One of the first things I did when I got my I3 Megas was print my own cable management chains, but I opted to simply change the stiff wires on the hot platform for similar gauge high number strands, but silicon sheathed, to obtain the flexibility witout risk of the wire sheathing and wire breaking. On my first I3 the wires connection to the hot bed was the main issue for them breaking, simply attached via a tie wrap around a hard plastic sheated set of wires, poorly done. While this caused a small spark, I caught it before things got worse. This type of factory strain relief, of course did not let them flex as they should, so I changed the wires as explained above and used nylon P-Clips to hold them in place at the exit and near the edge of the hot table. I was going to design a custom 3-printed clip for them, as some people had/have done, but the nylon P-Clips worked great. No problem with them since and I have had the first machines since it was first introduced to the market. Over the years I learned to favor function for aesthetics, with the KISS principle in place. The cable chain was too bulky even though my design was very low profile and very flexible, I just could not beat the simplicity of simply using silicon sheathed wires with enough length for them to flex naturally, I used small pieces of soft heat shrink, spaced at 2" intervals, to hold them together while allowing them to flex.
Nyloc nuts, and yes you can get them in m3 will keep them from backing out, also putting a second nut on the bolt will act as an lock nut, or using other stuff around the house some nail polish once it is tight will act as a cheap thread locker, just some dyi info for ya. Still a great info on getting the chains to print right.
I do like your content as I own Mega S myself. I think there are plenty of Voron videos, but content about this budget printer not so much. I personally would like to see you eventually taking it to a new extreme level. New SKR board, Meanwell power supply, linear rails, better belts, upgraded heating element and insulation, upgrading to genuine Nema stepper motors, Z axis reinforcement. Maybe even considering voltage switching to 24V? It might be over the top and not worth the price, but definitely entertaining to watch. Also having a stock Mega S with unchanged firmware for speed/quality races?
Remember that cable chains serve two purposes: 1. Strain relief 2. This is crucial - distributing the wire bends across the ENTIRE cable section, NOT concentrate or force a bend in specific locations more than others. Note the X chain. It forces a bending in sequence every single time. That's the exact opposite of what you want. IMHO, the X chain across the gantry is actually bad. It will bend the portion of the wire closest to the hot end first and does not distribute the bend across the entire wire over the X axis motion. That will wear out that section of the wire prematurely.
When I did the cable chains on mine I split the body and rotated the extruder motor so the wire didn't have to wrap under to the bottom. I didn't like how much tension was on the wires when the gantry was at its lowest point. Works really well with zero wire strain and lots more slack 👌
You have to take the extruder apart (really easy) just keep track of where the screws go, they are all different lengths. The last 4 screws (1 on each corner) hold the motor to the bracket, so hold it while you take the last screw out. Just twist it 90 deg. Put the screws back and put the extruder back together. Mind the spring, it will shoot out of the housing and get lost If you don't take it out carefull.
Sorry to ask questions on such an old post but I with the y-axis bed frame linked to I found that the blower on the x-carriage hits it slightly when at the back of the bed which has the effect of pushing the bed down slightly. This is clear when running mesh levelling (and effects the mesh results). How did you get around this issue? Thanks. I realise after I posted that I can probably just raise the bed height a bit, was worried that loosening the adjustment screws might ruin stability but I think there should be enough play unless there is a better solution.
For the y-axis you said there's 2 holes you can use to mount the bracket to the body, did you drill those screws yourself? I don't have those holes on my machine. Doh! Nevermind, the zip tie is using the holes! 😃
Did the chain in the back fix the issue of the cables constantly loosening that back right bed leveling screw? Poor placement on the part of Anycubic. I have a Mega Pro and woke up to the screw missing. 12 hour print now out of alignment because the cable rubs against the wheel that adjusts the bed level.
How do you set your print speed so fast? What firmware are you using? Anything faster than 60 and the Y axis bed gear slips for me, even at its tightest!
How are you able to get such good bed adhesion with an initial layer speed of 50mm/s for a normal build? Mine is at ~12-15 mm/s and im still nervous to leave a room until its down.
The G10 build plate, and the BLTouch has helped a lot in my confidence of first layer adhesion. I also will slow it down for prints with smaller first layers so they can go down well.
I used this one: www.thingiverse.com/thing:4458097 It is good for mounting LEDs, but I don't like that it limits your view of the nozzle. So I might change it in the future
God knows if you see or check messages on older videos. But I’m finally getting around to actually using my Mega S. What mount attachments did you use for the strain relief on the MK4? Do you still need the back duct mount. That gets confusing.
all this blah blah blah bullshit, what are the effing PRINT SETTINGS? Also not a single frame of his printer actually printing anything, he has all of the pieces pre-made.
Those turned out Dee-eee-eecent! I have a mega pro coming and will definitely be making those for mine, great videos!
One of the first things I did when I got my I3 Megas was print my own cable management chains, but I opted to simply change the stiff wires on the hot platform for similar gauge high number strands, but silicon sheathed, to obtain the flexibility witout risk of the wire sheathing and wire breaking.
On my first I3 the wires connection to the hot bed was the main issue for them breaking, simply attached via a tie wrap around a hard plastic sheated set of wires, poorly done. While this caused a small spark, I caught it before things got worse. This type of factory strain relief, of course did not let them flex as they should, so I changed the wires as explained above and used nylon P-Clips to hold them in place at the exit and near the edge of the hot table. I was going to design a custom 3-printed clip for them, as some people had/have done, but the nylon P-Clips worked great. No problem with them since and I have had the first machines since it was first introduced to the market.
