Y Axis Drag Chain for Anycubic I3 Mega / Anycubic Mega S

This model consists of two parts to affix ModelStation's Cable Chain links to the Anycubic I3 Mega or Mega S for use as a Y axis drag chain.

Part A slides on to the right rear corner of the heated beds support base, is held in place beneath the spring for that corner, and has a channel that cleanly routes wiring into the chain as well as to provide better strain relief than the wire tie attaching to the spring.

Part B attaches to the printers base at the back of the through hole for the heated beds wiring, and secures, ideally, with two M3 x 10mm screws and nuts. It might be secure enough with a nylon wire tie, which was the case for the attachment of the cable originally, but since the printer will have to be disassembled and opened up anyways, I recommend screws.

The flexible PVC tubing sheathing the heated beds wiring is too rigid to work in such a drag chain effectively, and must be removed. That said, there are three options.

Option 1: Unplug the thermister cable from the mainboard, unscrew the two terminals for the heating element on the mainboard, slide each of the two heating element wires out of the PVC jacket, then the thermister wires will easily slide through with the connector.

Option 2: Unsolder all 4 wires from the heated bed, then slide the PVC tubing right off.

Option 3: Carefully cut the PVC sleeve off of the wiring.

Option 2, would be the quickest and easiest in theory, however, since the printer will have to be disassembled and opened up anyways, unscrewing two terminals and lifting a 2 pin connector off the board takes about the same amount of effort, without waiting for a soldering iron to heat up.

Option 3 is both dangerous to the wiring, and yeah, the wires will still have to be fed through the chain, so they will still need to be disconnected at one end or the other.

I chose option 1. :)

As for the chain itself, ModelStation's Cable Chain model is at: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:11978

The links you'll need can be directly downloaded here: https://cdn.thingiverse.com/assets/1c/7c/fd/70/7a/CableChainx4.stl

The model downloaded from the above link contains 4 chain links. My drag chain design requires 14 chain links, so printing the downloaded STL 4 times will give you two spare links.

Both the links and my model's "Part B" print nicely on the Anycubic without supports, however, "Part A" definitely requires supports. I recommend supports "only to buildplate".

I'm currently in the process of installing this model on my Anycubic and will be back tomorrow to upload photo's to show how it's supposed to look. It attaches the chain exactly opposite of the way I'd prefer to attach my drag chain, however, the Anycubic I3 Mega offers challenges that led me to how I would have to design the thing.

Hopefully, somebody will find it useful.

Cheers!

Print Settings

Printer:

Anycubic I3 Mega

Rafts:

Supports:

Yes

Resolution:

Infill:

20

Filament:

Generic PLA

Black

Notes:

Category: 3D Printer Accessories