This image is of the 3D Printer I built to complete various projects, from a Mostly Printed CNC to a planter and everything in between. The frame, the hotbed, the motors, and the wires are just about the only original components on there. Everything was upgraded, including the extruder, cable chains, control board, lead screws, frame support, belts and tensioners, power supply, hotbed MOSFET, and the software used for file selection.

I installed Octoprint on a Raspberry Pi 4, and I now use that for the 3D Printer interface. Octoprint is a considerable improvement. I particularly like the metrics it provides and the raw visibility and access to the Printer and, of course, the remote access. The Octoprint software offers handy plugins, with some improving safety, such as thermal monitoring. I connected a smart outlet switch, which is now used to remotely power on the Printer and automatically power it off when the print is finished via the IFTTT plugin. This addition means I can entirely run a print from another location without worrying about turning the 3D Printer off.

By far, the most sophisticated upgrade was to the control board. More specifically, configuring the Marlin software for the setup. The Anet A8 does not lend itself to a simple plug-and-play configuration for Marlin and the SKR V1.4. The first step on this journey was to make sure that any attempts at this upgrade could be reverted if necessary, so I created coupling wires that could easily detach to mate the existing hardware with the new board.

Then it was Marlin compile and configuration time. Thankfully, I was able to find these resources from other’s experiences of completing the upgrade I was looking for. After reading those posts and the Marlin documentation, I was able to get Marlin configured properly and the SKR V1.4 up and running. I am much more comfortable knowing the board now has much-needed safety improvements and better compatibility for additional Octoprint safety features. And potentially the most enjoyable improvement of all, the Printer is so quiet it’s almost unbelievable!

These are ergonomic adapters for Nintendo Switch controllers to make them feel more like a traditional controller.

This in-progress picture shows a baby Groot planter being printed with support.

Here is the final Groot planter complete with air plants.

A protective case for the MPCNC controller is shown above.

Here is the nose cone and body tube of the rocket I designed.

This is benchy, a tug boat with inherent 3D printing challenges to test various elements of the quality of the printer.

Here’s another view of benchy.

A friend needed people and bicycle figurines. Here are those figurines.