Upgrading the Anet A8 to an AM8 Switchwire
Table of contents
Intro
The AM8 is a drop in replacement for the frame on the Anet A8. However I will be upgrading to a metal frame with CoreXZ kinematics using the AM8 Switchwire Mod.
Frame
Since upgrading to PrusaSlicer, I have pushed my printing speeds to the limit of what stock Anet A8 acrylic frame can cope with.
I have stiffened the frame as much as I can with 3D printed upgrades however, the frame really could do with a metal frame to print faster.
I had originally intended to migrate from the Anet A8's acrylic frame to a CoreXY Hypercube style printer but instead decided to build a complete Voron 1.8. As Nero 3D says 2 printers are 1 and 1 printer is none, therefore I would like to keep at least one working printer before heavilly modifing a working one.
During my research for the Hypercube, I ruled out the AM8 due to the cost of the frame, however the frame I settled on was an ALTRAX frame that I have imported from Poland for £30.55 plus postage which I thought was resonable.
After purchasing the frame, I found a project on Reddit to convert the Anet A8 to a CoreXZ style printer similar to the Voron Switchwire.
Software
I have an extra SKR Pico that I received when I purchased a Formbot Voron 0.2 kit.
It will be flashed with Klipper Firmware as the Pico does not support Marlin. The SKR Pico has 4 integrated stepper motors which will be enough to run the 2 XZ stepper motors, the Y Stepper and the Extuder.
Sourcing Parts
Fasteners
| Item | Quantity | Received | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| M2 nuts | 6 | 50 | |
| M2x10 SHCS | 4 | 100 | |
| M2x14 SHCS | 2 | 50 | |
| M3x12 SHCS | 2 | 2 | |
| M3x16 SHCS | 1 | 1 | |
| M3x25 BHCS | 4 | 25 | |
| M3x30 BHCS | 23 | 25 | |
| M3 0.5mm Spacer | 18 | 40 | |
| M3 nuts | 3 | 3 | |
| M3 Threaded Insert | 15 | 28 | |
| M5x10 BHCS | 31 | 50 | |
| M5x30 BHCS | 6 | 7 | |
| M5 T-Nut | 25 | 47 |
Motion
| Item | Quantity | Received | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| F623-RS Bearing | 18 | 20 | |
| GT2 16T Pulley (5mm ID 6mm W) | 3 | 3 | |
| GT2 Open Belt LL-2GT-6 (6mm wide) | 5m | 5m | |
| LM8LUU Linear Bearing | 2 | 2 |
Electronics
| Item | Quantity | Received | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40x40x20 Centrifugal Fan (12V) | 1 | 1 | |
| 40x40x10 Axial Fan (12V) | 1 | 1 | |
| E3D V6 Bowden Hotend Kit (12V) | 1 | Will use the Anet A8 Extruder to start | |
| Mini 12864 Display | 1 | 1 | |
| NEMA17 Motor 17HS15-1504S1 | 3 | 3 | |
| NEMA17 Motor 17HS08-1004S | 1 | 1 | |
| Omron TL-Q5MC2 - NPN Inductive Probe | 1 | 1 | |
| SKR 1.4 | 1 | 1 | |
| Raspberry Pi 3 | 1 | 1 |
Printing Parts
AM8 Switchwire
I have chosen Blue as the accent colour to match the printed parts that I inherited when I purchased an already built Enraged Rabbit Carrot Feeder which will be rebuilt into a 6 channel so that it will fit on the top of this printer.
Accessories
I will probably skip printing the TPU feet and use right angle M6 threaded hole brackets to mount some rubber compressor feet that are used on the original Switchwire.
| Item | Quantity | Material | Printed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 Cable Clip | ? | eSun ABS+ (Black) | ❌ | |
| Foot Left | 2 | Ziro TPU (Black) | ❌ | Not Required if using Switchwire compressor feet |
| Foot Right | 2 | Ziro TPU (Black) | ❌ | Not Required if using Switchwire compressor feet |
| Lightweight LM8UU Bearing Block | 7 | eSun ABS+ (Black) | ❌ | Not Required when using stock aluminium bearing blocks |
| Printhead Cable Duct | 1 | eSun ABS+ (Blue) | ❌ | |
| LCD Controller Mount | 1 | eSun ABS+ (Blue) | ❌ |
Electronics
| Item | Quantity | Material | Printed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MeanWell LRS-350-24 Mount | 2 | eSun ABS+ (Black) | ❌ | Version for Meanwell LRS-320-24, will probably use stock AM8 version |
| skr_pico_mount_v2 | 2 | eSun ABS+ (Black) | ❌ | This is a remix by thomasfjen, 1 for Pico & 1 for RPi |
XZ Axis
Printhead
Anet A8
| Item | Quantity | Material | Printed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belt Clamp Body | 1 | eSun ABS+ (Black) | ❌ | |
| Belt Clamp Lid | 2 | eSun ABS+ (Black) | ❌ | |
| X Rod Mount | 2 | eSun ABS+ (Blue) | ❌ | 45mm version |
Voron Afterburner
| Item | Quantity | Material | Printed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belt Clamp Body | 1 | eSun ABS+ (Black) | ❌ | |
| Belt Clamp Lid | 2 | eSun ABS+ (Black) | ❌ | |
| PL-08N Probe Bracket | 1 | eSun ABS+ (Black) | ❌ | |
| VORON Afterburner Adapter Left | 1 | eSun ABS+ (Black) | ❌ | |
| VORON Afterburner Adapter Right | 1 | eSun ABS+ (Black) | ❌ | |
| X Rod Mount | 2 | eSun ABS+ (Blue) | ❌ | 40mm version |
Y Axis
Original AM8 Parts
The AM8 thingyverse page provides a nice build guide with the order of assembly.
