THE BEAST - FULLY 3D PRINTED FRAME AND RAILS 3D PRINTER

This is still a work in progress,, but I feel it’s far enough along to share the design if anyone is looking for a project while sheltering in their home.

Some assembly required…

This project is not for the faint of heart.

That being said.. This is a very large project that will take a lot of time to build.

I had some spare parts laying around, including a spare Anycubic Chiron heated bed (400×400), Steppers, main board, display, extruder, etc.. I was thinking I wanted to see if I could turn those spare parts into another printer.

Of course I can… however, I wanted to see if it could be done without having to purchase extrusions, AND be fully printable on a smaller 200×200 printer. This was the challenge here.

Well, it does work, and in hindsight, extrusions might be quicker and easier.

What I designed is a large format printer, that can be printed on a small printer. (Yes, this will take a few spools of filament)

I named it “The Beast” because,, well,, it’s huge. The final footprint of this printer is almost a full meter wide, and over a meter deep, not counting the power supply that sits next to it, that I still need to design an enclosure for.

Design specs

400x400x300 print area, and you can go taller if you want to customize.
Anycubic Ultrabase comes with the heated bed.
Main board I used is Trigorilla 1.1 based on RAMPS 1.4.
A4988 Drivers, but will soon upgrade to TMC2208 because they are MUCH quieter.
Firmware is Marlin 1.1.9 is what I used.
Display is a RepRap 12864 display with custom boot logo.
Auto leveling with a BLTouch from Antlabs
24V 720W power supply and a 24V-12V 30A converter.
Mosfet for the heated bed. (24V and 500W for bed)
Bed runs on 24V, everything else is standard 12V
Built-in belt tensioners for both X and Y belts
Adjustable end stops.
Everything is 3D printable, and snaps together in most places. No glue needed.
You can print this on a small printer then use it’s parts to make this one.
Coming soon – Filament runout sensor
The Hotend bracket is customisable and mounts to carriage with a dovetail joint. Step file included.

Printing

All parts are in the correct orientation that they should be printed. There were a couple files for the frame that needed a small support, and I built that into the STL file. Snap off the tiny support and it should be good to go.
All parts are designed with a 0.15mm clearance. Unless it’s a part that needs to slide, such as belt tensioners, those have a 0.25mm clearance.
DO NOT SCALE if something is too tight. – Instead, adjust your horizontal expansion in shell settings. If you don’t know what this setting is, do a web search and read up on it. It basically compensates for your filament going on wider or not wide enough, and is way better than scaling if things aren’t fitting.
Try the Test print first. This will help you gauge if your printer and slicer is tuned enough to print this.
Everything is a tight fit.. This is very much on purpose because things need to be tight for this to work right. Can’t have things wiggling around because of loose fits.
Use the same filament for X, Y and Z axis parts. I switched filaments on part of mine, and the filament shrunk different amounts and made for some extra sanding to make them fit.. I recommend you stick with the same filament throughout if possible.
If you have warping issues or calibration issues, fix that before trying to build this. It will save you a lot of time.
Test printing, I’ve included a couple test prints in this. Print these first to make sure your printer is dialed in enough for things to fit correctly. If not, make adjustments to your – – –
Horizontal expansion settings. (If too tight, put a negative number, if too loose, put in a positive number)

X Axis and carriage.

It’s nearly a meter wide.
The “X” pieces help stabilize it from bowing up or down.
There are pins inside the top and bottom of the X axis as well.
The front and back plates work together to help keep it centered.
You can glue it together if you wish, but not needed if the fits are tight.
If you glue it, make sure your end stop is in place before gluing the final piece.
Once assembled, sand the rails to make them smooth at the seams.
There is a belt tensioner in the Extruder carriage.
Can adjust the wheels using a 6mm eccentric spacer and adjusted with a 10mm wrench.

Hardware needed for X Axis
M3x8mm – Qty 4 – Stepper motor mount
M3x30mm w/nut – Qty 1 – Pulley mount
M3x20mm w/nut – X-Axis End stop plate. This screw holds it in place.
M5x55mm w/nut – Qty 4 – Wheel mounts on outside of X-Axis
M5x50mm w/nut – Qty 2 – Wheel mounts on inside of X-Axis
24mm pulley wheel – Qty 6 – Wheels to mount the X-Axis
6mm Eccentric spacer – Qty 6 – For wheel adjustment.
Nema 17 Stepper motor – Qty 1 – I went with a 40mm motor here.
1 meter Stepper motor cable.
2+ meters of GT2 6mm belt.
16 tooth GT2 pulley with 5mm bore for stepper motor side.
16 tooth GT2 pulley with 3mm bore bearings on pulley side.

