u/vgergo

Hey everyone! Our next SV08 MAX upgrade video is premiering in less than an hour! ⏱️

This is on the much requested auto-refill setup using three BIQU Panda feeders. I also figured out how to power all three cleanly from the original buffer's CANBUS port.

We finally got to insulate the internals of the printer for high temp printing, and improved the LOAD/UNLOAD macros (for the time being they are not as automatic as Demon Klipper Essentials).

There is a lot more, join us in the live chat for the premiere shortly! 👇 https://youtu.be/AcxmdtjM0X0

Learn how to safely set up rotary attachments, smoke purifiers, and essential Lightburn hacks for your Acmer K1 and AlgoLaser Pixi.

A quick summary of the project for those who want the TL;DR:

My dad’s lab repair firm had a 20-year-old medical centrifuge with a cracked injection-molded rotor. The original part used to cost $600 and is now obsolete/extinct, so we reverse-engineered it in Fusion / FreeCAD.

• Level 1 (PLA): Printed a test-fit on the Sovol Zero and FLSUN S1 Pro. It failed. The bore hole was a fraction of a mm too tight (shrinkage is real!).
• Level 2 (ABS): Widened the CAD tolerances, added swing-out buckets, and printed in ABS on the Bambu H2S (vented outside, safety first!). Marked the test tube slots (1-12) using a MOPA fiber laser in Lightburn. It worked beautifully and passed the initial spin test, but FDM plastic is anisotropic and has layer-line weaknesses under constant high centrifugal force.
• Level 3 (SLM Aluminum): Bypassed plastic entirely and had the design 3D printed in solid aluminum via JustWay for just $122.

Lessons learned: Metal has zero flex. We had to do some post-processing (thread tapping and manual rotary tool grinding on the pivot slots) because the metal didn't forgive tight tolerances like plastic does. If I did it again, I’d add more clearance in CAD and hollow the design out more to reduce weight (the final metal piece is 316g vs 163g ABS).

In the end, the motor spun the aluminum at 2801 RPM (compared to 2831 RPM on ABS) without breaking a sweat. Happy to answer any questions about the tolerances, the SLM process, or the laser marking!