Roll Around Cart for Snapmaker 2.0 A350
by rgmcleod in Workshop > Woodworking
6538 Views, 41 Favorites, 0 Comments
Roll Around Cart for Snapmaker 2.0 A350
I recently received my long awaited Snapmaker 2.0 A350 3-in-1 printer and its enclosure as a Kickstarter participant. Once I assembled the printer and its enclosure I needed a place for it to live - other than on top of my workbench - and wanted places to keep the assessories, supplies and tools that I would need for this new machine.
Background
For those of you who are not familiar with Snapmaker 2.0, this is Snapmaker's 2nd generation 3-in-1 product. The machine provides three functions:
- A normal 3D printer.
- A CNC machine for milling wood and some other materials (but not metal).
- A laser cutter capable of cutting some thin wood and engraving some other materials like plastic.
There are three models of the Snapmaker 2.0 ranging in build volume from the smallest to the largest - the A150, A250 and A350. If you want more information you can go to the Snapmaker website - www.snapmaker.com.
The A350 has three interchangeable tool heads for the three functions, and three different work surfaces that are used for these three functions. The enclosure has accordion type doors on two sides allowing access to the machine and built in LED lighting and a fan to exhaust any fumes from 3D printing or laser cutting.
After figuring out how big the enclosure was I decided that a roll around cart would fit the bill. Given the constraints I had in the shop, the total height of the cart and printer could not exceed 54". Honestly, I would have liked to make the cart taller so that while working on the machine I didn't have to bend over so much. But, as I said, I had some constraints. So I started sketching and came up with the cart you see here.
Cart Features
The main features of the cart are:
- Two large drawers - one for keeping 3D printing filament and other large items, the other for smaller items and projects in process
- Two flip-down drawer fronts that hide:
- Pull-out boards for each of the three different work surfaces
- A pull-out board for storing the three tool heads
- A space for the printer's power module
- A pull-out board for a parts/tool box that holds the hardware for the work surfaces and any required tools
- Lockable, polyurethane swivel casters - using these at all four corners give the cart maximum flexibility for moving it around the shop in tight quarters
- Space at the back of the enclosure for a place to feed the power unit to the printer through a 2" grommet as well as a power strip since I know I'll need to plug in some other things
This is really just a woodworking project that is specific to the needs of the Snapmaker A350. I wanted everything to be handy without having to hunt things down in the shop. So the purpose of this instructable is primarily for those people who have a Snapmaker 2.0 and can take advantage of some of the custom features I designed into this cart.
But others might find the approach to the cart's construction and the features I created appropriate for some other use.
Things to note:
- Throughout this instructable, I will call out where dimensions of pieces are dictated by the hardware that I used.
- I chose to face the front of the cart with 1/4" strips of Poplar edging to hide the plywood's end grain.
- I wrapped all the drawer fronts with the same 1/4" Poplar edging for the same reason
- Dimensions shown for drawer fronts - for example - include the Poplar edging, so if you choose not to use the edging, then make the drawer fronts the full dimension shown. Conversely, if using the Poplar edging, cut the plywood to accommodate the size of the edging you use.
- While I took care in preparing this instructable to get all the dimensions correct, please do not take everything as gospel. Use your common sense to "measure twice, cut once" as with all woodworking projects.