Carriage parts
M3x50mm w/nut – Qty 1 – X-Axis belt tensioner
M3x20mm w/nut – Qty 2 – Turbo fan mount
M3x6mm w/nut – Qty 2 – BLTouch mount
M5x40mm w/nut – Qty 3 – For holding the wheels on..
M2x10mm w/nut – Qty 2 – End stop switch – May vary depending on what switch you use.
24mm pulley wheel – Qty 3 – Wheels to mount the carriage
End stop switch – Qty 1
Extruder – I went with a Titan, but likely fine with others.
M3 Screws for Extruder to stepper will vary depending on what extruder you use.
Nema 17 Stepper – I went with a slim one to cut back on weight.
2 Meter Stepper motor cable.
Turbo fan for parts cooling
Hotend
BLTrouch is optional, but recommended. With 2M cable

Y Axis and carriage.

The Y carriage needs to be a tight fit. This is what holds up the bed and rides on the rails.
I put holes in the Y rails for wires to get through as needed.
The front, rear, and center parts can be screwed down to a board to make it more sturdy.
Can try a 6mm GT2 belt, but I made this large enough to accomodate a 10mm belt if needed. (Parts listed below are based on 10mm belt)
Adjust the belt tension with the 2 screws on the front.
Can adjust the wheels using a 6mm eccentric spacer and adjusted with a 10mm wrench.
Sand the rails to make them smooth at the seams

Parts needed for Y axis
M3x50mm w/nut – Qty 2 – Belt tensioner.
M3x10mm – Qty 4 – Stepper motor mount
M3x20mm w/nut – Qty 1 – Limit switch mount
M5x45mm w/nut – Qty 1 – Belt tensioner.
M5x40mm w/nut – Qty 8 – Y carriage wheel screws
6mm Eccentric spacer – Qty 4 – Wheel adjustment
24mm pulley wheel – Qty 8 – Wheels to mount the carriage
25mmx10mm O.D x5mm I.D. Spring – Qty 4 – Heat bed springs
5mm Wing nut – Qty 4 – Heat bed nuts
Anycubic Chiron heated bed 400×400 – Comes with print surface.
10mm wide GT2 20 tooth – 5mm bore pulley for Stepper motor
10mm wide GT2 20 tooth – 5mm bore pulley for tensioner.
Nema 17 Stepper motor – I went with a 60mm here, but this maxes out my drivers if I send all the current it can handle.
2.5+ meters of GT2 10mm belt
36” x 36” (Yes, barbarian units) flat MDF board to mount this to.
Wood screws – Qty 9 – To hold it down

Z Axis – Main frame

The main frame parts have a fit that helps make it more rigid and no glue is needed.
The locking pin helps keep the frame parts seated.
The Z rails also overlap the main frame seams to make it even more rigid.
The stabilizer is built into the design and will help keep it square.
Sand the rails when assembled to make it roll smoothly at the seams.

I- used a T8 4-Start lead screw that’s commonly available.

Parts needed
M3x10mm – Qty 8 – Holds feet to frame
M3x10mm – Qty 1 – Optional end stop mount if BL touch isn’t used.
M3x8mm – Qty 8 – Screws for stepper motor mount
M3x8mm – Qty 4 – Screws for lead screw nut
Nema 17 Steppers – Qty 2 – Dual Z axis motors
T8 500mm Lead screw – Qty 2 – For the Z axis.
Anti-Backlash T8 lead screw nut – Qty 2 – Helps with Z accuracy.
5mm to 8mm coupler – Qty 2 – The connection from stepper to lead screw

