270 degree hinges (V3) magnetic faceplates upgrade

TLDR:- New Hinge design (V3) allows for quick change V3 face plates/covers while Using V2 additional V2 components for the hinge assembly. New optional tools added. Also includes post processing and detailed assembly instructions (with photos) along with how to better fit the hinges to the door and printer. 

• For those not wanting to read all this text before deciding on what parts and upgrades there are, I have added an extra image to the pictures with a breakdown of all the main options. I highly advise giving it a quick read before committing to printing. 

For users of V2 hinges (or even the original V1), the ONLY real world benefit of V3 is the quick change plates option. In use they are all identical in operation as they all hold the door and allow 270 degree movement. If you haven't printed any of them yet, then V3 is the better print option as you can always add the magnets later if you decide you want the face plates option. V3 still (intentionally) looks almost identical to V2 when used without face plates as all the magnet apertures are hidden from view at the back of the hinges.

NOTE:- These 4 parts will fit the K1 (older style 60mm side panel hole spacing and all current K1 Max cases at the time of writing (Feb 2025).  K1C owners (and later K1 with the 20mm hole spacing on the side panel attachment points) can ONLY use front magnetic pieces of this set and will need the side adapter pieces (small and large versions available depending if you want magnetic side panels) that are available in my other downloads and clearly marked as K1C parts.

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Updated Jan 10 2025:- I cannot apologise enough for this. I inadvertently uploaded the wrong upper hinge (glass door piece). It had a gear issue that initially went unnoticed until somebody had issues with it and brought it to light. When I reprinted to test I used the correct file rom my set and not the defective one in the downloads. After downloading the set here to test the fault was obvious. That issue has now been rectified for the main file. I had also done a set of hinge fronts that had the door screw holes moved .5mm for the k1c case users. I haven't had time to sort those yet so have temporarily deleted them until I can find the time to rectify the issue there. K1c case owners ‘May have to slightly widen the screw holes on the hinge fronts to get clearance at the upper left corner of the glass door when closing. The issue doesn't affect every k1c case but is worth mentioning in case you are affected by the clearance at the corner. The new version of the upper hinge glass portion is now in place.

Upgraded 270 degree hinge parts for use with K1 series printers (K1, K1 Max, K1C) . All the actual hinge assembly components (the geared hinge halves, hinge pins, end caps, central links and Pin upgrades with clips) are fully interchangeable with each other.  Every side hinge half from whatever version (1, 2 or 3) will fit Every front hinge half and vice versa regardless of version chosen. All 3 versions use the same Hinge assembly components (pins, couplers, end caps). 

As a result of this compatibility with previous components, the only parts in this particular download are the four Main V3 magnetic Hinge upgrade parts. I also added a couple of printable tools in this set to make assembly quicker and easier.

The only 'incompatibility' is the actual faceplate covers which are tailored to each specific version. There were only a couple of faceplates made for V1 and they only fit the V1 hinge set. Faceplates for versions 2 and 3 look similar but are very different. Shapes and depths were slightly changed and in the case of the V3 covers there are no screw holes so they cannot be used on version 2 hinges. There is a possibility that version 2 covers may fit version 3 hinges but I haven't tried it myself so cannot confirm it and have no intention of removing the screws on my already fitted V3 set just to try that out (the whole point of the magnets was to remove any need for touching the screws when a change of face plate style was needed).

To use these magnetic Hinge options you will need the assembly parts (hinge pins, end caps, central links) from my original 270 degree hinge upload which is available here:- 270 Degree Geared Hinges for K1/K1 Max/K1C. Easy print option, Not print in place.Printables.com

I would also suggest considering the optional upgraded pins available here:- Upgraded pins option for the 270 Degree Geared Hinges. Printables.com Though not essential, they are an improved design.

For those wanting a screw type connection for the pins, there is also another set of pins here  :-  Optional screw type connection. These pins offer the option to use screws to secure the end caps for those who prefer a more solid end cap fitting option. 

