This is the last print that my Chiron will ever print........ in it's current configuration that is. For those of you who have an original, unmodified Anycubic Chiron- you know how quirky these printers can be. And you probably also know that it's not a shining example of reliability or quality. (T0 error? heat-bed wire meltdown? random lockups during prints?)
Mine had already suffered the random lockups during a huge print, and the T0 error, both caused by the inferior wire harness that they jammed into the drag chain only for it to be kinked and broken by the very thing that was supposed to protect it from damage!
I replaced it with an aftermarket harness, ditched the drag chain, and the errors and lockups were no more! But.....
It's still slow, the interface was lame and limited, the "auto bed leveling" was not even in the slightest "auto"
The V-slot rubber roller wheels on all axis leave dust on the extrusions and become sloppy over time, become lumpy, and really just don't move that freely.
The bowden tube and single gear extruder work, but not well, and the glass bed with the special coating works well if cleaned and prepared correctly for the materials being printed- but it's not removable and if your print sticks too well it could damage the glass!
So I thought, I DO like the large build volume, and I already own this printer, why not upgrade it? Learn to customize!
After watching many other's videos on upgrading Ender 3s, (which is about on par with features and quality of this printer but with half the print volume) I figured I could do some of the same to the big Chiron.
What's the maximum upgrade path for a bed-slinger? I would say a Voron Switchwire conversion! It's not the cheapest upgrade, but more of a full-out fix-all-the-issues-in-one-shot type of upgrade. Because at first I thought I would just upgrade one or two parts, but then if I upgrade this, I would still be limited by this! So, let's upgrade it all!
I would like to send thanks to "Jamiever6" for the github files and info on the build- github.com/Jamiever6/ChironWire
List of upgrades-
BTT Octopus 1.1, TMC2209 drivers, TFT35, EBB36 and U2C Canbus
Raspberry Pi3, inductive probe for ABL, E3D V6 hotend
Voron Stealthburner and Voron Switchwire CoreXZ motion system
MGN12 linear rails, Hictop PEI magnetic steel removable buildplate
All printed parts were printed in Hatchbox ABS on my Prusa MK3S+
Build video up next! (may be divided into sections)