Volcano Hotend for Monoprice Select Mini V2

This is an instructable outlining the steps needed to install a volcano hot end onto a Monoprice Select Mini V2. It also includes links to a custom designed hot end housing.

Materials List (with links):

• Volcano Hot End (I purchased this aftermarket one off amazon that came with extra nozzles, heat cartridge, and thermistor)
• 1 Noctua Fan
• 1 Blower Fan (I ordered this 2-pack)
• 22 Gauge Wire (I prefer the nice, flexible, silicon kind)
• 3D Printed Parts
• 4 M3x10 screws
• 5 M3x20 screws
• 1 M3x25 screw
• 10 M3 nuts
• 2 M3 washers
• 5-10 Small Zip-Ties
• Soldering Iron and Solder

Steps to remove the entire hot end assembly.

1. Remove the spring holding the stock fan in place.
2. Use a screwdriver to remove the hot end from the x-axis mount.
3. Pull back the spiral wrap to expose the cables.
4. Unscrew the heat sink from the heat block and the heat brake from the both the heat block and heat sink.
5. Remove the bowden tubing from the the top of the heat sink.
6. Remove the spring applying tension to the x-axis belt.
7. Behind the assembly where the belts attach, you will find two hex bolt that need to be removed to remove the entire hot end assembly.

You shouldn't need to take out every screw. I took pictures to help you identify the pieces holding together the back plate.

First, remove the bottom plate and unscrew the board that is attached to the bottom plate.

Next, remove the screws under the tower until you can remove the back plate on the tower as shown.

The green piece in the picture is the Z-axis spacer. You can install that now--make sure hollow section is on the BOTTOM as shown in the picture. It should click on when installed correctly.

Skip this step if you would like but I found it easier to solder and organize the cables by detaching everything. The post-it crudely labels each plug, I would recommend making your own labels if you are unable to decipher mine. You may also want to tag each cable to make things easier later.

I didn't have these plugs lying around so I spliced the new parts to the existing plugs.

• The BLOWER fan splices to the fan plug
• The heater cartridge splice to the heater plug
• The thermistor splices to the therm plug

I don't have any pictures of the Noctua splice but the fan in the pack will come with a whole bunch of things that are great that we don't need haha.

Pull the fan out of the packaging and unravel the wire.

You will need to cut off the plug that is attached.

Once cut, peel back the protective coating to reveal a red, black, and yellow wire.

Splice a reasonable amount (try to make the length of cable running from fan to board similar to that of the heater block) of the 22-gauge wire to the red and the black cable of the Noctua fan; leave the yellow wire unspliced.

I used heat wrap on my cables but you are more than welcome to skip this step.

This step is pretty self-explanatory.

Also, remove the spiral wrap if you haven't already done so.

An unfortunate compromise of using two fans with this board is that there is only one controllable fan port. I chose to solder the leads from the Noctua fan directly to the power input. This means that the Noctua fan will remain on while the printer is turned on. I always turn off the printer when I am finished so if you run your printer in an always-on configuration, this may be something to consider.

1. This video (should start at 1:40) helped me to assemble the heater block and get heat brake/nozzle screwed together correctly. I used the 1mm nozzle.
2. Screw on the heat sink. Do not be afraid if the wires from the heater block bend slightly. Just make sure not to move them around too much and you should be fine.
3. (Extra Step) Attach insulation with kapton tape.
4. You should be left with an assembly similar to that in the picture.

The blower has a 2mm thick clip blocking the blower from fitting nicely in the blower assembly--I clipped it off with some wire cutters. There aren't many pictures but the parts should go together pretty easily. All of the M3 nuts should go in FIRST and should press fit into their holes. If you are having trouble, try pulling them into position with a screw--anyone who has built a MK3 should have experience with this method. You will need the M3x10 for the blower, the M3x20's for the fans, and the M3x25 for the left side of the case. Lastly, reattach the part to the gantry with the two hidden belt screws and attach the bowden tubing. Don't forget to reattach the belt tension spring! Try to orient your cables as shown.

Use the cable snake to wrap up the cables coming from the hot end again. Use this as your guide to test the length of the cables coming from the machine to the hot end. Make sure there is enough slack for you x-axis gantry to operate freely. Once you are satisfied, start to add zip-ties, working your way from the hot end --> board, this will ensure you have the most organization possible inside of the tower.

Now, reattach all of you wires to the main board and screw the printer back together.

I used 2 M3x10 bolts, 2 M3 washers, and 2 M3 nuts to affix the spacer to the bed. I know removing supports from the spacer may be difficult so if it breaks, just super glue it back together (this happened to me).

If your printer looks like this then everything is put together and ready to go! Next, lets make some profiles in Cura...

Here are the results of my settings for a 1mm nozzle, tune as needed.