Anet A8 Rear Brace

The acrylic frame on one of my old A8s was starting to flex enough to push the Y-axis stepper out of alignment and affect print quality. I could go into detail on the engineering and physics of this, but it boils down to these printers needing reinforcement of the rear panel. This takes the point load force of the Y-axis mount and spreads the load across the entire center panel where it attaches to the threaded rods that provide most of the structural rigidity for the printer.

This is designed to wedge in and it will friction fit. However, there are screw holes that align with the existing holes in the middle part so you can install this during the assembly of the printer.

I designed it with the hexagon pattern to add strength and minimize material usage. I'm including the f3d file so that you can modify it as needed. I remember seeing a similar design before but can't seem to find it now. If you know where I got the idea for this, let me know so I can link it as a remix.