These parts are to convert to more standard Anet A8 kinematics and are mainly remixes for the original AM8. I will not be printing these parts unless I have issues with the Switchwire mod.
Bottom Frame
| Item | Quantity | Material | Printed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bottom_Corner_Plate | 4 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | |
| Bottom_Tee_Plate | 1 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | |
| Bottom_Tee_Plate_Chain_Adapter | 1 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by Celphor |
| Z_Corner_Bracket | 2 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by mariob92 |
Y Axis
| Item | Quantity | Material | Printed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rear_Corner_Plate_Left | 1 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by penkerton |
| Rear_Corner_Plate_Right | 1 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by penkerton |
| Y_Belt_Block | 1 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by Blocki_Austria |
| Y_Belt_Tensioner | 1 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by Blocki_Austria |
| Y_Motor_Mount | 1 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by GrkMangas |
| Y_axis_Rod_Holder | 3 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by morganlowe |
| Y_axis_Rod_Holder_with_endstop | 1 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by morganlowe |
Z Axis
| Item | Quantity | Material | Printed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top_Corner_Plate_Left | 1 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by penkerton |
| Top_Corner_Plate_Right | 1 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by penkerton |
| Z_Motor_Mount_Left | 1 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by xXChrissXx |
| Z_Motor_Mount_Right | 1 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by xXChrissXx |
| Z_Rod_Holder_with_Bearing_Left | 1 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by GrkMangas |
| Z_Rod_Holder_with_Bearing_Right | 1 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by GrkMangas |
Electronics Housing
These are for upgraded PSU and SKR 1.4 Mainboard
| Item | Quantity | Material | Printed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSU_Mount | 2 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by dziliak |
| skr_1.4_mount | 2 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by adp97 |
These are for the original Anet A8 Mainboard.
| Item | Quantity | Material | Printed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main_Board | 1 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by zadthebad |
| Main_Board_Cover | 1 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by AngelKing86 |
| Main_Board_FanGrill | 1 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by AngelKing86 |
| Dual_Mosfet_Holder | 1 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by CAVE_news |
| Mosfet_Board_cover | 2 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by zadthebad |
| Raspberry_Pi_Holder | 1 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by nowkillkennys |
LCD Mount
These are for the upgraded screen from an Anet A6.
| Item | Quantity | Material | Printed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LCD_Base_Left | 1 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by bcreigh |
| LCD_Base_Right | 1 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by bcreigh |
| LCD_Cover_Back | 1 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by eat_sleep_make_repeat |
| LCD_Cover_Front | 1 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by eat_sleep_make_repeat |
| LCD_Cover_SD | 1 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by eat_sleep_make_repeat |
| LCD_Cover_USB | 1 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by eat_sleep_make_repeat |
Extras
| Item | Quantity | Material | Printed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2040_End_Cap | 2 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by Reediculous |
| front_right_corner_with_logo | 1 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by jaseatwey |
| LED_Strip_Clip | 2 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by AUREL_14 |
| LED_Strip_Holder | 1 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by AUREL_14 |
| Power_Supply_Cover | 1 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by thorinair |
| t_slot_cover | 1 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by jaseatwey |
| TL_Smoother_mount | 5 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by Doublehelix88 |
| Tool_Caddy | 2 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by kayOs |
| Tool_Holder | 1 | PrimaValue ABS (Dark Grey) | ❌ | This is a remix by zimonkaizoku |
Smart Filament Sensor Mount
Mount for the BigTreeTech Smart filment sensor V1.0 that I already have. There are two different mounts, one vertical and one horizontal.
| Item | Quantity | Material | Size | Weight | Cost | Printed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BTT_Sensor_Mount_A | 2 | ❌ | This is a Voron Users Mod by Empusas | ||||
| BTT_Sensor_Mount_B | 2 | eSun ABS+ (Black) | 3.71m | 9.46g | £0.18 | ✔️ | This is a Voron Users Mod by Empusas |
I have printed the 'B' mounts as I am planning on mounting 2 of them, 1 on the top of each upright extrusion along with an M4 extruder on each side. I have had to mirror one part along the Y axis when importing to the slicer as I want a mirrored version for opposite sides of the printer.