Mega X Cable Management Remix

(UPDATE: ALTERNATE HOT END BRACKETS: SCROLL TO THE END)

We received a donation of 2 Mega X machines at the shop. We wanted to level them up so they don't feel bad that they aren't our Prusas 😁.  

The rebuild was driven by our Top-Mounted Spool, Sensor, and Extruder, along with a decent Hot-End Fan Box Remix, dust covers for the X axis and Y axis, and other civilizing elements we'll follow up on.

But in this chapter, we are taming the Mega X's poor cable management. Or as it is known among Anycubic's designers: never mind, what's for lunch? This was a practical (and aesthetic) afterthought in the stock design. The Y-axis cable can interfere with a leveling knob, the connector is frail enough to fail over time, and the patchwork solution makes the machine as attractive as Donald Trump's comb-over.

There are good solutions for this, including ones by Binguin and Amarth. However, using any one of the existing upgrades as-is was impossible because of our choice to move the extruder. Thus, we mashed up a bunch of solutions from various sources, and we also created some innovations of our own. 

Our solution is optimized for our top-mounted configuration; you may find it useful for a direct-drive modification (sorry, we can't test this, but let us know if it works or needs a tweak). Our various sources include the following as remixes or inspiration for new models:

• Binguin: chains, X-axis hot end screw mount, X-axis lower frame bracket, Z-axis lower bracket.
• EOTemp: chains, Z-axis upper bracket.
• dmaMods: chains, X-axis hot end chain bracket, inspiration for X-axis upper frame bracket, inspiration for Y-axis base bracket, Y-axis bed bracket.
• clickbangdead: inspiration for X-axis upper frame bracket.
• Amarth: Y-axis bed bracket.

(Lots of licensing chemes among these, but the overriding one must be CC-BY-NC-SA.)

It's a lot of parts, and it's easy to get a little lost. We created model renderings from multiple views to help you keep track of the build. Of all the issues we tackled – the clumsy hot end box, the convoluted filament path, the confusing leveling knobs, the fiddly sensor – these cable chains were by far the toughest nut to crack. But in some ways, it was the most satisfying.

Printing notes:

• We printed everything in PETG. Chains were black. Brackets were orange. Yes, we were brazenly trying to camouflage these in our Prusa-centric workshop.
• 15% infill, gyroid.
• 0.2 structural.
• Some of the pieces where hardware interfaces may prefer 3 perimeters. Your mileage may vary. We also used the “Extra perimeters if needed” option in the settings.
• DON'T print the chain links with support or brims — print with a super clean print bed and dry filament.
• We tried and failed to design every printer's dream: a fully support-free solution. We printed using paint-on supports using the smart fill option. This helps to minimize and make supports manageable.

Other build notes:

• Yes, the top mount requires a bit of wire extension for the extruder and sensor, but NOT for the wires in these chains. 
• Not shown here but essential to our build is the Mega X cable holder by Miciato on the right frame, a perfect model for taming the mess on the right vertical frame.
• We've been lax in specifying hardware needs, we know. In most instances, we use the existing hardware on the machine, supplementing with spare hardware from the MK3-to-MK4 upgrades we did. If you need to purchase, grab an assortment like this one.
• You can find sources for our overall rebuild in the Collection Mega X Remix. Some of these we used as is, while others inspired the design of the integrated spool/sensor/extruder solution.

Updates:

• The “x hot end” and “x hot end alt” files work, but I found them very difficult to handle. So, I've added two alternative files to these. I renamed “x hot end” to be “x hot end 1” and I renamed “x hot end alt” to be “x hot end 2.” The alt versions of each are “x hot end 1 alt” and “x hot end 2 alt” to keep things straight.

Chains:

• Same as found at many sites, including Binguin, EOTemp, and dmaMods; supplied here for convenience.

X-axis: 

• Hot end bracket from Binguin: We removed the filament tube holder (the shorter tube path is from the front, like a Prusa, with our extruder configuration), combined with orientation and a slightly higher elevation for the chain mount from dmaMods (needed to work with the x-axis cover).
• Upper frame bracket: This is a new model inspired by dmaMods (chain mounts and orientation) and clickbangdead (who solved for a moved extruder). I split this into two parts to reduce support requirements.
• Lower frame bracket from Binguin: We added a material bridge to screw it to the y-axis base bracket for better stability.

Y-axis:

• Lower frame bracket: This is a heavily modified y-axis bracket from dmaMods, adding material to screw it to the x-axis bracket. The Mega X doesn't have screw holes in the base unit itself, so we took those out and created a ring to hook it to the cable outlet, then extended material down to clamp to the base. This clamp straddles the cable ports on the side of the base and provides an opportunity for a clip-on cable cover in the future.
• Bed bracket:  We combined the bracket from dmaMods with the clamping mechanism from the Mega X cable holder from Amarth.

Z-axis:

• Upper bracket: This is from EOTemp (others look alike, but this is the only one that specifically works with the Mega X!), unchanged but supplied here for convenience.
• Lower bracket: This is from Binguin, unchanged but supplied here for convenience.