K1 Max, Heat Venting without glass removal.

If You find this design useful, Please consider sharing a Make or leaving a comment. It's always good to see my efforts in use by others out there and it often inspires me to make improvements where I can. Without feedback I just draw a line under a design and move on to new projects.

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Although I used aluminium strips as the tie rods in my print, I have also included printable alternatives for those not wanting to source similar metal parts.  The printable strip variants are over the minimum length so you can snip the ends for a perfect fit.  

For reference, I didn't need to glue mine together. I only glued mine in the end as it had always been intended so was just a matter of course. But even without glue I had no concerns with anything moving after assembly as everything fit snugly on completion.

Update:- There are now 2 different connecting rod files. One (Fat) is the same dimensions (2.5x9) as the alloy used for my build. The other is slightly thinner (2.45x8.8) to account for any print inaccuracies. I also included a test print piece combining both sizes and clearly marked as Fat and Slim at a decent length to allow for a test fit before deciding which one suits your prints best. I obviously designed the frame structure with the alloy bars in mind so never intended printing the connectors and as mine is now fully fitted and glued together it's too late for me to try them without doing a spare corner reprint. 

I primarily print PLA and TPU, meaning the glass top of the K1 Max was mostly not on the printer and always at risk of being broken either in the constant removals, or just where it was placed while off the printer.  For those reasons I prefer having the glass stay safely on the printer as much as possible.  I had my own ideas on what I wanted and came up with this design. It's  a relatively simple design that I knew I could put into use quickly and with minimal printing required. 

I am very happy with  the final printed model and it works as intended.. 

I had some unused strips of aluminium from a previous project that kept pulling my eye while I was thinking about this cover/frame design. Instead of having to print a full top frame, I could tailor the design to use the strips and massively cut down on printing requirements, leaving me needing just four corners worth of printing for it to work as intended.  I added printable strip alternatives only after finishing the frame build and thinking there might be people who want a fully 3d printed option.

Things I wanted from this design were:-

A quick print of a solid and safe framework for the top glass to keep it on the printer.

Additional safety from accidentally knocking it off the top of the printer (accidents do happen).

A deep glass recess to again avoid any careless accidents a shallow glass fitting might allow.

This design covers all those requirements with four printed corners and Four strips of aluminium (310x9x2.5mm). I designed it so that as long as the strips are a few mm either side of 310mm it would still allow for perfect fitment. The only additional thing needed beyond filament (obviously) and the aluminium (or printed) strips is some glue to securely hold the connecting strips in place so they can't slide. I used Gorilla glue gel as it fills out better than thin superglue, though the alloy strips were already a very tight fit. For the tightness reason, I undersized one of the printable rods in height and width  to give the option for an easier fit.  The 100mm length dual size test piece will allow those using  the printed connectors to easily test fit it in the lower corner pieces before deciding which full length pieces they should choose to print.

I made the corners in 2 halves in order to make the printing and tie rod fitting easier. I sliced the lower half with custom supports solely for the area the connecting strips go into. Supports were easily removed with the small screwdriver that came with the K1.  

I added a thin ‘spacer’ (optional) to go between the 2 halves to print in a different colour and give an option for a nicer look. I think it looks better than just having the two halves as it tricks the eye and hides the join in plain sight. Without the spacer it looks somehow more obvious that the corners are in two parts. I toyed with doing a thicker spacer option, but that would interfere with the biscuits doing their 2nd job of protruding into the printer frame sufficiently for additional knock protection. It would also have necessitated making longer biscuits to compensate which would likely be easier to break during fitting. 

I initially tried a version with the corner blocks nearly flush with the printer frame, but didn't like the look, so I did a redesign and raised the corners by a mm or so solely for the aesthetic.

There are 2 widths of ‘biscuits’:- Easier fitting and Tight. The tight options had to literally be hammered into place but will securely hold the halves together without glue being necessary. The biscuits protrude lower than the corner prints and fall inside the K1 max frame adding some extra insurance against ever knocking the lid loose of the printer. The easier fit biscuits are still pretty tight, but I would suggest adding a bit of glue to be doubly sure the 2 halves never part . I added a lug inside the two halves to allow for an M4 tapered head screw/bolt and nut to be used to bolt the two parts together if desired (I didn't bother adding a screw as it's more than secure enough for me without it). 

It was always a given that the bars were going to be glued once the fitting was confirmed as being good. To that end there are inner relief holes on the inside of the corner pieces for each bar end to allow any excess glue to escape and not ‘airlock’ while sliding them into place.  

This design also has the added benefit of lifting the glass high enough to give the hotend Bowden tube more room to move freely . Removing that tight bend as the tube enters the hotend makes for an easier task when changing filaments as well as reducing friction in that area. One of the first things I did with  the K1 was release the bowden tube from the chain, keeping only one fastener nearest the runout sensor end. Although this allowed the tube to increase it's height in the enclosure, it now barely/rarely touches the glass.

                                                Assembly and Fitting instructions:-

Once printed, Check all the support material is fully removed from the bottom halves of the prints.  Decide if you are using the spacer/beauty rings. Note:- They will fit either way but there is a right and a wrong side with it fitting better one way than the other, check alignment before you commit to forcing the biscuits in tight especially if using the thicker variants.  When fitted the correct way the 3 parts align perfectly, if the spacer has a gap at the corner and an odd edge? it is upside down..

Test fit the aluminium (or printed variant)  in the slots and make sure when the 2 halves go together they fit flush, mine needed no attention apart from one that had a couple of millimeters of support material  accidentally left in the slot.  Put each corner together (with or without glue). 

Using the top glass as your guide, build the frame around your top glass on a suitable flat surface  in the orientation it will be used, then test fit it on the printer. Only glue the connecting bars when you are sure it all fits correctly. Remember those interior holes  in the corners when adding glue. You don't want any glue dripping inside the printer on final fitting checks. 

Personally? I test fitted mine, marked the strips inside while the frame was on the printer with a view to final glue being done while off the printer, but then decided on an alternate option .

 I removed the glass, and while the frame was on the printer I removed one bar end, covered the glue relief hole with kitchen roll to catch any excess, squirted a small blob of gorilla glue in the alloy strip access hole then refitted the strip of alloy and aligned the corner accordingly, Once happy, I added a bit of duct tape over the hole then moved on to the next end and worked my way around.  A quick double check everything still fitted perfectly once all were done and then I put the glass back in place. Job done. perfect fit. 

To print anything that requires heat be kept in the enclosure you would obviously need to remove the glass with this design, then remove the frame and then put the glass back on the actual printer. 

I had originally planned on adding vents and sealing sections for high temp filaments but when it came nearer the time to do it I went a different route. I opted for a remix of somebody else's design for the riser I had in mind which halted any further work on this version.  If I hadn't been jumping between pla and ASA printing so much of late I would still be using this riser today.