Supplies
While there are many choices of materials, I chose to use the following:
- 3/4" Birch veneer plywood - two 4'x8' sheets will be plenty
- 1/4" Birch veneer plywood - half of a 4'x8' sheet - for the drawer bottoms
- 1/4" Hardboard - one 4'x8' sheet - for the pull-outs
- 1/2" x 5 1/2" Poplar - about 8' - for some of the internal pull-out supports
- 3/4" x 7 1/2" Poplar (commonly referred to as "1x8") - roughly 10' long
- 3/4" x 5 1/2" Poplar (commonly referred to as "1x6") - roughly 10' long
- 3/4" x 3 1/2" Poplar ("1x4") - roughly 30' - for the trim around the drawer fronts, cabinet front and holders for the worksurface parts on the pull-outs
- (4) 3" Polyurethane lockable swivel type casters
- (16) 5/16" T-nuts (for the casters)
- (16) 5/16" x 1" bolts and lock washers (again, for the casters)
- (~50) #9 x 2 1/2" construction screws (either T-25 drive or Philips)
- (2) sets of 22" drawer slides (I used the soft close type)
- (2) sets of no-mortise hinges (for the two flip down drawer fronts)
- (2) magnetic catches for the flip-down drawer fronts
- (~50) #6 x 3/4" flat head wood screws (for attaching the wood strips to the pull-out boards
Cut the Plywood for the Basic Box
There are seven pieces that comprise the basic box all made from 3/4" Birch plywood. See the exploded diagram and individual images for the dimensions:
- Top and Bottom - these two pieces are identical. Each has a 3/4" wide by 3/8" deep rabbet on three sides.
- Right and Left sides - these two pieces are mirror images of each other. A 3/4" wide by 3/8" deep rabbet goes along the back edge, and there's a 3/4" wide by 3/8" deep dado that is located 19" from the bottom of each piece. This dado holds the shelf.
- Shelf, Divider & Back - all these pieces are simple, no rabbets - just straight cuts
Install the Hardware for the Casters
Before assembling the pieces of the box, it's better to prepare the Bottom piece for the casters that you will put on later. I used 3" locking, swivel casters (made by Everbilt), but your choice of caster may be different.
I secured the casters I used with 5/16" T-nuts, 5/16" x 1" bolts and 5/16" lock washers.
Locate the casters such that you will be able to see the locking lever stick out from either the front or the side of the box. This will make it possible for you to easily push the lever to lock the wheels.
Once you have located the right spots for the casters, mark where the four holes go and drill into the Bottom piece at those 16 locations (four for each caster) using the correct size drill for the T-nut (it's 3/8" for a 5/16" T-nut).
When all the holes have been drilled, insert the T-nut from the inside face of the Bottom piece and hammer them into place. Doing this now will prevent the hassle of doing this once the box has been assembled.
Assemble the Pieces of the Basic Box
Assemble the Box
Once the pieces are all cut to size, assemble all but the divider.
I find it's best to place the Back flat on the workbench, then arrange the top, bottom and sides around it, keeping them in place with clamps or corner clamps. Then slide in the shelf. You can glue the pieces together before this assembly, but I didn't. The 3/4" plywood will be plenty sturdy given the rabbets and dadoes.
To secure all these pieces together, I used #9 x 2 1/2" construction screws. These screws go along three sides of both the top and bottom pieces (where the rabbets are), along the back edge of each side (where the rabbets are), and along the edge of the shelf.
Prior to putting in the screws I pre-drill using a 3/8" countersink bit so that the head of the screw will be 1/8" or so below the surface of the plywood.
After getting the basic box together, find the middle of the shelf and make marks 3/8" to either side of the middle. This will locate the Divider. It's best to use a square to draw a line from those two points to the back of the box to make sure that when you place the Divider it goes in square. Slide in the Divider and keep it on the lines you just drew. Use the construction screws to secure this piece in place both from the top and the bottom. Use the countersink bit again to keep the screw heads slightly below the surface.
Add Dowels to Screw Holes
Once all the screws are in place I cut small pieces of 3/8" dowel and glued them into the countersink. Later, after the glue has dried, I saw off the dowel sticking out and sand it smooth. See the photo for how this looks. This is optional depending on your fussiness, or OCD.
At this point, all the front edges of the pieces should be flush with one another. Whether or not you are planning on attaching Poplar edging to the front edges of these pieces, it's a good idea to sand these edges - especially where two pieces come together - so that they look good. Doing this now will make the effort to adding the edging much easier.
(Optional) Add the Poplar Edging
Make Edging from Poplar
You'll have to create 1/4" thick by 3/4" wide pieces of edging from some of the 3/4" Poplar you have. I am not going into the steps required to create this edging. I'm leaving that up to you.
I decided not to try to miter the corners where the stripping pieces meet. I just did butt joints.
