgrades cheap and straightforward…