The New Hotness

Given my experience with the TOM’s platform heater connector, I was bothered by having the M2’s heated build platform connection flex as the Y stage travels back and forth. After replacing the Z axis motor, I added a strut to the Y axis stage to stabilize the HBP connector.

This overview shows the aluminum strut sticking out to the rear (Y+) end of the platform support spider:

A closeup shows a quartet of 4-40 holes drilled and tapped along the strut’s midline:

Admittedly, that’s a bit of a kludge, but I didn’t want to drill holes in that nice steel bracket… particularly since I’d have to dismantle the whole stage to get to it. The four screws wedge the strut firmly in position and have jam nuts on the bottom so they don’t loosen.

I extracted more wire from the braided sheath and moved the cable a bit further out at the cable tie holding it to the Y axis stage, then cable-tied the HBP connector to the strut.

With the stage all the way to the rear:

And to the front:

The wires may break, but now the HBP connector and heating pad joints should survive!