monolith panels Monolith Panels on my V2.4 350

[Dirk]

When I got my Fysetc Voron 2.4, 350 kit, almost a year ago, I built it as it was written in the manual: stock.

I bravely followed the guide and printed the clips, the print-in-place hinges, used those awful nuts to screw the panels down.

 Of course the print-in-place hinges were not moving, because I had no idea how to set the tolerances and extrusion multiplier on my Sidewinder X2, so I had to find alternatives. I ran into a post from @Buurman and @mvdveer which was discussing hinges (thank you my fellow Dutchies!) So I used one of those. Getting the enclosure sit right, took me longer than any other parts of the manual.

When I needed to do something with my stock-afterburner, I had to remove a side panel. It took me so long, that I decided to look for an alternative. I considered magnets, but decided to print the clips that would self-lock. Once the filament you use to get it work, started breaking off, I replaced them with yet another handy alternative. 

I also used the 270 degrees mod for the doors and another mod to stiffen up the doors. I still was not happy with how it worked and looked...

 Before

A couple of weeks ago I saw a picture of the Monolith Panels, but didn't realize it was a mod. I was surprised to see it was on a 2.4! So I looked further.

I finally had some time to build it, so I thought I'd share it with you.

Monolith Panels uses a few verticals, horizontals and corners that attach to the edges of your acrylic panels. Once it is assembled, all you have to do, is to click it on your printer frame / extrusions.

It is a cheap mod, and requires little hardware. 

It is available for the Voron 2.4 & the Trident. For the dimensions 250, 300, 350.

There is no manual, just some nice pictures. But it is not that hard to figure things out. You have to export your own stl's from the mod, for the selection you want. 

Here I will be describing it for my printer, the Voron 2.4, 350.

I downloaded autodesk Fusion, set it up. No idea how to use it. And the first dialog that came up, was that my graphics card of my decade old laptop wouldn't be good enough. Well... It did well enough to study the CAD and to export the required parts as STL...

I will describe the cad here, so you do not have to go through the painstakingly slow process as I did.

- Every panel is held in place by 4 'corner' pieces, in 4 corners.
- Every panel requires 2 horizontal pieces and 2 vertical pieces
- The back panel does not use verticals or horizontals, just 4 simple-corners.
- The top panel uses 4 simple-corners and 4 [H- horizontals].
- The side panels use 2 simple corners on the back, 2 hinged-corners (corner A & corner B for the right panel, corner C & corner D for the left panel)
- The side panels use 2 [H-horizontals] and 2 [V2-V-verticals].
- The doors use 1 [V2-V-vertical] and 1 [door-handle A / B] and  corners A & B (right door) and corners C & D (left door).
- To clamp down the door handles, you need 2 door-handle-clamps each.
- To clamp down the A/B/C/D corners, you need a corner-clamp for each.

 

 

The required hardware, is as a BOM list on the github. 
I used the following:
- M3 screws, 16mm, 32 pieces
- M3 hex nuts, 32 pieces
- M3 heat inserts, 12 pieces
- M3 screws, 8mm, 12 pieces
- VHB tape
- Foam tape
- 4mm PTFE tube (I used 4 pieces of 3mm pins I had)  

 

Now, the fun part: what to print?
Corners:
  - Experimental CLAMPLESS CORNER - (4 x top panel; 2 x left panel; 2x right panel; 4x back panel) 12 pieces
  - Hinged corners - 2x A, 2x B, 2xC, 2xD
  - V2-V Verticals - 6 pieces
  - H- Horizontals - 8 pieces
  - Door A - horizontal - 2 pieces
  - Door B - horizontal - 2 pieces
  - Door handle clamp - 4 pieces
  - Corner clamps - 12 pieces
  - Clips - 60 + ( more about the clips later).

 

So, I started printing enthusiastically all the pieces that said V2 350. 

 

The Length pieces and door handles ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dirk]

The hinged corner pieces A, B, C, D.

 

 

 

And all the pieces I had printed except the clips.

 

 

I did not realize the first time how things were actually designed, so I exported everything that said 'V2 350'. But after I printed everything, I found out all the longer pieces were also redesigned in 2 smaller parts for printers that were unable to print it at once!

Another reason why I am posting this, do not do what I did and print only those pieces you need as I summed up above
 

 

 

[Dirk]

As is mentioned in the readme on the github, the clips require a very well tuned printer, filament, pressure advance and multiplier settings.

As you might have seen in some cases I used a brim on the edges, because these had the tendency to warp on the long pieces. But were not always necessary.

But the clips did take me more than one try.

