Anet A2+ Upgrades
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- čas přidán 24. 07. 2024
- This video is about the upgrades I installed on my Anet A2+ to increase printing quality, reliability and safety!
The Anet A2+ is a cheap 3d-printer that doesn't print that great initially. However, with the installation of a few upgrades, the machine gets really great!
Check out my initial review of this machine: • Anet A2 (A2+) Initial ...
Buy an Anet A2: www.gearbest.com/3d-printers-...
Buy an Anet A2+: www.gearbest.com/3d-printers-...
The Anet A2+ has a 5cm larger Y-axis and a better LCD screen!
The initial review video is already 7 months back, in which I've been rather busy. However, I try to get one video uploaded at least every two weeks.
To be honest, I have multiple printers, and especially my Anet A8 and my Anycubic Kossel are the real "workhorses", which did nearly all of the printing during this time. That's why I've been postponing the installations of the important upgrades for quite some time now!
If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to leave them down below!
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Some links I promised to leave here:
Videos:
- Anet A2+ Initial Review: • Anet A2 (A2+) Initial ...
- Marlin on Anet A8: • Anet A8 Marlin Firmware
- Anet A8 PSU Safety: • Anet A8 - Power Supply...
- Anet A8 Safety: • Anet A8 - Make it Safe!
- Anet A8 Heated Bed Insulation: • Anet A8 - Heated Bed I...
- Filament Run-Out Sensor: • Filament Run-Out Senso...
- Anycubic Kossel Review: • Anycubic Kossel ($160)...
- JGAurora A5 Review: • JGAurora A5 Review - G...
3D Models:
- Anet A2+ Upgrade Collection: www.thingiverse.com/Caverntwo...
- Low-Poly Squirrel: www.thingiverse.com/thing:910750
- Rocket: www.thingiverse.com/thing:458903
- XYZ Cube: www.thingiverse.com/thing:127...
- Scyther: www.thingiverse.com/thing:204...
Miscellaneous:
- Power Inlet: www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?...
- LED Strip: www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?...
(5m is a little bit over $2 now)
I hope that's all... - Věda a technologie
Great video! Good to see the power cover worked for you. A very nice set of upgrade you have made. Nicely done!
Thanks a lot!
Your cover fit properly, and I really like how it's designed. It really keeps the footprint small. Thanks for this design!
Many thanks for this good video overview!
Hi Nikolay,
Thanks for your feedback, I'm glad that you liked the video ;-)
Thank you! Great video. Very helpful.
Hey Johnny,
Thanks for your comment! I'm glad that you liked it ;-)
Thanks from Spain my Friend!
Hi! Thanks for the feedback!
Greetings from Austria!
Thanks for the video great to see some a2 content, seems like this printer doesn't get a lot of love on the interwebs. Have you considered a bed leveling sensor? I have really enjoyed the switch to a glass bed. I think that z axis upgrade is my next big upgrade.
Thanks for your feedback!
Sadly, although it is better than the A8 IMO.
No, I have never tried a leveling sensor so far, as, when the bed is leveled and the switch is fixed properly, the levelness doesn't change for many prints. So I've not been in need of one so far. There is a glass plate in my Anycubic Kossel, but I have not used it so far (I used tape on it).
The best experience with both levelness and adhesion is with my JGAurora A5, as it has some special coating that holds the print when heated up and releases it under about 40°C.
4:08 yeah I found as well that, especially with PLA parts, a lighter (or in my opinion even better: a small creme brulee torch) is a tool you really need to have, it's so handy for finishing your 3d printed parts, or even for things like what you did here! :-)
Yeah, that's totally true, although I've been using it only sparsely so far! Originally, I wanted to design the black part so that I can screw the coupler in, but as I was too stupid for taking correct measurements a few times in a row, I just ended up with this solution. I might consider it more often in the future ;-)
Well I would! I printed some blocks for a puzzle game a while ago. Some blocks missed a corner, because something gone wrong. I was really dissappointed because it was like a 5 hour print (not that bad though). But I just melted some filament on the corners, and molded it in the right shape haha. It worked great lol. The creme brulee torch is a tool I love ever since that :-D. BTW absolutely no layers were visible in that corner lol
It's always annoying if something doesn't properly fit after a long print. I'm definitely gonna try fixing (PLA) models with heat once they fail again. And if it doesn't work out, I can just reprint it anyways. Take the small part from the video for example: Printing it took like 20 minutes on the Anet A8, and I printed it like three times because there was always something wrong. Of course I was really annoyed and therefore tried out this method for the first time. Considering this, then we can count ourselves lucky that PLA has a low melting point ;-)
Hello. I have been having problems with my Anet a2. I keep getting thermal runaways. Do you know what could help?
Check the cables of the thermistors, I'd suggest. Also, search the internet for what exactly triggers these errors and check your printer. Look at the temperatures on the display etc.
what size are the screws you're using for the fan on the fan duct?
Hi Bob, thanks for your comment!
As far as I remember, I used some M3x25mm or M3x30mm screws for the upper fan. For the lower fan, I used shorter M3 screws, I even had to use two different sizes because some were too long.
Contrary to the original thing, I don't use the additional fan shroud, as it's just not necessary for PLA/PETG prints.
I hope I could help ya, if not, let me know!
Hi.... I have a question...
All basic firmware are the same right until you tailor them to your machine? And If so then why do I get errors in the firmware when uploading to the main board? Been trying to sort this out for 7 weeks for my anet a8. Can u help?
More or less. The Marlin firmware is one project that offers many optional useful features and support for a variety of printer types and boards. The good thing is that you can choose what features you want to have by enabling/disabling them in the configuration files.
