SV06 Plus Frame Brace

Overview

A printable frame brace for the SV06 Plus which braces the printer's Z axis against the bottom bed frame, reducing the impact of vibrations on parts while printing. I made this as I wanted some braces which didn't require more than some filament and basic hardware.

All the structural parts are fully printable and can be printed off in 2 jobs on the SV06 Plus. I used PETG for my braces as I have an enclosure which might've caused PLA to soften and I was worried about PLA creep.

I haven't tested PLA but it could be used instead of PETG as it is much stiffer, could perform better than PETG braces and if annealed might not creep by a significant amount.

These braces replace the stock Z axis guides which hold the Z axis rods and screws and requires the removal of the touch screen on the right, meaning this isn't suitable for printers without remote control.

Additionally this doesn't impact the maximum printable Z height of the printer.

Materials

• 2x M4x30 bolts
• 6x M4x14 bolts
• 4x M14x10 bolts
• 8x M4 Nuts
• 4x M4 T-nuts
• 67m of filament (~205g of filament)

Print Instructions

Before committing to printing off both Z axis guides I would print the Z axis bearing test model just to double check that it will fit in the final part. Modify the .STEP files if you need to make changes as scaling the part might mess up the brace alignment.

The upper and lower braces should be printed on their side such that the layer lines run along the top and bottom sides of the parts when installed.

Z axis guides should be printed on the flat side which becomes the top side when installed.

Mounting plates should be printed on their side.

Print settings

• 3 walls
• 0.2mm layer height
• 4 top/bottom layers
• Tree support enabled (optional)
• 15% gyroid infill
• Printed at 80-100mm/s

Installation

Before installing make sure that the screen on the right has been removed and that nothing is blocking the slots on the bed frame's aluminium extrusions.

ONLY INSTALL ONE BRACE AT A TIME, if you take both stock Z axis guides off, there won't be anything holding the Z axis together.

1. Assemble all the brace parts together, each brace lower should mount over the sloped face of the mounting plate and I would slightly attach the T-nuts onto the other side of the mounting plate
2. Remove one stock Z axis guide, this can be tricky as the bearing for the Z rods tends to get stuck in these guides, so be careful when removing the guide and remember to take out the bearings
3. Fit the Z rod bearing into the new Z axis guide then the Z rod and screw
4. Use the stock M6 bolts and washers to secure the new Z axis guide to the frame, it can be pretty tight
5. Place the T-nuts on the mounting plate into the bed frame's aluminium extrusions and tighten, it should be sitting up against the front plate of the bed frame
6. Repeat the steps above for the other side
7. Double check/tighten all bolts one last time

Results

So far I have noticed an increase in surface quality, with an overall reduction in “noise” on outer surfaces which is normally most noticeable on curved surfaces with shiny filaments, resulting in more consistent outer walls.

I've been using the braces for around 6 months and I've has no issues with breaks or my printer no longer being square.

My printer uses Klipper, normally printing at 80mm/s for outer walls and 100mm/s for every thing else with inner/outer/inner wall order.

Below are the accelerometer results from before and after the braces. I do not fully understand how to interpret the results of these graphs so I can't quantify the impact the braces had.

Without Braces 

With PETG Braces

Note: After generating the graphs I realised that the script creating them uses a default square corner velocity of 5.0mm/s but my Klipper configuration (Bassamanator) uses a value of 8.0mm/s. I'm not sure of the effect on the graph's representation of real world performance so take each graph with a pinch of salt.

Afterword

Any feedback and suggestions are welcome and I'll try my best to incorporate these into future versions if there aren't any remixes for them.

I am also interested in testing annealed PLA braces if people are interested in that.