For consistency with the drawer fronts (which we'll get to later), I chose to have the vertical strips on each side go the full height, and the horizontal strips fit between them. The only exception to that is the strip I put on the front of the Divider piece - it fits between the pieces on the Top and the Shelf.
Glue and/or Nail Edging to Box
I glued and then brad-nailed each piece of edging to the front of the box. Since the 3/4" plywood is actually 1/32" smaller than 3/4", putting a real 3/4" piece of edging on that edge will leave just a little of the edging exposed past the surface of the plywood. That's actually a good thing. You can then sand the edging to be exactly flush with the plywood. It makes the appearance of the box much nicer.
With the edging installed and sanded, you can putty up the brad holes and then sand them smooth. The basic box should now be looking good.
Add the Casters
Since the basic box is now together, you can use the 5/16" x 1" bolts and lock washers to attach the four casters to the Bottom of the box. This will make moving the box around a bit easier.
Build the Two Drawer Boxes
Lower Drawer Box
Use the 1" x 8" Poplar to build the Lower Drawer box. See the image for the dimensions. Each piece should have a 1/4" wide by 3/8" deep dado. This dado should be located 1/2" from the bottom of each piece. The dado is for the drawer bottom.
The dimensions of these two drawer boxes are based on using drawer slides that are 1/2" thick. If you are using drawer slides of a different design, or those with something other than a 1/2" thickness, you will have to compensate for this.
The drawing shows butt joints at each corner. This is the easiest joint to make and the corners can be secured using glue and brads or small nails. Since I have the tools, I used a template and router to create half-blind dovetail joints which are much more robust and creates lots of glue surface. If you choose to use Dovetail or some other joint at the corners, make sure that the outside dimensions of the box match the dimensions on the drawing.
Once the four sides of the Lower Drawer are cut, carefully measure the size of the drawer bottom that is needed. Don't forget to account for the 3/8" deep dado on each of the four sides. This adds 3/4" to each inside dimension of the box. This will be cut out of 1/4" Birch plywood. It's sometimes a good idea to subtract 1/32" from each dimension for the bottom to allow for variations in the wood and rabbet.
With all five pieces cut, do a "dry fit" to make sure all the parts fit nicely. Then glue and nail three of the side pieces together, then slide in the bottom and glue and nail in the last side.
Middle Drawer Box
Repeat this process with the 1" x 6" Poplar wood to create the Middle Drawer. Other than the height the dimensions for the pieces should be identical to those of the Lower Drawer. A 1/4" wide by 3/8" deep dado is needed for this drawer as well.
Measure and cut a piece of 1/4" Birch plywood for the bottom of this drawer.
Assemble this drawer in the same manner as done for the other drawer.
Build the Drawer Fronts
Cut the Drawer Fronts
If you are not planning on adding 1/4" Poplar edging to the edges of each drawer front, this step is straight forward. Cut the four drawer fronts from 3/4" Birch plywood using the overall dimensions shown on the drawings here. Sand the edges (just for appearance) and you are done. There are two Upper drawer fronts (16 3/4" x 4 7/8") but only one each of the other two larger drawer fronts.
Add Edging (Optional)
If you are going to add the edging, cut the 3/4" plywood pieces 1/2" shorter in each direction. Then cut appropriate lengths of 1/4" edging from some 3/4" thick Poplar and follow the same procedure outlined in step 4 where the edging was applied to the front of the box. Glue and nail the pieces in place, sand, add putty and sand again.
Install the Drawer Slides
Install Drawer Slides to Main Box
Install the drawer slides into the main box first. For the bottom drawer I typically put the bottom edge of the slide 1" above the bottom edge of the drawer box. And I usually like to place the bottom of the drawer box 1/2" above the floor of the main box just for clearance sake.
Given those two numbers, the easiest way to get the drawer slides for the bottom drawer is to find or cut two pieces of wood that are 1 1/2" wide and 16" or more long. Place one on either side of the main box resting on the bottom floor so that the 1 1/2" dimension is vertical. Then set the drawer slide on top of that piece of wood. Position the slide so that the front of the slide is 3/4" back from the front of the main box. This will create the space for the drawer front.
