- article under development, please add your knowledge and feel free to edit -The corresponding discussion can be found here
Thanks to the Anet A8 3D printing community, here is our selection of the 25 best Anet A8 upgrades and mods to improve your 3D printing experience. I am in the process of installing the BLTouch on my A8 as well. I printed a mount, flashed Marlin (bricked a board in the process and fried an Arduino trying to use it as an ISP D: ultimately had to wait for shipping from China), and I am following the second diagram. On mine I chose to run a USB cable between the board and the touch.
A very common issue are scorched heat bed connectors like this:
For problems on the other end of these wires look here https://3dprint.wiki/reprap/electronics/heatbed_mosfet
Root cause
There are several opinions about the root cause of this problem. Which is the main root cause or if it is a combination of them is still to be discussed. Dynamark 836 manual. Here some collected facts and arguments.
The connector is a VHR-6N from JST rated to 10A. The heat bed draws around 10A at room temperature and less when hotter (click here for details). So theoretically the connector is just enough. But these connectors are not designed to constantly moving aroud so a strain relief(see below) could probably solve the problem.
![Anet Anet](https://cdn.thingiverse.com/renders/59/d1/f7/79/a3/329b0d8a0a545a7e829c5e7357502efa_preview_featured.jpg)
Other possible reason for failures could be:
- stiff stock wires or wrong size
- that only 1 of the two + pins and one of the two - pins are used instead of both + pins and - pins reducing the current for each.
How to repair
There are several options to repair scorched connectors
Option 1 - Replace the connectors with the same type
(and maybe set yourself up for another happening of 'more of the same'?)
You will need:
- 4x SVH with AWG 16 pre crimped pigtails like these or
- crimping tool
- Silicone wires with thins strads AWG 16 to 18.
The heat bed connector has 4 pins for + and -. The + pins can be used in paralell, the - pins also. This reduces the current on the pins and therefore the probability of failure.
It is recomended to add strain relief.
Option 2 - Soldering the wires directly onto the hotbed heater
Recommendations:
- Use a solderingiron of good capacity (75/100 Watts). A smaller capacity iron will not melt the solder quick enough to get a good electrical connection (the more metal you need to heatup for a joint the more capacity you need, keep heating it with a low capacity iron for longer time is not good practice)
- Do not OVERheat the solderjoint. As soon as the solder melts on both the wire and the pad keep the wire motionless till the solder has hardened (if it moves while hardening the joint will be no good eventhough the wire might be “stuck on”)
- Adding too much solder is just as bad as not enough for a good electrical connection.
- The solder on the heat bed is probably lead free solder. Most people use leaded solder at home. As mixing them is not recommended it is better to remove as much old solder as possible before soldering.
- Maybe add a strain relief so that the constant bending of the wire does not stress the solderjoint.
video of a heat bed soldering it might be a slow going video but a lot can be learned for thoose who never practised soldering before.
Option 3 - spade connectors
-feel free to write this chapter - always keep in mind : if it works, there is no wrong way of fixing your problem just easy and hard ways
Option 4 - european style screw connectors
-feel free to write this chapter - always keep in mind : if it works, there is no wrong way of fixing your problem just easy and hard ways
Strain relief
Anet A8 Usb Cable Adapters
Test computer license florida in creole. A strain relief reduces the stress on the connector/solder. This is a good idea independently of which option was chosen or as a preventive measure before it fails. Here some options:
- 90° angle connector https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:17916
Remarks:
Anet A8 Usb Cable Splitter
- By replacing the stock wires by thicker ones (AWG 14 or 16) you can increase the heater power (explanation). For the JST crimp connectors AWG 16 is the thickest wire compatible with the SVH-41T-P1-1 pins
Anet A8 Usb Cable Connector
Also it is prefered to discuss the content in the discussion link (see top) you can add comments here: