Our Cube Pro Total Conversion: A step-by-step guide on how we converted this printer into a more open and functional machine

The Cube Pro is a well-known printer from 3D Systems. It was released in 2014 in 3 different versions from 1 to 3 extruders. This printer is not produced anymore, but it’s very common to come across a deal. Some stores still have it, or professional users are selling them.

4 years after its release, the Cube Pro is in a gray zone. Looking at Amazon review, you’ll find that 47% rated 5 stars, and 53% rated 1 star. For some reasons, it seems like quite a few machines have trouble working properly.

We knew this printer had excellent mechanical design and we were interested in buying one. We found a pretty good deal on a non-working unit and decided to buy it. The unit in question had one extruder removed due to malfunction. The other extruder was still in the printer, but not working anymore.

This series of blogs show how we converted this non-working Cube Pro into an amazing printer; with open source firmware, high-end components, able to print any materials, and for a fraction of the price of the original printer!

About this blog

You can use it as a guide, or as an inspiration. We’ll do our best to be as clear as possible with the different steps involved in this transformation. Here is what we’ll cover:

• The CubePro
• List of items required
• CubePro tear down
• Carriage design
• Electronics
• Assembly
• Heated bed
• Controlled environment

The process is very similar if you are planning on using a different printer. There are very few limitations to which  printers can be converted and how you change the electronics.

The CubePro

Originally from the Cubify/Cube line of consumer printers by 3D systems, the CubePro is a successor of the CubeX printer. It is a very nice looking 3D printer, thanks to the white rounded frame and simplistic design.

Features

Here are some highlights of this product:

• 24.29 x 23 x 27.04 cm build volume
  • For the Duo version (the one we got), due to the multiple extruder setups, the build volume is affected by the extruders. The single version has a larger one, and the triple extruder version has a smaller volume.
• 0.10mm Z-axis resolution.
  • This makes no sense, as the minimum layer thickness supported is 0.07mm, smaller than the resolution.
• 3 material options, including nylon, compostable PLA and recyclable ABS plastic.
  • Maybe it was enough back in 2014, but 3 material is underwhelming nowadays. No flexible, no high temperature, no fiber reinforced, no metal powder, no wood. This is something we’ll solve when converting to open source.
  • Through an upgrade kit, called the “CubePro Advanced Material”, the printer could be upgraded with flexible, wood and INF (?)
• Maximum 15mm (9/16″) per second and polymer dependent.
  • I believe they meant 15mm^3. It’s not bad for a 0.40mm nozzle. However, for such a large build volume, you’ll probably want to get access to bigger nozzles to speed up the big prints. We’ll solve this.
• 280 degree C
  • This sounds like a PTFE lined hotend. 280°C is a little high for long-term application. The PTFE will slightly soften and enlarge where the pressure is generated, making it progressively taper and harder to extrude. Don’t worry, once again this is something that we’ll solve.

The original hardware

The CubePro design looks fabulous, and it’s great to work with. The solid metal frame is hidden inside the beautiful aluminium composite panels. One panel from the top can be removed as a quick access to the extrusion system. As you can see, the filament goes through the cable chain. It looks very professional compared to the traditional tube hanging free in air.

List of items required

Beside is a list of the items we needed for our conversion. They are categorized so you can choose which is best for you. In our case, we are looking for the following features:

• 500°C hotend
• 150°C heated build platform
• 70°C environment
• Liquid cooled
• Compatibility with any filaments

The total is around 795$.

For our CubePro conversion, we decided to use our own products, which allows us to achieve the performances we’re looking for. Each component will be later described in a general form so you can evaluate easily whether or not you need them for your application. Highlighted in blue are products you’re able to find from our stores. We’ll provide links to other components at the end of the blog.

CubePro teardown and analysis

The teardown was quite straightforward as modern 3D printers are generally simple. A few steps required two people since some parts were quite heavy.

Extrusion system

In the next part of this blog series, we will dive directly into how we rebuilt and assembled our custom Cube Pro. We will explain how we designed the carriage, how we refactored the electronics, the heated bed, and the controlled environment.