Now mark two or three of the slide mounting holes and pre-drill some small 1/16" holes for the slide screws. Do this on both sides then screw the slides in place using the provided screws.
Install Drawer Slide Center Runner to Drawer Box
The slides I used were 1 3/8" tall. To find out where to draw a line on the drawer box you need to find where the center of the slide will be to keep the drawer box 1/2" off of the bottom floor of the main box. Half the height of the drawer slide I used is 11/16" (1 3/8" divided by 2). And since I placed the bottom of the slide 1 1/2" up from the bottom floor, the correct position of the drawer slide centerline is 1 11/16". See the diagram.
On the drawer box, draw a line 1 11/16" up from the bottom edge on the side. Remove the center runner from the drawer slide and place it so that the front is flush with the front of the drawer box and the line you drew goes through the centers of the mounting holes on that runner. Pre-drill holes for two or three screws like you did before. Then screw the center runner in place using the screws that came with the slide.
Test Fit the Drawer into the Main Box
You should be able to test fit the drawer by sliding the drawer with it's center runner into the drawer slide mounted to the box. If all goes well, it will push in and then slide smoothly in and out.
Install Drawer Slides for the Middle Drawer
Assuming that this went well, it's time to tackle the Middle drawer slides.
The process is similar except now you can create two spacers that can sit on top of the bottom drawer slide that will put the upper drawer slide at the proper height. Using the same spacing of 1" from the bottom of the drawer box and knowing how big the drawer fronts will be the spacers should be 9 1/4" tall. This is based on having 1/16" clearance between the bottom drawer front and the main box, and a similar 1/16" space between the two drawer fronts. We'll install the drawer fronts next, but for now we just need to get the drawer slides in the right place vertically.
If you don't get the drawer slides for the Middle Drawer exactly right, don't worry. You can compensate for any small differences when putting the drawer fronts on.
With the drawer slide sitting on the spacers and the front of the slide 3/4" back from the front of the main box, mark two or three spots where you'll put in the provided screws. As before, pre-drill the holes and then install the drawer slide. Do this for both sides of the main box.
As shown in the drawing, you can use the same 1 11/16" measurement from the bottom of the drawer box to draw a line that will pass through the centers of the drawer slide mounting holes. Like before, take the center runner out of the drawer slide and position it along the line you've drawn and flush with the front of the drawer box. Mark where you'll put in two or three screws, pre-drill and then install the center runner to both sides of the drawer box.
Test fit the drawer like you did with the lower drawer.
Drill for Drawer Front Hardware
Now is the time to prep the drawer fronts for the hardware pulls that will be used. I used some nice pulls that have hole centers 5" apart, and I used two of them given the width of the drawer. If you use pulls with different dimensions you will need to alter the following to instructions to get the pulls in the right place.
I used drawer pulls that don't have exposed ends that can tend to catch clothing when you're moving around the shop. Just sayin...
I'll leave it up to you to figure out where vertically on the face of the drawer front you want the pulls. I put mine centered vertically and an even distance from either side. On my box, I chose to space the first hole for each pull 6" in from the side. This works out well since that same 6" measurement will place the pulls for the two flip-down drawer fronts exactly in the center of those two drawer fronts. See the picture for reference. My OCD is at it again.
Since you're placing the pulls for the two large drawers, you might as well do this for all four of the drawer fronts now.
Once you have the locations for the screws for the pulls marked, drill the appropriate sized hole in the drawer front and test fit the pull. You can install the pulls on the two smaller drawer fronts but don't install the drawer pulls yet on the two large drawer fronts.
Install the Two Drawer Fronts
Getting Nice Looking Gaps Is Important
Getting the dimensions correct so that a nice even gap exists between the drawer fronts and the main box is hard. That's why I usually don't mount the drawer fronts to the drawer box before I install the drawer slides. There just seem to be too many variables that can get messed up.
