Qidi Plus4 Toolhead Enhancements (with Beacon)

My take on a Plus4 tool head beacon mount and cooling mods.

A few of the advantages compared to the stock, and other users mods are:

• Visibility! The nozzle is easy to see from the front of the printer making print progress and nozzle condition easy to check.
• Hotend cooling is optimised with tight ducting.
• Beacon mounting is very solid. No resonance or mount longevity/warping issues.
• Beacon is cooled by a duct from the hotend cooling fan, no overheating or component longevity issues.
• Hotend access is quick & easy with front plate / cooling fan removal by three M3 screws.
• Designed to re-use the original Plus4 cooling fan.
• Hotend cooling fan mounted at an angle giving more room behind the fan for increased air flow.

There a couple downsides:

• The cooling fan wires need to be extended (cut & soldered).
• Not the easiest to print & assemble

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Yes, this is quite a detailed and difficult print. You'll need to have your printer and filament settings dialled in for it not to fail and for it to fit correctly. In quite a few places, there is only 0.2mm of tolerance. 

I printed it using ASA-GF10, but PA6-GF/CF or better (higher-temp) is recommended.

You'll need four M3x6, three M3x8 threaded heat-set inserts, and a bunch of M3 screws in assorted short lengths. Re-use the original plastic screws that screw into the tool-head.
Make sure you use the two screws supplied with the beacon to attach it to the mount.

Print the front-plate with the front-side flat to the bed, no supports needed.
Print the main-block with the bottom side on the bed. I used tree supports where needed
Print the beacon-mount on a 45deg angle to the bed, with tree supports where needed.
Print the blower-duct at a 45deg angle to the bed, fan flange down, with supports under the side mounts and fan flange opening but nowhere else.

Using the original part cooling fan requires breaking it out of the original plastic mount (it's glued into it). Do so carefully, and it'll come out without a problem. As mentioned you'll need to extend the wires to it by about 12cm by cutting the wires and soldering in an extension (length depends on your chosen wire routing, so check the extra length needed yourself).

If you're new to using a Beacon, follow the initial setup guide that's on the github wiki.
https://github.com/qidi-community/Plus4-Wiki/tree/main/content/bed-scanning-probes/Beacon3D/RevH-Normal
Make all the changes noted in that document!

Then you'll need to modify “printer.cfg” with the following point location changes:

[beacon]
x_offset: 0
y_offset: 19.831
[z_tilt]
z_positions:
  -23.5,151.0
  334.0,151.0
points:
  20.0,131.169
  285.0,131.169

 

Before starting the first print, make sure the beacon clears the scrubber plate, and nothing else gets caught up (cables, etc) by moving the toolhead around the printer limits by hand (printer powered off). If the beacon doesn't clear the scrubber plate, remove the scrubber plate off it's mount (its stuck on with double-sided tape), and adjust the two screws on the mount, then stick the plate back on again.
The Beacon may touch the silicon wiper pad, this isn't a problem.

This design has been a lot of work, and it's been working perfectly for me since installed :)
Enjoy, and please leave comments on how it works for you.