On a search I found another github, the one of our friend Esoterical from the Fabulous Canbus guide.

He had also used this mod, to insulate his printer better. In his journey he had adjusted the clips so they would have a better grip. So I studied his cad too and decided to use his clips.

 

 

 

The clips, on their side.

What I can also recommend, is to print first JUST a few clips and a corner, and try the fit, before going any further. It will surely save you a lot of plastic and frustration.

The clips have an indent on the side and you can press it in the corner / length pieces with a simple click. Esoterical even uses a trick with acetone, to make sure they stick better, but this was not necessary in my case.

So there I had all pieces, including the half ones, and some extra corners- in case...

First I had to attach the Foam edge to the panels... I did this simply by adding it over the stock ones.

After I stripped down the panels and doors from the printer. 

This was also a good opportunity to clean the panels

Edited May 13, 2024 by Dirk

[Dirk]

 

THE ASSEMBLY:

The pieces attach to each other like this: with an M3 screw into a hex bolt. The blue piece is the 'experimental' corner. You do need to have the stock VORON BOM panels of 3mm thick, if you have thicker panels, you need to modify all parts. so BEWARE. 

The corners work perfect for 3mm acrylic panels by the way. 

You simply repeat this on all 4 corners.

 

Start with the TOP PANEL.

It uses 4 same clampless corners and 4 H- Horizontal pieces.

Do not forget to add VHB tape in the centers and you can attach your panel to it.

Loosen the screws before adding in the panel and then tighten so it fits in perfectly.

Add the clips, and you are ready to attach it to the top of your printer.

 

Just put the panel on top of the extrusions, make sure the clips sit in the holes of the extrusions and carefully push, it will click in. 

[Dirk]

THE SIDE PANELS
The side panels are similar to the top, with a few differences. Both side panels are the same, except for the hinges, so I will show just the right side.

The back of the panels use the same clampless-corners. The front uses the A / B hinges on the right side and C/D hinges on the left side.

A is the lower corner hinge and B is the upper corner hinge. The holes in the hinges are both accessible from above.

You need to put a heat insert in the hinged corners, so you can clamp the panel down.

You need to use two V2-V on the vertical ends and two H-horizontal pieces. 

Use a corner clamp and an 8mm M3 screw to clamp the panel down, after you have inserted the back side of the panel in the corners.

 

 

 

The left side in the image is the back of the printer, and the bottom is the lower side. 

Once it is ready, you can put this panel also on the printer.

 

 

Edited May 13, 2024 by Dirk

[Dirk]

 

The BACK PANEL

requires just 4 corners. I used the clampless-corners with VHB tape.

 

THE DOORS

You use the door handle pieces as horizontal pieces above and below and a V2-V piece as a vertical on the outside to connect the A/B corner hinges on the right door and the C/D corner hinges on the left door.

clamp the panel down with the clamps and insert ALL the clips. The clips serve perfectly well as door locks! So simple and so effective!

 

For those who have a Clicky Clack door, there is an adjusted mod so you can still use these panels on those builds.

Use the PTFE tube cut to size (I used 20mm long 4mm pins)  to click the doors on the hinges and close the doors.

 

[Dirk]

THE END RESULT

Visually a very clear improvement.

Functionally too!

Now my 2.4 is ready for the other Monolith Mod

Edited May 13, 2024 by Dirk

[TitusADuxass]

Thanks for the detailed write up @Dirk.

I think I'll be doing this for my 2.4.

[mvdveer]

Ag nee @Dirk.  Now I have to do this too - you know that. And not just on one printer either........

Great post - thanks for sharing!

[Dirk]

26 minutes ago, mvdveer said:

you know that

Yes. I do. That is why I posted it! 

I have been waiting for several weeks, in the hope you were going to show everyone that they should do this no-brainer-mod, so their printers would look better.. But you didn't

So here it is.. Ugly pictures, bad presentation... 

29 minutes ago, mvdveer said:

And not just on one printer either.

Bad news or good news first??

Good news.... The good news is, that it is *only* available for the 2.4 and the Trident. Not for your Micron, or the 3 girly Zero's, or the badly engineered VZBot.

Bad news is... As soon as I am done with the my next project (Hint is hidden in the latest picture, I thought that @Penatr8tor would see it, but maybe I cut too much out of the picture), I will work on the V-Zero version of these panels... Which are not even in early beta yet

So... I will be waiting for your version

[mvdveer]

2 minutes ago, Dirk said:

Hint is hidden in the latest picture,

Don't know what I am looking at....