So with the two drawer boxes now installed in the main box, it's a little tricky, but it's easier to get a nice even gap between the drawer fronts and the main box.
Start with the Lower Drawer Front
To get the right spacing between the bottom of the drawer front and the box I use a straight edge from a combination square. They are about 1/16" thick. So just take the straight edge from the combination square and lay it along the bottom of the box, so that the drawer front will sit on it. Then move the drawer front horizontally so that there's an even gap on either side of the drawer front. If you've done everything right (and I got my measurements right) there should be about 1/16" gap on each side. If it's not exactly 1/16", that's ok, it's more important that the gaps be about the same on both sides and that the two drawer fronts both have the same width. This should guarantee a nice look around the drawer fronts.
Once you have the drawer front where you want it, clamp it in place and use the holes you drilled in the drawer front from the last step to drill through the drawer front and into the front piece of the drawer box. You may need some longer screws for the pulls since you're going through two pieces of 3/4" wood. Either that, or you will need to drill some counter-bores in the back side of the front piece of the drawer box (like I ended up doing).
Either way, install the pulls using the screws and tighten them. This will hold the drawer front to the drawer box. At this point remove the drawer from the main box and either screw or nail the drawer front to the drawer box. Do this from inside the front piece of the drawer box.
With the lower drawer completed, re-install it into the main box and check that the gaps still look good.
Now For the Middle Drawer
Now do the same process with the Middle drawer. This time place the straight edge on top of the bottom drawer's front. Again, look for even gaps on either side.
Here's where the tricky part is. Since you can't get clamps in to secure the drawer front, carefully pull both drawers out a couple of inches (with the straight edge still in place). If the two drawer fronts are the same width, you should now be able to keep the sides of the middle drawer flush with the sides of the bottom drawer and get some clamps in place to secure the drawer front to the drawer box. Once the drawer front is clamped, drill using the holes for the pulls to go through the drawer front and into the drawer box. Use the screws and pulls to hold the drawer front and the drawer box together.
As with the lower drawer, now remove this drawer and either screw or nail the drawer front and drawer box together.
You should now have two drawers that fit nicely and hopefully have even gaps around the drawer fronts! Hooray!
Add the Pull-Outs and Pull-Out Support Pieces
The basic box is now complete. Time to add the Pull-Out Supports and the Pull-Outs themselves.
We'll work on the left hand bay of the upper section first. This houses the pull-outs for the work surfaces.
Then we'll work on the right hand bay of the upper section. This houses the Toolhead Pull-Out and the two smaller pull-outs for the Power Module and the Toolbox.
See the two drawings for identification of the pieces that we will be making and installing.
Make the Worksurface Pull-Out Support Pieces
It's time to make the two pieces that will support the Work surface Pull-Outs. This is basically a piece of wood with three (or four) dadoes that are 1/4" wide and 1/4" deep.
Note that I said three or four. The Snapmaker A350 uses three different work surfaces depending on the function of the toolhead. Since I had the height, I made these support pieces with four dadoes rather than just three. This gives me some flexibility to either store spare work surfaces or be prepared when Snapmaker comes out with some new tool head that requires a new work surface. It's up to you whether you want three or four dadoes. If you choose three, you can space the dadoes a little further apart if you like.
Cut the Poplar to Size
These pieces are made from 1/2" x 5 1/2" Poplar (available at some lumber outlets like Home Depot). See the drawing for dimensions. I used 1/2" thick wood to create as much space as possible for the pull-outs. Since both pieces are the same, you can take one 4' long piece of Poplar and cut the dadoes all at once, then cut the pieces to length from the one long piece. This ensures that the dadoes are exactly the same on each piece. You can also do this with two pieces, but make sure to perform the steps the same for each piece.
First, cut the Poplar so that the piece (or pieces) are 5" wide. Then cut the 1/4" dadoes. This can be done with a hand held router, a router table, or even with a table saw (either with a dado blade or making multiple cuts with a standard blade). I'll leave that up to you.