A better description of the 3 pin types is shown with a picture in this file set.

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Changes from version 2 on Version 3 that are worth noting:- 

Although version 3 is extremely similar to version 2 in appearance, there have been a number of tweaks and changes while keeping Hinge function compatibility with the original versions. This allows for those who may already be using V1 or V2 hinges to simply print the relevant parts from V3 and swap them into their current set. It should be noted that the face plate covers of version 3 are a slightly different shape and slightly thicker than the previous version 2 cover, but because the covers are magnetic it does not require longer screws than Version 2. Being designed to use magnets V3 covers have no screw holes through them, only recesses in the rear to clear the screw heads.

K1C frame owners:- On version 2,  I had reports from a couple of K1C owners that the glass was too close to the upper left corner notch on the printer. Although affecting only a tiny number of users (2) I feel I should add the info here.  As version 3 is using near identical geometry to V2 I would highly suggest using the V3.1 Hinge fronts of this file set (or 2.1 from the V2 set that have been adjusted already to cater to the K1C issue) as they push the door further to the right. 

All 4 hinge components follow the basic look of the V2 variants, albeit with a couple of very minor tweaks and the return of the screw recesses. The version 3 variants have additional recessed holes to allow for fitting magnets in the rear of each hinge part. I opted for the hidden magnet look deliberately as it allows the hinges to be used ‘bare’ and still look like the version 2 hinges and not have magnets or holes exposed in the hinge front presenting an unfinished look. Avoiding the unfinished look was important as I need to create the rest of the front and side panel covers for the V3 set but wanted to get the new hinge sets released as soon as it had been fully tested.

At the time of release I only had 2 cover plate sets done. Those being the plain blank plate covers and the Hex covers (edit:- more now added). As well as the customised hinge look that V2 provided, V3 panels also cover and hide the screws to give a cleaner appearance. The magnet option now brings the extra option of being able to change the hinge appearance in seconds. To change the panels on V2 would involve removing all the hinge screws and refitting things again with new replacement panels. Version 3 is a near instant swap over without touching a single screw or disturbing the actual hinges.

I've created a gif/video in the photo files of this download to show the cover change in real time. Cover panels are fast prints and are designed (as version 2 was) to be easy to print in dual colours with simple colour swap/s mid print at the appropriate level.

Parts Identification.

There are 2 side panel hinge parts in this set (marked as V3) , one for the top the other for the bottom. Geometry is unchanged from previous versions and has to remain a constant. They are a universal fit for all three of my hinge designs. They fit the frames of the K1 and K1 Max (Not the K1c or some late model K1 printers that are being shipped with a K1C enclosure). Those with a K1C enclosure would need the adapters elsewhere in my downloads to use the V3 hinge fronts.

There are however, two distinct versions of the new magnetic cover front door hinge parts (V3 and V3.1). The two marked as version 3 are designed to minimise the gap at the top left of the glass door as much as possible along with the unavoidable full length gap at the left of the door (blame creality for that inbuilt gap). 

Although I used this ‘tight tolerance’ version (v3) for a week and had no complaints with it working perfectly as intended, the fact it brought the door so close to the frame bothered me for others first fitting the door so I created a larger tolerance pair of front hinge pieces (3.1). 

The revised pair are marked as V3.1 and push the door .25mm out to the right and bring the door .26mm up from Version 3. It doesn't sound like much but it makes a big difference to clearances. I also slightly elongated the screw holes to allow a small amount of adjustment. I personally use version 3.1 hinge fronts and they are, in my opinion, the best option. There were no specific 3.1 side hinge variants required as all the side plates use identical fitting geometry hence there being only V3 parts available for the sides.

Whichever option you choose for the hinge door fronts? Make sure you replace/fit them as matching pairs. Don't use a version 3 top hinge front with a 3.1 or other variant at the bottom. It will likely throw the door out of alignment. So for door hinge fronts it requires version 2, 3, and 3.1 door pairs be matched top and bottom.

