Open source printer rebuild
CubePro Trio Open Source Conversion
Overview
My company’s old 3D printer broke so I took it home and am attempting to convert it to an open source 3D printer with off the shelf components.
This is the CubePro Trio made by 3DSystems. It’s an old printer made in 2014 and it’s all proprietary, even down to the filament. As far as I know, 3DSystems is out of business (?) so that means this printer is bound for the scrapyard since their filament isn’t even purchasable anymore.
I plan to convert this thing into an open source printer to give it a second life. It’d be a shame to see it get thrown away when this machine has so much potential.
What kind of heat is this bad boy packing?
The CubePro Trio isn’t really something to get excited about. It’s got a triple extruder system which is super nice (if it actually worked), a large print bed (but not heated), and proprietary filament (who would even want this?).
So what’s the plan?
Clearly it’s got some good things going for it, but it’s just executed poorly. I plan to re-use the enclosure and the rail system since it’s actually built really well. Everything else has to go: electronics, bed, motors, extruder system, etc. The entire thing is basically going to get gutted except for the frame.
I’m thinking of putting in a Duet Wifi 2, and a large print bed from the Creality’s CR10 printer. I have an extra E3Dv6 hotend laying around so I’ll use that for the extruder. I want this thing to be able to print some high temperature materials like ABS/ASA and maybe even polycarbonate (PC).
Gutting the CubePro Trio
I dedicated an entire Saturday for this teardown. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy since there aren’t really any instructions, but man this took a while. All in all it took about 6-7 hours.
I read online that the first thing I should do is to separate the enclosure with the frame. I did this first so I could have an easier time accessing the internal components instead of hunched over trying to crawl my way through the cramped space.
The first thing I noticed was: this thing is CHONKY. The printer is much bigger and heavier than my Prusa i3Mk3. If I had to guess, I think it weighs about 50 pounds and is about 3-4 times bigger than my Prusa Mk3.
Pretty heavy from all the thick steel/aluminum parts of the frame
Frame slides right out the back of the enclosure
The next thing I did was prop up the frame onto a workbench so I could get off the ground. Working on a bench is much easier than working on the floor.
Propped it up on the workbench
I started out with removing the bed, which was pretty straightforward. There were a total of about 10 screws. 4 more bolts attached the Z axis to the frame.
Bed is removed, revealing the PSU and main control board units
After ripping everything out.
After removing all the control boards, PSU, and extruder system, the frame is finally gutted. I’m leaving the motors in for now, until I get replacement motors. I put the bed back together to store the printer back in the enclosure to work on it later.
Although the printer is still heavy after gutting, it has lost a significant amount of weight. The box of scraps that I removed weighs about 10-15 pounds.
To be continued…
I need to do more research on the different parts I’ll need to rebuild this thing. I’ll update this page when I have the parts. Stay tuned, on the next episode of CubePro Trio rebuild!