Total parts needed

M2x10mm w/nut – Qty 2 – May vary depending on what limit switch you use.
M3x6mm w/nut – Qty 2
M3x8mm – Qty 16
M3x10mm – Qty 13
M3x20mm – Qty 4
M3x30mm – Qty 1
M3x50mm Qty 3
M3 Nuts – Qty 23
M5x40mm – Qty 11
M5x45mm – Qty 1
M5x50mm – Qty 2
M5x55mm – Qty 4
M6 Nuts – Qty 16
24mm pulley wheel – Qty 17
6mm Eccentric spacer – Qty 11
End Stop switch – Qty 2 (Or 3 if you choose no BLtouch)
BLTouch – Qty 1 – With 2M cable
2+ meters of GT2 6mm belt.
6mm wide 16 tooth GT2 pulley with 5mm bore
6mm wide 16 tooth GT2 pulley with 3mm bore bearings
10mm wide GT2 20 tooth – 5mm bore pulley for Stepper motor
10mm wide GT2 20 tooth – 5mm bore pulley for tensioner.
2.5+ meters of GT2 10mm belt
Nema 17 Stepper motor – Qty 5 (May vary in size)
1 meter Stepper motor cable. – Qty 3
2 meter Stepper motor cable. – Qty 2
Anycubic 400×400 Heat bed for Chiron (Comes with surface) 24V @ 500W
25mmx10mm O.D x5mm I.D. Spring – Qty 4 – Heat bed springs
5mm Wing nut – Qty 4 – Heat bed nuts
Extruder – I went with a Titan, but likely fine with others.
M3 Screws for Extruder to stepper will vary depending on what extruder you use.
12V Turbo fan for parts cooling
12V Hotend
T8 500mm Lead screw – Qty 2 – For the Z axis.
Anti-Backlash T8 lead screw nut – Qty 2 – Helps with Z accuracy.
5mm to 8mm coupler – Qty 2 – The connection from stepper to lead screw
36” x 36” (Yes, barbarian units) flat MDF board to mount this to.
Wood screws – Qty 9 – To hold it down
720W 24V Power supply minimal. Prefer 1000W 24V if you can get one.
Power cord for supply
Power switch for 120V to supply
24V to 12V 30A converter, or separate 12V power supply
30A Mosfet for switching current to heat bed
Main board – I went with Trigorilla since I had one already
Stepper drivers – I went with TMC2208 – QTY 4 is needed, but get 5.
Fan for Stepper drivers
Various wires and Dupont or JST connectors.
Wire wrap for bundles and keeping things tidy.
3-4 Spools of Filament (Yup, it’s a lot of printing to make something this size)

What to print

Y Carriage

Bed Hub.stl – Qty 1
Bed Arm.stl – Qty 4 (They are all the same, just inserted upside down in 2 spots)
M5 6mm Spacers – Qty 12
M5 1 mm spacers – Qty 8 (Used M5 between nut and wheel)

Y Axis
Y Rail Segment.stl – Qty 8
Y Rail pin.stl – Qty 14
Y Front Center.stl – Qty 1
Y Front Right.stl – Qty 1
Y Front Left.stl – Qty 1
Y Rear Center.stl – Qty 1
Y Rear Right.stl – Qty 1
Y Rear Left.stl – Qty 1
Y Rail Belt tensioner.stl – Qty 2
Y Rail tie mid.stl – Qty 3
Y Rail tie square.stl – Qty 6
Y Rail to leg pin.stl – Qty 2
Y Rail to leg tie left.stl – Qty 1
Y Rail to leg tie right.stl – Qty 1
Y Axis switch mount.stl – Qty 1

X Axis
X Axis 100 Center.stl – Qty 1
X Axis 180 Center.stl – Qty 2
X Axis left front.stl – Qty 1
X Axis left rear.stl – Qty 1
X Axis right front.stl – Qty 1
X Axis right rear.stl – Qty 1
X Axis pin short.stl – Qty 4 (links the 100mm center piece)
X Axis pin long.stl – Qty 4
X Axis pulley bracket.stl – Qty 1
X Axis X.stl – Qty 4
X Axis switch mount – Qty 1 – Used as something for the limit switch to hit or mount for switch.
M5 6mm spacers – Qty 16
M3 1mm spacers – Qty 5 (for X axis pulley)

Main frame / Z Axis
Fram pin.stl – Qty 10
Lead screw top pin.stl – Qty 4
Lead screw top.stl – Qty 2
Main left inside leg.stl – Qty 1
Main left outside leg.stl – Qty 1
Main right inside leg.stl – Qty 1
Main right outside leg.stl – Qty 1
Main lower left.stl – Qty 1
Main lower right.stl – Qty 1
Main mid upright.stl – Qty 4 – Has a support tab that you snap off.
Main top center.stl – Qty 1
Main top inter.stl – Qty 2
Main top left.stl – Qty 1
Main top right.stl – Qty 1
Z rail 35.stl – Qty 2 – Inside top of Z axis
Z rail 112.stl – Qty 2 – Outside top of Z axis
Z rail Long.stl – Qty 12 – Z Axis rails slide onto frame
Optional – Optical Z mount.stl – Qty 1 or 2 depending on what you are doing.
Optional – Optical Z mount tab.stl – Qty 1 or 2 depending on what you are doing.

Stabilizer
Pin to Y front.stl – Qty 2
Stabilizer lower.stl – Qty 2
Stabilizer middle.stl – Qty 4
Stabilizer upper.stl – Qty 2
Stabilizer pin.stl – Qty 12

Extruder mount
Extruder bracket.stl – Qty 1
Extruder fan bracket.stl – Qty 1
Extruder mounting plate.stl – Qty 1
X tensioner 1.stl – Qty 1
X tensioner 2.stl – Qty 1
BL Touch mount.stl – Qty 1 – Optional if using BL Touch
X Limit switch mount with BL Touch.stl – Qty 1 – Optional if using BL Touch
X Limit switch mount without BL Touch.stl – Qty 1 – Optional is not using BL Touch