I have also included a couple of useful printable tools as I have changed the instructions to a better way to fit the hinges and door to the printer. The tools are - a Round Tuit (basically a short hinge pin segment with a point to allow easier alignment of the slot links when feeding the pin through the hinge. I also included a temporary clip to hold the (upgraded) pins in place when needed, this tool also doubles as a clip removal tool for those upgrading to the magnetic set who are already using the upgraded pins. The tool makes pushing the clip free a lot easier.

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My preferred way of fitting the door and hinges to the printer.

If coming from a stock glass door setup, you will need longer screws to affix the hinges. The following is a full description of what is involved in changing from stock Creality 90 degree hinges to the 270 degree hinges.

Additional hardware needed to fit the actual hinges :- 

Four M3 10mm screws

Four M3 16mm (or 18mm) screws

Four M3 nuts

For a full set of mag' plates you will also need ‘Ten 5x2mm magnets and Ten 5x1mm’ magnets. If you only have 5x1mm available and intend doubling up in the main hinges you would need ‘Thirty 5x1mm’ magnets' instead.

Magnet information in better detail for the optional cover plates:-

I had a number of 5x2mm magnets already so I opted for using 5x2 in the main hinge parts, but I had to buy a pack of 5x1mm magnets for this project (5x1mm are cheap items and were the perfect choice for this hinge mod as they can be double stacked in place of where I used the 5x2 magnets, I bought a hundred 5x1mm and they are always useful to have on hand).

Both front hinge pieces have 2 apertures each for magnets while the side hinge pieces have 3 equally sized openings apiece (to account for the weight of the larger panels).

To fully complete both pairs of hinges with one complete full set of four magnetic cover plates would take ‘Thirty 5x1mm’ magnets' OR ‘Ten 5x2mm and Ten 5x1mm’ magnets as mentioned above. Each additional complete set of 4 plates would use a further four 5x1mm magnets for the front facing plates (2 per cover) and Six 5x1mm for the side plates (3 per cover) for a total of Ten 5x1mm magnets for a full cover set. You can obviously mix and match cover plates and minimise extra magnet use down the line.

You may get away with only using 2 of the 3 holes in the side plates for magnets but this would reduce the magnetic hold considerably. For me personally? Penny pinching there was not worth trying for the sake of saving one 5x2mm or two 5x1mm magnets in each of the 2 side hinge pieces. NOTE:- if you choose N52 grade magnets then you will be fine with the 2 hole option but N52 are usually the more expensive option. For most, the cheaper magnets will be the more obvious choice.

As the top and bottom hinge pieces are a slightly different shape, I reversed the polarity of the magnets for top and bottom pieces on my own spare panels. So a top panel cover will not attach to the bottom and vice versa. I freely admit that it is overkill though. In reality, all you have to do is make sure the polarity matches each cover with its respective hinge piece as the rear cutouts for the screws make it obvious which are top and bottom.

I find the best way to get the polarity right is to first glue magnets (in the same polarity) into a hinge portion. Then place a row of magnets on the face of the hinge so they snap in place. Now hold a cover in place on top of those magnets and trap it with another row of magnets. Take hold of the cover plate while also gripping the top row of magnets between your fingers of the same hand and lift the plate clear of the hinge magnets and rotate your hand so the magnet holes of the plate are accessible. Add a drop of glue to the cover plate magnet hole and drop a single magnet near the hole. The magnets between your fingers will pull that lone magnet into the hole in the correct polarity, or if you have slightly moved them, it will still jump to the magnets and you can use the ones between your fingers to guide the single magnet being glued into the hole. 

Take care though as the magnet snapping into the hole will likely spurt excess superglue out at speed.  You don't want to be getting superglue in your eyes and I'd advise safety squints while doing this. The first time I used this method it nearly got me with a drop of glue that easily cleared a couple of feet and hit my cheek. I ended up using safety glasses for the rest of the magnet glue fitting to avoid a repeat of that near miss.

