Psst! Looking for more? Check out the Tronxy P802M page with links to other articles about modifying and improving the Tronxy P802M 3D printer.
Wanting a more rigid frame over the acrylic frame I set about on the final upgrade of the Tronxy P802M, a full metal frame.
The Tronxy P802M is the same as the Anet A8 so most modifications for one will fit the other. With that in mind I found AM8 – Metal Frame for Anet A8 on Thingiverse. Not wanting to source the 2040 aluminum extrusions and hardware myself I found a seller on Etsy offering a full hardware kit for $99. For a little bit less there are a few sellers on aliExpress with AM8 hardware kits but I am not sure of the quality so do your research.
There are a lot of parts to print so I have created a list with quantities in a GitHub repository. I was not happy with the printed parts as designed in the AM8 mod from Thingiverse so I ended up creating and borrowing many parts from other projects. Mostly I borrowed from the Prusa Bear Upgrade for things such as the X-axis. I also kept the design of these parts in mind when creating my own parts. For mounting the BTT SKR 1.3 controller board I found the Universal BTT SKR V1.3 Box from Thingiverse. A word of warning, the extrusion I got for my AM8 frame is not the same profile that was used when the designer modeled the Universal BTT SKR V1.3 Box so the mounts will have to be modified since the slot is a little bit narrower. The creator would not share the source files which is very annoying and a pet peeve of mine when designers will not share the source files for mechanical parts. Using FreeCAD I was able to convert the STL file into a solid model that could then be modified.
One last thing, the Bondtech extruder clone or the pancake stepper motor I purchased was not working out for me so I decided to spend the money and I purchased a genuine E3D Hemera hotend which worked out great.
That’s all for this post and for the Tronxy P802M, this is less of a how to and more of a quick note of what I have done to my Tronxy printer. With all the upgrades I have done to the original Tronxy to get to where I am I would no longer recommend purchasing a P802M kit (or the Anet A8 it is based on). Sure it is cheap but I feel like saving for a better printer is the way to go. Things like the Creality Ender 3 is a much better printer with a large following and many YouTube tutorials. The Creality Ender 3 printer was not available when I purchased my Tronxy but is definitely the way I would go for a low cost printer today.
SD Perry 