The Heated Build Platform (HBP) on the M2 is made from a piece of 3mm thick anodized aircraft aluminum. On the bottom side of the plate is a 24 volt heating element covered by a protective silicone rubber sheet. The white “MakerGear M2” etching on the top is very cool and looks even better under the borosilicate glass sheet that is placed on top of it ;0)
Attached to the plate is a 100K thermistor (seen below-black wire) that senses the plate’s temperature.
The connection point where the thermistor wires come out of it’s protective tube are a little vulnerable to fatigue so they must be secured to the power wires of the heating element.
I temporarily attached the wiring harness to the HBP so that I could even out the connectors as seen below. I then attached the thermistor wires to one of the elements wires with a black cable tie to prevent movement at the thermistor tube...
I added one more for good measure...
The thermistor wires will now be somewhat defended against damage due to thousands of wire flexings while printing later on.
A common goal among the different 3D printer designs is keeping the build platform aligned to the X and Y axis of the printer. Misalignment of the platform can cause adhesion issues which can ruin a print by allowing a model to break free from the build platform during a print. Supporting the HBP with a solid support structure is key to a reliable alignment system and a must when it comes to accurate printing. The MakerGear M2 has a rock solid HBP support system designed to keep it’s alignment over a long period of time. Unfortunately there is a small support issue where the HBP rests on the rubber pads that support it. The silicone rubber sheeting used on the HBP does not fully extend to the end of the aluminum plate (seen below). This leaves the platform somewhat unevenly supported as the rubber pads don’t fully contact the silicone sheeting on the wiring side of the HBP.
You will notice (below) that the orange silicone sheeting just barely overlaps the rubber mounting pads. This can cause erratic platform alignment and should be fixed before attempting a print.
To bridge the gap at the end of the HBP I will be using some .031” thick automotive gasket material (Mr. Gasket #9614) as seen below. This material is great for high temperature applications and will work well as shim stock for bed leveling.
I cut out a couple of pieces of the material at 10mm x 13mm to be used as spacers for the HBP.
A quick fit check shows that the material will bridge the gap perfectly.
I used a drop of “medium” CA glue (Super Glue) to attach the gasket material to the HBP mounting pads on the rear two pads of the machine.
You will notice that the gasket material is set so that the 13mm long side is against the “back” side (left) of the pad to allow clearance for the orange silicone rubber on the back side of the HBP.
The HBP now sits evenly in the spider which will help with the alignment procedure later on.
My M2 is looking good so far!!!
The next item to tackle was the PLA printed spool holder. Four M3 x 8mm screws and I was done.
And now to tackle the wiring harnesses and limit switches. All of the connectors and special terminators have been installed which really makes this a plug and play operation. Making all of these wires and installing the connectors would be a serious time consumer which is why I am really surprised that they call this a kit. It is more like “some assembly required” ;0) All the more reason to order the kit and get a $300 discount!!!
The first harness to tackle is the X-axis motor harness seen below.
I just plugged it in at the motor...
Then at the RAMBo board at the “X” port seen below.
The next harness was the extruder harness.
First I attached it to the extruder motor with the white connector.
Next I set up the PLA printed cable cover with three cable ties as seen below.
The cable ties were then threaded into the motor mount.
I then placed the harness into the channel on the motor mount and removed the cable tie that was at the end of the harness as to not to interfere with the cover (not shown).
The cable ties were then secured and trimmed.
Next I attached all of the other connectors on the extruder including the heater (Heat 0), thermistor (EXT), extruder fan (Fan 1) and filament fan (Fan 0)..
Next I used two more cable ties to secure the wires as seen below...
On the RAMBo board side I attached the extruder motor connector into the “E0” port on the board...
Next was the thermistor (EXT) connector which was inserted into port “T0”.
The “Heat 0” connector was installed into the “Extruder 0 Heat” port seen below...
Next the “Fan 0” connector was installed into the “Extruder 0 Fan” port...
Next the “Fan 1” connector was installed into the “Extruder 1 Fan” port seen below.
The last connector on the harness was for the case fan which I tested out to make sure it fit the fan.