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Printing

For printing, I would suggest the minimum settings be 40 percent infill throughout with 3 walls and gyroid infill for all parts.  A .2 layer height is recommended.

Print upright (as in gears pointing vertically) with the flattest bit of the hinge at the bottom for the most bed adhesion and the least support.

The majority of my initial test prints were at 25 percent infill and were still fine in use, but as the hinges are supporting a large glass door? Stronger is better so a minimum 3 walls and 40 percent infill. 

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Hinge assembly and fitting in detail:-

This image shows the required parts for one complete Hinge. upgraded pins were used and shown here so only one closed link was required. If using the original straight pins you will need two closed links. 

Before assembly, check that the pins slip through the hinges cleanly. A little binding is ok, but overly tight is bad. If it pushes through with very little effort it is more than good enough. If however the pin is too tight to rotate?  Either run an 8mm HSS drill bit through the hole by hand or sand the affected pin to reduce the binding. For reference, out of the many test pieces I did, only one needed post processing work and it was only a tiny amount, running the drill bit through sorted it instantly.

Remove the pins from the hinge pieces then run them through the link (or both links if not using the upgraded pins) and finally push the end caps in place to test fit.

                                    If everything fits ok, you can split them apart again.

If you have the printed tools, the round tuit and a temporary clip will be useful here. Grab a hinge piece, an upper link, one hinge pin/spindle, the round tuit and a temporary clip.

Slip the round tuit into the Hinge pin hole, place the link in the upper slot and push the round tuit through it so that it aligns the link correctly. Now send a pin through (smaller segment first) pushing the round tuit out the bottom as the pin goes through. Keep pushing the pin through until there is roughly the same amount of pin exposed at both ends, if your hinge pin is loose enough to be at risk of falling through unintentionally, fit a temporary retaining clip to secure the pin in place.

Grab the other part of the hinge, making sure it is the correct piece for the hinge you are assembling (in the picture below it shows the bottom hinge pieces). Align the two halves as straight as possible with the gears meshed, then again use the round tuit to align the other hole of the slot link and send the second pin through pushing the round tuit out as you did with the first pin. 

Don't start testing hinge movement until you have the end caps fitted to avoid potential gear damage. The link will hold the parts together, but not as firm as is required for proper gear meshing at this stage. 

Fit both end caps and remove the temporary clip if it was in use.  If you intend to have the hinge fully assembled for fitting the door and hinge to the printer you can also add the proper split clip now and the hinge is complete. 

Note:- After numerous fittings, removals, tests etc, I now prefer NOT to have the hinge fully assembled when fitting things to the printer. So unlike in the picture below, I don't add the proper clip to the lower slot at this stage.  I will explain how I now fit things after the rest of the assembly instructions for those wanting to fit things the way I now do it.

With the top and bottom caps and the one upper link, you can now finally test the full range of motion for the hinge. If it feels tight or makes any sound, simply work it back and forth a few times for it to bed in a little and ease up. It doesn't matter if feels a little tight as long as it goes through the full range of motion. Once the weight of the door comes into play, any of that stiffness will disappear quickly.

Assemble the second hinge the same way you did the first one. 

If you intend keeping the hinges fully assembled for fitting the door to the printer, then switch to the guide on my original 270 degree hinge to complete the fitting of the door and hinges to the printer here :- 270 Degree Geared Hinges (V2) for K1/K1 Max/K1C. otherwise read on for my preferred split hinge fitting method.

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Stock door removal and fitting of the 270 degree hinge set.

Keep in mind that the glass door is supremely easy to break so be careful when handling it and don't knock it against anything.

Open the printer door and check where the lower hinge meets the printer. The two screws of the lower hinge (flat on the chamber floor) hold the hinge and door to the printer. While supporting the door, remove those two screws (not the two going through the glass) and as the hinge comes loose gently pull the lower part of the door towards you and the stock hinge mount will drop free, now lower the door so that the top hinge pin drops free and allows the door itself to drop away from the printer..

