Larger Taz question

One of the things that I notice after converting to openrails on X and Y on my taz 5’s, the extruder carriage is rock solid, which is great. But Is there anything that would be not so solid if one were to make the x and y long enough to handle a 16 x 16" bed? Height I don’t care so much about, and I realize there is a lot to be changed/sourced regarding the heat bed, but it seems like the v-rail should accommodate extending the axis without a problem? I’ve been toying with the idea of picking up a g-max+ or a formbot just to get the 16" axis ability

The openbuilds x and y axis will accommodate much longer and wider beds. You would want to add additional y axis rail supports but a 16" x 16" bed and print area is quite possible and reachable. If you could find one a 20" bed would probablt be feasable with a stiff enough nameplate. The x rail is a bit overkill as it is so you could theoretically put a double length extrusion there with no issue. The y axis is all supported so deflection wouldn’t be an issue. At some point you might need a larger motor there for the bed maybe a high torque nema 17 and make some sort of hole to clear a longer motor in the desk it sits on? That or mod a nema23 mount in? You might want to add my main frame corner reinforcement mods and consider buying a set of taz 6 style metal frame corners from itworks3d.com if you are going that wide on the x frame. Possibly even swap in 20mm x 40mm extrusions for the two upper crossbars?

Thanks for the info Piercet. I’m going to have to look into something, and I really like the accessibility of the taz frame. I’ll have to do some cad work when I have time to mock it up. I may just look into expanding the X size as that would solve all my problems. Sourcing heater pads will be a bit of work, but I know there are companies that can make custom sizes