It feels like a lot longer than three years ago, but that's when I started my adventures in 3D printing with the Monoprice Select Mini 3D Printer. It was limited in print volume and print quality, but it served as a good introduction to 3D printing so I felt I understood the field enough to invest in larger and more capable printers.

My Mini was retired from active duty and sat in a box until I loaned it out to Emily for the exact same purpose of giving her an introduction to 3D printing. And just as I did, the introduction led her to purchase a larger printer and my mini went back into its box.

Now it has been pulled out of the box for a third tour of duty elsewhere. This time, I am trading it away. It is destined for local technology outreach events, and in exchange for my working but limited printer I'm receiving a non-working Monoprice Mini to tear apart. Here is my printer performing a test print to verify it still works, the final print it will perform in my possession.

MP Mini X axis

Before I agreed to this trade, I was ready to tear it apart for the sake of extracting its X-axis. That black horizontal arm is a small self-contained linear actuation unit: it has a standard stepper motor, guide rods with linear bearings, and a belt-controlled carriage. Plus a micro switch for axis homing, all inside an integrated stamped sheet metal unit.

I wanted to use this X-axis assembly as the Z-axis for our Grbl CNC project. And the timing of this trade is fortuitous, because now I'm not destroying a perfectly working printer. It is not going to be rigid enough to handle a CNC cutting tool, merely an incremental upgrade over the servo-controlled Z-axis. This allows us to take our first step towards a stepper-controlled Z-axis for our machine.