Place the glass somewhere safe and recover the no longer used hinge from the printer (or wherever it fell as you removed the door). 

Remove the hinge screws from the glass door. BE CAREFUL NOT TO LOSE THE RUBBER INSERTS. There are 4 small rubber inserts that go through the glass and prevent the metal of the screws touching the glass. You will be re using those inserts. The original Creality hinge pieces are not needed so can be stored away in case you ever want to return to stock hinges.

The printed pucks to attach the hinges have recesses for the nuts. I dropped the nuts so many times in my trial tests that I decided to make a nut trap. Put the nuts in the puck then slide a nut trap over the puck to trap the nuts in place. You can do this temporarily, or you can glue the nut trap to the puck if you want it more permanent (or even not use it at all if you prefer, but the option is there). It is worth considering adding a bit of tape to the face of the puck where it will meet the glass to act as a cushion between the hard print and the glass. 

At this point I split the hinges again by removing the end caps and one pin (the one nearest the door).  Push the pin downwards when removing it as going up will let the groove in the modified pin meet the hole in the link,  the link itself will likely get hooked up if you send the pin upwards making it fiddly to get free. Going down it will always smoothly slip out of the hinge without causing that irritation. 

Put the rubber inserts through the holes of the glass and fit the hinge pieces for the door into place. Don't fully tighten the screws, just gently nip them up enough to allow a bit of movement without risk of the puck coming loose or the rubber inserts getting free of the glass. 

Rest the glass somewhere safe on a towel and add four strips of duct tape to the glass. Don't put the tape where it may rip off a Creality text/logo sticker on the printer frame later. I read a post on Reddit recently where a printer owner replaced his Creality sticker after part of it peeled off without reason. It cost him 30 US Dollars for that single metallic sticker! 20 dollars was postage, but even so, still expensive. Incidentally, the sticker on my glass? It was for me, Not a message to you guys. I had that on before fitting the 270 degree hinges to remind myself to be careful when opening the door.

Fit the Hinge side pieces to the printer. As with the door, do not fully tighten them, nip them up enough to be held safely to the printer but still allow a little movement. Run a pin through the top and bottom hinge side pieces (catching the upper slot links only if using the modified pins, hook both closed links if using the original straight pins) and slide the pin fully home leaving the pin equally exposed top and bottom. If your pin is loose enough to fall through? either put an end cap on the top of the pin or use a temporary clip (modified pins only) once it is in the correct position.

Now carefully place the glass door in the closed position on the printer and use the tape you previously added to the glass to firmly hold the door in place. Make sure the gears of the hinge are aligned and can mesh together as you do this. You may need to manipulate the gears a little and/or the door tape to get things aligned near perfect at this stage. 

While making sure the gears are meshed and aligned, Use the round tuit again (provided you have clearance below the hinge for the tuit to drop free, otherwise skip the tuit) and push it in a hinge (making sure you catch the slot link) before sliding the hinge pin through and fully into place. Do the same for the other hinge. 

Attach the top and bottom end caps. Tighten the side hinge pieces and visually check the alignment of the door. There is a little wiggle room to adjust it slightly if needed though you shouldn't need to. If all looks good? you can properly nip up the door hinge screws. Don't go all Rambo when tightening things here, especially with the screws through the glass door. 

Remove the tape and test the door through it's full range of motion making sure the glass doesn't foul anywhere on the frame as you close the door. Close the door slowly the first time to be sure everything is correctly fitted. The potential danger areas are the left side of the glass nearest the frame, and the ledge/cutout at the top left of the glass door near the hinge. If you are happy and everything is aligned correctly? Then with the door closed, you can finally line the pin retainer clip up with both pins in the lower slot and firmly push the clip in place until it snaps fully home.

That's it. All done. 

These hinges are in use on my printer and I have no issues with them, but any modifications to your printer are done at your own risk. I offer no warranty or guarantees on any files I create. 

Gears changed, mount panels changed, design changed, ditched PIP for preferred component printing, magnetic faceplates option added,