If you have the Anet Mainboard, installing Marlin on it is relatively simple, and I've explained it in my Marlin on Anet A8 video (czcams.com/video/2uX5_rI1QM8/video.html), just follow the steps closely. The configuration should work out just fine, with only some slight offsets remaining (and that's because of the physical endstop location).
What errors do you get? If you don't want to post it here, feel free to mail me, I can at least try to help ya ;-)
You need to find out whether you experience **Compile Errors** (errors that show up when clicking on "Verify") or **Upload Errors** (errors that show up only when uploading, the compilation ("Verify") is fine).
If there are compile errors, there's a problem with the code, if it always fails in the uploading stage, there might be a driver issue or a wrongly selected COM port...
Caverntwo thanks again bro... I've got the idea regarding the firmware and have learnt from scratch... But now I have I will have to tackle the task again this weekend. Thanks for your support and yes I will be in touch if I can't crack it...
Regards
Nice! Let me know if it worked out for you!
Hello there! I tried printing the Z-axis in the middle upgrade, but it seems like I am doing something wrong, the top bends a little, and I still have compressed z-layer problems. Also, my part is not as tall as it should be, but I am using the TH3D firmware settings for the Anet A2.
Any help would be very appreciated!
Hi there,
Thanks for reaching out to me!
As a very initial guess, I might assume that you printed the top part too weakly. I know, the design isn't perfect, as the part is relatively long. Therefore, It's even more important to print it very sturdily. I don't know what settings I've used anymore, but I remember that I used at least 10 top and bottom layers (1 mm) and at least 40% infill. If I printed it today, I would even ramp up the settings a little bit more to achieve a really sturdy part.
I don't know about the TH3D firmware currently, but it pretty surely has a steps/mm settings anywhere. In Marlin, I set 400.
I'd suggest that you take a look at both things, it could be either of them or even both.
Let me know if that worked for you!
@@Caverntwo I have printed the part with 5 bottom layers and 3 top I think, and 30 or 40% infill, don't remember exactly, and I can see it quite flexing. I just don't know if that's the problem or if the rod or the coupler (which I find different oppinions on how to mount in the ned, some say both sides 5mm in, other say ram them together) or something else.
A look at the firmware tells me it is 400, so you can confirm that this setting is correct? I just don't find any values in the prusa calculator that match up with these.
I am quite sure that I have a problem with the axis itself and not the steps-setting, because of different artifacts on the print.
Thanks for your quick reply, I will have a look further into it!
I'd even print it more sturdy. I remember that my first attempt printing the top part failed for some reason when it was about half done, and I realized that it's flexing way too much. So I printed it really sturdy to avoid flexing issues. It's still flexing, but I'd guess only around 1 or 2 mm.
Another thing you should take a look at is the installation of the top holder. Make sure that it is exactly above the motor. I took a level to confirm it (the printer needs to be placed on a level area).
For the coupler, it doesn't really matter how much the space between the motor shaft and leadscrew is in this application, as long as they don't touch! The reason for that is that in our case the coupler is pulled apart thanks to the weight of the motor, so it's flexing anyways. If your coupler is really pulled apart and bent, then it's broken and you should replace it.
Yes, 400 is correct. Measure it yourself. The rod is a T8 (metric trapezoidal) with a 2mm pitch and the thread line starting 4 times (when you take a look at the top), meaning that it advances 8 mm with a full rotation. I looked up Wikipedia and other sites just to give you the proper answer: they are Tr8x8(p2) leadscrews.
With default stepper drivers, like the cheap A4988s I use, you can achieve 1/16th steps. The Prusa calculator returns 400, just as expected.
One more thing to try: Could it be that the extruder is pushed against the bed in the initial layers? Make sure that it only slightly touches the bed.
Let me know if that helped!
@@Caverntwo Okay, so I have now gone into the issue a bit further, and when watching the axis move up and down, I think I can see it stuttering. I don't know if it's due to the coupling, the top part or the wheels which drive in the extruded aluminium. The printer has been standing arround for 2 years now, maybe the wheels got an flat spot while not in use? I tried to make a video, if you know a way how I can show it to you, I would send it to you if you would like to see it yourself.
I am not sure if I should reprint the top part or should approach a 2 leadscrew- 1 motor assembly. I found guys on thingiverse who did that as well, seems to work ok.
Love to hear your thoughts again!
Yeah, that what happened in my case during the original setup. Make sure that the wheels can turn freely and that the top holder is directly above the motor. It's more important than it seems.
For the wheels you can also add a drop of oil if they should tend to stuck.
When the z axis moves up, does the coupler move vertically or circles unbalanced?
Sure, you can contact me via email or Telegram. The contact information can be found in the about section of the channel.
I originally also thought about doing the two leadscrew setup either with one motor or with two (like the Anet A8 has). For me, it worked out with the central axis, so I was happy.
This is genius
Thanks for your feedback!
I'm glad that you liked the video!
Ever printed on glass?
Not yet! And I probably won't on this printer. However, I'm about to try on my Anycubic Kossel!
pla sticks on it very well, petg does too(but some people said that it sticks too well),hips just fly right off , but if you put gluestick on , a removable glass bed wash it away well
The best experience I had so far was with the Anycubic UltraBase and the clone on my JGAurora A5, as the material sticks very good and removes itself when the temperature drops below 40°C.
The best thing is that printing on glass leaves a reflecting bottom surface , especially with oversquished pla
That's true.
German accent too heavy can't understand what was said! won't stick at all! So can't print mods printing in ABS
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. You'd need a high bed temperature and probably an enclosure to get better results with ABS, therefore try a different material like PLA or PETG.