Prusa MINI BEAR frame - Z10

Prusa MINI BEAR mod for 10mm Z-axis rods.
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updated October 13, 2024

Description

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BEAR MINI FRAME - Z10
 

This modification was initially adopted to achieve better results with flexible filaments (using a direct drive extruder) and a stiffer frame for faster printing. Since then, Input Shaper was given as a free upgrade to the Prusa MINI making this project sort of obsolete (for my goals at least). As such, this project is discontinued. I am leaving it here if for any reason anyone might want to experiment with the design in the future.

Features:

  • Compatible with Prusa MINI and MINI+
  • Supported (dual) Z-axis based on the stock 10mm rods
  • MK3S printhead w/ filament sensor
  • Reuse of as many parts as possible
  • Increased frame robustness
  • Reduced noise levels
  • Maintenance friendly
  • Compatible with stock firmware
  • Open-source

Credits:

A big thank you to the developers of the Prusa Bear (and Bear MINI) and subsequent remixes that I used for this mod, namely gregsaun, pear3d.ch and Tomson, and of course Prusa Research.

Disclaimer: The Original Prusa Mini+ is an amazing little printer and as far as I am concerned the print quality is incredible for the price and ease of use. I chose to proceed with this build because as many others, I enjoy tinkering with 3D printers towards the possibility of improvement. In this case, towards a possibly more robust frame, which would (in theory at least) allow to maintain the same quality at higher accelerations with a direct-drive extruder to ease printing of flexible filaments. Keep in mind, as with any DYI assembly, there is always a chance of the final produced print quality to suffer, as it depends on the sourced hardware quality, part design and on the actual skills and experience put into building.

Background:

There are quite a few models and tutorials online (mainly in Printables) to build your Prusa Mini Bear mod, but as soon as you try to dive into versions and part compatibility, it becomes chaotic. Before printing, I wanted to ensure that all parts are well aligned and compatible with each other, but as far as I could find, there was no published CAD version with a complete model. Either I had to make a collection and hope for the best, or work on my own remix.

Main issues:

  • X and Y belts not running parallel to the axis.
  • No stock Prusa extruder R6 version with proper probe offsets.
  • No CAD with 10mm Z rods to verify.
  • Z rods where not properly aligned with X axis holders and top Z brackets.

To fix these, I did the necessary modifications to the Fusion 360 designs I could find (see credits), as well design several parts from scratch.

If there is enough interest I will accommodate a guide for this version.

Cheers!

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Latest update [24/04/2023]: v1.3

For the Change-Log and further details please check: https://github.com/mksk4/Prusa-MINI-bear-Z10-mod

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Model origin

The author remixed this model.

Differences of the remix compared to the original

  • Compatible with Prusa MINI
  • Fixed XY belt paths
  • Direct drive
  • 10mm Z rods

License