 

3 minutes ago, Dirk said:

V-Zero version of these panels

There are the Zero click panels which I have on the Trizero and Boxzero, or as you say the girly printers - similar concept but not as esthetically pleasing, and only has the corner clips. 

8 minutes ago, Dirk said:

*only* available for the 2.4 and the Trident.

Still 4 printers - (1 x 350,  2 x 300  1 x 50)

 

9 minutes ago, Dirk said:

I have been waiting for several weeks, in the hope you were going to show everyone

Mind is elsewhere  - there is thing called work that gets in the way. I am wearing too many hats at present. Time for fun will come - watch out!

[Dirk]

3 hours ago, TitusADuxass said:

I think I'll be doing this for my 2.4.

I think it is an ideal mod for you to do

Two other things I forgot to write about.... may be relevant for you too...

 

I had ordered my Foam-tape (as you guessed on Aliexpress) but before it arrived I saw the ones I used now in the LIDL. They looked better, which they are of course than the ones that came. So I used those. (2 x 6m)

The BOM specifies it needs the 3mm acrylic panels, and above that 5mm of Foam tape. As you can see, the "brush-seal" from LIDL was 9mm tall. And like with the printed parts, I realized that after I had assembled everything 
I did not want to remove this great tape, so I 'fixed' it, by first following a tutorial called 'learn fusion in 1 hour' where I learned to CUT and EXTRUDE and made the clips 3mm higher. 

The second thing... AGAIN after I was finished, I could not mount my handles anymore, because the Monolith panels cover the side extrusion holes. I went complaining to the maker, CloakedWayne on Discord and he told me these panels were designed for removing them quickly. And he is of course right. Remove the side panels, lift it up from the extrusions! Such a simple idea, great design!

I thought I share it here before the thread disappears from the top

 

 

 

[Penatr8tor]

I just saw this post. I've been pretty busy lately.

This looks like a pretty cool design. It has potential.

We will see if this becomes a mod on the 2.4 refurb. 

 

[Dirk]

52 minutes ago, Penatr8tor said:

We will see if this becomes a mod on the 2.4 refurb. 

sounds like a "yes" to me 

and I know already that you will improve the design

[Penatr8tor]

27 minutes ago, Dirk said:

sounds like a "yes" to me 

and I know already that you will improve the design

Hahaha... Actually, I kind of like these low-profile magnetic mounts.

Magnetic panels with Magnet Inserts by Le0n (vorondesign.com)

[Dirk]

Just now, Penatr8tor said:

low-profile magnetic mounts.

that's not 'refurbishing'... thats making it 'retro'

[atrushing]

21 minutes ago, Dirk said:

that's not 'refurbishing'... thats making it 'retro'

These young pups have no appreciation for the good ol' days...

[claudermilk]

Thanks for showing this. I think I might do this mod (and remove my handles). I've been looking for different hinges for my doors; i have the 270 deg hinges which work well enough, but it's a pain with me switching between enclosed and non-enclosed filament, and since the VHB has worn out & failed I haven't bothered fixing that yet. These hinges appear to be lift off ones which would be perfect.

[Dirk]

3 hours ago, claudermilk said:

different hinges for my doors

These doors do not go back 270 degrees.. I would say more like 200. But they are very simple to remove. Just lift it off indeed.

The guy that made it, uses it to create a few more mm space inside his printer, so he can fit 2 motors on the back (see the readme on the github).
As I wrote, I have used an even taller than 5mm foam / brush tape, which required a minor adjustment, but it looks as if it is indeed what you are looking for.

I remember a discussion going on here about removing tape from the panels, with these panels you are simply supposed to keep the old ones, so you have a few more mm space.

[KrauTech]

I started mine too!!

I'd like to blame/thank @Dirk for my sudden interest in monolith

Stay tuned for clicky clack monolith door!!

[KrauTech]

If you have clicky clack doors it's so easy to do the whole thing

 

https://github.com/CloakedWayne/Monolith_Panels/tree/main/Usermods%2FTessaKavanagh_ClickyClakyMod

 

You just use

(From monolith panels GitHub)

16 x clampless corners

2 x verticals

8 x horizontals

80-90ish clips

(From CCD usermod files)

1 X left door vertical

1 X right door vertical

2 X handle spacers

1 X right side handle spacer

Edited June 13, 2024 by KrauTech
added info

[Dirk]

Hey dude @KrauTech why does yours look better than mine?

Ah.. I see it already... it is the black.. black hides everything, and makes it look better

Mine is white and shows everything...

Great job! I hope to see how this Klakky door looks like.