Feet for Wanhao Duplicator 6 (WD6) Monoprice Ultimate by TheMakerRob

Last crawled date: 3 years, 1 month ago

So I bought two of Monoprice's Ultimate 3D printers (which are the rebranded Wanhao Duplicator 6), and one of them had an issue with the Z-axis. It turns out it didn't turn smooth enough for the stock stepper motor not to skip steps, so I got a bigger stepper motor that extends out the bottom, thus I needed some ground clearance. Enter creating new feet for the WD6. Honestly, the printer really needs these anyway way as it could use the extra room for better breathing (especially if you have it on the floor like I do), and the stock feet suck and won't stay on.
For something as simple as a foot there are quite a few design features:
They are press fit.
There are two pressure numbs at the top of the channel to hold tight.
At the bottom of the channel it squares off to mechanically lock the edge surface into place.
The internal geometries all have rounded transitions in order to improve force distribution to prevent stress fractures.
They incorporate a corner design for few a reasons:
It stabilizes the machine, as the corners represent the absolute furtherest possible mounting points in both the X and Y.
It enables more surface area for better load bearing.
The apposing angles of the two adjacent walls help to lock and stabilize foot against all force vectors. Which prevent shifting and movement, rotation, and help to keep the foot on the printer.

The part is oriented to print at an angle that will provide maximum strength (as we aren't applying force against layer interfaces).
The ends are rounded in order to try to protect surfaces it may sit on.