Over the years I learned to favor function for aesthetics, with the KISS principle in place. The cable chain was too bulky even though my design was very low profile and very flexible, I just could not beat the simplicity of simply using silicon sheathed wires with enough length for them to flex naturally, I used small pieces of soft heat shrink, spaced at 2" intervals, to hold them together while allowing them to flex.
Nyloc nuts, and yes you can get them in m3 will keep them from backing out, also putting a second nut on the bolt will act as an lock nut, or using other stuff around the house some nail polish once it is tight will act as a cheap thread locker, just some dyi info for ya.
Still a great info on getting the chains to print right.
I do like your content as I own Mega S myself. I think there are plenty of Voron videos, but content about this budget printer not so much.
I personally would like to see you eventually taking it to a new extreme level. New SKR board, Meanwell power supply, linear rails, better belts, upgraded heating element and insulation, upgrading to genuine Nema stepper motors, Z axis reinforcement. Maybe even considering voltage switching to 24V?
It might be over the top and not worth the price, but definitely entertaining to watch. Also having a stock Mega S with unchanged firmware for speed/quality races?
Remember that cable chains serve two purposes:
1. Strain relief
2. This is crucial - distributing the wire bends across the ENTIRE cable section, NOT concentrate or force a bend in specific locations more than others. Note the X chain. It forces a bending in sequence every single time. That's the exact opposite of what you want. IMHO, the X chain across the gantry is actually bad. It will bend the portion of the wire closest to the hot end first and does not distribute the bend across the entire wire over the X axis motion. That will wear out that section of the wire prematurely.
When I did the cable chains on mine I split the body and rotated the extruder motor so the wire didn't have to wrap under to the bottom. I didn't like how much tension was on the wires when the gantry was at its lowest point. Works really well with zero wire strain and lots more slack 👌
That's a good idea. I'll have to look into that.
You have to take the extruder apart (really easy) just keep track of where the screws go, they are all different lengths. The last 4 screws (1 on each corner) hold the motor to the bracket, so hold it while you take the last screw out.
Just twist it 90 deg. Put the screws back and put the extruder back together.
Mind the spring, it will shoot out of the housing and get lost If you don't take it out carefull.
This is my Mega-S upgrade channel.. Great video, again. Any recommendation for printing ABS on the mega S?
love it. looks so good on the printer.
Thanks! Yeah I just love the look of colorful cable chains!
OMG! I love your videos! I just subscribed!
Hi, where i can find X-Carriage chain mount?
Sorry to ask questions on such an old post but I with the y-axis bed frame linked to I found that the blower on the x-carriage hits it slightly when at the back of the bed which has the effect of pushing the bed down slightly. This is clear when running mesh levelling (and effects the mesh results). How did you get around this issue? Thanks.
I realise after I posted that I can probably just raise the bed height a bit, was worried that loosening the adjustment screws might ruin stability but I think there should be enough play unless there is a better solution.
I was looking forward to something like this! How did you go about installing the mount for this carriage? I can't seem to find the proper mount
I am using this one: www.thingiverse.com/thing:4788729
It works well with this mod
@@JJShankles Thanks, very appreciated! Subbed and looking forward to more content.
For the y-axis you said there's 2 holes you can use to mount the bracket to the body, did you drill those screws yourself? I don't have those holes on my machine.
Doh! Nevermind, the zip tie is using the holes! 😃
Did the chain in the back fix the issue of the cables constantly loosening that back right bed leveling screw? Poor placement on the part of Anycubic. I have a Mega Pro and woke up to the screw missing. 12 hour print now out of alignment because the cable rubs against the wheel that adjusts the bed level.
Hi JJ! could you please link the stl for the mount you used to connect the x carriage mk 4 to the chains, had 0 luck finding it
I'm using this one: www.thingiverse.com/thing:4788729
Appreciate it chief thanks
How do you set your print speed so fast? What firmware are you using? Anything faster than 60 and the Y axis bed gear slips for me, even at its tightest!
I am running Klipper firmware instead of Marlin, which can help speed things up. But that is odd that the bed gear slips.
Discovered that my Y axis slippage was due to cura slicer. I have since swapped to Prusa slicer and it's been perfect!
How are you able to get such good bed adhesion with an initial layer speed of 50mm/s for a normal build? Mine is at ~12-15 mm/s and im still nervous to leave a room until its down.
The G10 build plate, and the BLTouch has helped a lot in my confidence of first layer adhesion. I also will slow it down for prints with smaller first layers so they can go down well.
How did you mount the cable chain to the MK4? Do you have a link for a file?
I used this mount: www.thingiverse.com/thing:4788729
It is still working great.
@@JJShankles perfect, thank you, it is not easy to find, when it’s in german. I love your videos on the Mega S
@@JJShankles Awesome...was searching for this and remembered you had the MK4 and chains, and found your video.
I notice you added a cover for your hot end fan within the past couple weeks... do you mind sharing the STL?
I used this one: www.thingiverse.com/thing:4458097
It is good for mounting LEDs, but I don't like that it limits your view of the nozzle. So I might change it in the future
God knows if you see or check messages on older videos. But I’m finally getting around to actually using my Mega S. What mount attachments did you use for the strain relief on the MK4? Do you still need the back duct mount. That gets confusing.
nice haircut bro
Thanks!
so i need 50 peices of each chain link?
I used 50 of Link "A", and I think 36 of Link type "B". I probably printed a few extras, because sometimes your cables may be need a few extra.
@@JJShankles thanks for the reply!
13:15
all this blah blah blah bullshit, what are the effing PRINT SETTINGS? Also not a single frame of his printer actually printing anything, he has all of the pieces pre-made.