So I'm contemplating picking up a TronXY x5sa .. heck at the prices these things sell for .. its basically the price of the frame .. and hey if there is a mildly functional heated bed with it .. all the better 
I'm thinking I can turn it into some kind of a Trident / 1.8 Hybrid .. and then gradually move further and further into a full Trident conversion (the bed mount on the trident does seem much nicer, with the spherical bearings and all that)
Literally don't even plan to assemble the actual original printer
I'd replace the XY motion system with linear rails right away .. duh .. extrusion wheels are so yuck
Given that the Z is already on linear rods, I figure I can keep much of that .. I'll probably hack together some attachment that allows me to mount the motors/z-screws more similar to the way Voron 1.8 does it .. allowing making the whole thing a lot more flush with the sides of the frame .. I can start with that .. eventually I may design and print an alternative bed mount that allows it to be properly flush, it seems like the bed mount sticks out of the frame a touch (because the Z motors originally do too)
From looking at the shape of the frame .. It should be possible to put basically the whole Trident/1.8 XY gantry in place .. the pieces are pretty similar .. but I'll try to use the Trident X solution (single rail) .. instead of 1.8's double rail X.
I will have to put in a short extrusion on the top back .. I'm hoping that replacing the solid piece with the funky multi-part half printed, half extrusion belt path thing won't destabilize things too much .. I'm thinking of printing a few right angle corner braces to add a bit more rigidity to the system .. this is probably the part I'm the most worried about .. hoping that the printed back motor system is pretty rigid and doesn't overly rely on not being the ONLY cross-bar there ..
This would initially start off an a fully open design .. I'd grab some coroplast and get at least a deck in there ..
I'd eventually want to design a "hat" similar to the one on the Voron 0.2 so its possible to enclose it entirely ..
Again, once I go into phase 2, and start moving towards a Trident .. I'll be able to take away a bit of the Z build volume and add the gantry sub-level that's actually how 1.8/Trident do things .. I can't do that until I get rid of the linear rods .. since they're full height of the frame .. I mean I could try cutting them .. but I'm hesitant to make a mess of that
But then again .. if I have a good working Hat solution .. I may just keep the hat (and the larger build volume) .. depends on how rigid the XY motor mount rig is and if I'll end up with issues of the frame deforming because of missing one of the solid metal crossbars ..
I'd go for a trident style apron / electronics bay in the bottom, below the frame itself, add a couple of Din rails .. etc .. I'll just have to come up with a nice way to resize the apron pieces for a larger frame .. since this thing comes with a ~530x500 frame .. that's a touch different than the Trident 350 frame (510x510) ..
Thoughts?
I'm thinking I can turn it into some kind of a Trident / 1.8 Hybrid .. and then gradually move further and further into a full Trident conversion (the bed mount on the trident does seem much nicer, with the spherical bearings and all that)
Literally don't even plan to assemble the actual original printer
I'd replace the XY motion system with linear rails right away .. duh .. extrusion wheels are so yuck
Given that the Z is already on linear rods, I figure I can keep much of that .. I'll probably hack together some attachment that allows me to mount the motors/z-screws more similar to the way Voron 1.8 does it .. allowing making the whole thing a lot more flush with the sides of the frame .. I can start with that .. eventually I may design and print an alternative bed mount that allows it to be properly flush, it seems like the bed mount sticks out of the frame a touch (because the Z motors originally do too)
From looking at the shape of the frame .. It should be possible to put basically the whole Trident/1.8 XY gantry in place .. the pieces are pretty similar .. but I'll try to use the Trident X solution (single rail) .. instead of 1.8's double rail X.
I will have to put in a short extrusion on the top back .. I'm hoping that replacing the solid piece with the funky multi-part half printed, half extrusion belt path thing won't destabilize things too much .. I'm thinking of printing a few right angle corner braces to add a bit more rigidity to the system .. this is probably the part I'm the most worried about .. hoping that the printed back motor system is pretty rigid and doesn't overly rely on not being the ONLY cross-bar there ..
This would initially start off an a fully open design .. I'd grab some coroplast and get at least a deck in there ..
I'd eventually want to design a "hat" similar to the one on the Voron 0.2 so its possible to enclose it entirely ..
Again, once I go into phase 2, and start moving towards a Trident .. I'll be able to take away a bit of the Z build volume and add the gantry sub-level that's actually how 1.8/Trident do things .. I can't do that until I get rid of the linear rods .. since they're full height of the frame .. I mean I could try cutting them .. but I'm hesitant to make a mess of that
But then again .. if I have a good working Hat solution .. I may just keep the hat (and the larger build volume) .. depends on how rigid the XY motor mount rig is and if I'll end up with issues of the frame deforming because of missing one of the solid metal crossbars ..
I'd go for a trident style apron / electronics bay in the bottom, below the frame itself, add a couple of Din rails .. etc .. I'll just have to come up with a nice way to resize the apron pieces for a larger frame .. since this thing comes with a ~530x500 frame .. that's a touch different than the Trident 350 frame (510x510) ..
Thoughts?
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