Vertex K8400 MODS

[Matt_Kedzia]

Hey guys,

I’ve been wondering what awsome MODS could i apply to my vertex K8400 with single head.

I saw a couple on thingiverse like caps for unused holes or filament dust filter wich i’m both currently using although there’s not much more then that.

Do you use any mods in your vertex ?

Maybe you know some awsome ones wich are slipping oou of my hands ?

any way pleas let me know about your opinion

[RobV]

I have added a power switch and some ikea light, both on thingiverse! The power switch i designed myself

[Matt_Kedzia]

that’s cool how do the lights perform ? is it worth installing ?

[Matt_Kedzia]

For instance i had once printed and installed a “high vellocity fan duct” but it destroyed the prints instead of being an improvment

[JonathanVG]

I’ve added a heated bed, and replaced the standard hot-ends with decent ones. Quite happy with them and more coming

[Matt_Kedzia]

was that becouse you where upset with the “BuildTak” ?

[JonathanVG]

Actually I’m pretty happy with the results while printing pla on a buildtak surface, not with abs. Velleman says you can print abs on it but I’m not convinced, never did achieve repeatable successful prints…

[Matt_Kedzia]

I find BuildTak preety disappointing, even though I’m printing with velleman’s white PLA it does’t seem to stick very well

so I’m endlessly wasting the matirial on brims and rafts.

[JonathanVG]

Did you try other brands? I only have the red velleman pla and had better succes with other brands. Not that I have adhesion problems (do make sure you have a clean, decreased surface (try window cleaner or brake cleaner)), but the red velleman pla oozes quite a lot more compared to other brands.

[RobV]

It looks great. Very easy install and just €29,95 for the lights. These are the RGB led’s, the white one is even cheaper.

[Matt_Kedzia]

Honestly I still havent finished my first spool of filament yet and since the prints come out fine when using the brim/rafts , I didn’t stand a chance to buy any other to compare it to. What brands would you reccomend for the vertex (PLA)?

[Matt_Kedzia]

It really does and since I’m looking forward to recording a whole lotof time lapses I’m definitly going to install it in the nearest future

[JonathanVG]

I’ve had good results with Conrad filament, and with filament from e3d

[Matt_Kedzia]

thank you i’ll certenly consider changin the brand when the time comes

[StephaneA]

Hi Matt,

First mod for me was the Z axis stabilizer (Vertex K8400 z-axis stabilizer by h60 - Thingiverse). It’s useful to get a smooth Z movement.

Second one, not sure it’s so useful, is the fan duct (Vertex K8400 Bottom Fan Duct by Hest - Thingiverse) to cool the mainboard.

Caps for unused holes have been done too just for testing the ability to print circles

When you will use another brand of filament you will need smaller spool (spool for K8400/ K8402 diameter 3,5 cm length 10 cm by maartenverstappen - Thingiverse) but beware, the diameter vary according to the brand… The one above is too small for ColoFabb for exemple.

If you want a simple print giving a neat look to you printer, try it VERTEX - K8400 LCD cover by czvt7w - Thingiverse

I’m now looking for a good head fan duct…

[StephaneA]

If you’re in Europe, ColoFabb seems to be the best you can find.

I beginner with the Vellemann filament too but needed new colors and tried ColorFabb. You need to relearn everything and to change the settings but the result is far better.

When using BuildTak, you must

• set your head a little down
• print the first layer slowly
• heat a little more

There’s a talk about BuildTak (Talk Manufacturing | Hubs) which can be useful to read.

[JonathanVG]

It could be that the head is indeed a little bit too high. But if it’s to close it will permantly mark the buildtak sheet. It needs to be pretty close indeed, as with all surfaces. Good tip

[StephaneA]

4 layers of paper is the good height for me… Can’t figure what distance it is

Too high it won’t sticks well, to close the head destroys the print. But at the right distance with good temperature and slow speed, it’s for me perfect for PLA (didn’t try ABS for now).

[JonathanVG]

Most of the time, i fold a piece of 80g paper in 2, and use that for height calibration. Most of the time some finetuning is necessary, sometimes I stop the print and adjust the setting screw on the back 1/8 - 1/4 of a turn, or I make the adjustments on the go with the setscrews on the bottom of the bed while the printer is still printing a skirt.

It’s been a while since I used buildtak, but was quite happy with it so i bought another one to replace the first. I tried to print ABS without a heated bed but the abs just doesn’t adhere good to the buildtak when its not heated. You can also use the sticker with a heated bed, but one time i tried to loosen a piece which was quite high and had a small base at the bottom. No issues there as the print was fine but when i tried get the piece of the bed, a bit of the sticker broke off and was stuck on the print. The sticker had seen some abuse at the spot that broke though,.

My personal conclusion: It’s great but its not ‘the’ adhesion solution as it is advertised. But you can do nice things with the glass without the sticker on it.

[nijdamtech]

Hi Matt,

On thingiverse I have downloaded and printed the Z axis stabilizer.

with kind regards

Jeroen