Install the Support Pieces
With the two pieces cut to length, pre-drill holes for #6 x 3/4" flat head wood screws. Use a bit with a countersink since you want more than a 1/4" of the screw to go into the wall of the box. Slide the pieces into each side of the left side bay just below the top of the box. Push the pieces all the way to the back of the box since you will need space for the drawer front. Screw the pieces into place.
Make the Worksurface Pull-Outs
Cut Out and Shape the Blank Pull-Outs
These pull-outs are made from 1/4" hardboard (masonite). While a whole 4' x 8' sheet seems very flexible, the size of the pieces for this project are plenty sturdy to carry the little bit of weight of the work surfaces.
First cut out either three or four pieces of the hardboard that are 16 1/4" x 20 5/8". Then use a jigsaw and a 1" drill bit to cut out a handhold and a setback for the front of the pull-out. The design I show has three handholds spaced across the width of the pull-outs. Even with a fourth one, there is still room to grab each pull-out easily.
Add Wood Strips to Keep the Work Surfaces from Moving
Once the shape of the pull-outs is complete, you can add the small pieces of wood that will hold the work surfaces in place. For the CNC and Laser pull-outs, I used 1/2" x 3/4" pieces of Poplar. The three pieces of wood will keep the work surfaces from moving around too much, but still easily accessible from the front when you pull it out just half-way. I used #6 x 3/4" flat head wood screws to attach the wood strips from below. I made sure to countersink the holes on the bottom to make sure they don't catch on anything. The dimensions for the wood strips and their placement on the pull-out is shown on the drawings.
The pull-out for the 3D printer work surface is slightly different. This work surface has two parts - a heated base and a thin work surface that sits on top of the heated base. The connection for the heated base protrudes below the bottom of this surface, so I needed to cut an additional piece of 1/4" hardboard - 14" x 14 3/8" - that will keep the connection safe. To capture that additional piece of hardboard, the Poplar strips I used were 1" x 3/4" with a 1/4" deep by 3/8" wide rabbet on all three pieces. See the drawing. Again, I used #6 x 3/4" flat head screws to secure the wood strips to the hardboard from the bottom. Then slide in that extra piece of hardboard, and you're done!
With these pull-outs made, test fit them into the main box using the support pieces made in the last step.
Make the Toolhead Pull-Out and Small Pull-Out Support Pieces
Identifying the Pieces
There are three pieces that support the Toolhead Pull-Out and the two small pull-outs. I'll refer to these supports as the "Left", "Middle" and "Right" supports.
The Left and Right supports are made from 1/2" x 5 1/2" Poplar, the Middle support is made from 3/4" Birch Plywood with an edging piece on the front to hide the plywood's end grain.
Left Side Support
The Left Side support has only one 3/4" wide, 1/4" deep dado in it. Since it only has the one dado, it doesn't need to be the full 5" tall, it can be 4" tall or even shorter if you wish. As shown in the drawing, the dado is placed 1/2" from the bottom of the piece.
Middle Support
The Middle support is made from 3/4" Birch Plywood and has dadoes for both the Toolhead Pull-Out on one side and the two 1/4" pull-outs used for the Power Module and the Toolbox on the other side. Like the Left Side support, there's a 3/4" wide, 1/4" deep dado for the right side of the Toolhead Pull-Out. On the other side of this piece are two 1/4" wide, 1/4" deep dadoes used for the two pull-outs.
I chose to face the end of the Middle support with a 1/4" piece of edging. If you choose to do so, then cut this piece of edging now and glue and/or nail this piece to the front of the piece. Be mindful if you are using nails to attach the edging, place them where they won't be in the path of the tool(s) that will cut the dadoes. So it's best to mark where the dadoes are going before mounting this edging piece.
Right Support
The Right support piece has two 1/4" wide, 1/4" deep dadoes that match the two on the Middle support piece. I chose to make this piece only 3 1/8" tall. The upper pull-out for this space will house the Power Module, and I wanted to give it as much room as possible.
Cut The Pieces to Their Proper Dimensions
With that said, cut the pieces you will need:
- 1/2" Poplar - 4" x 22" and 3 1/8" x 22"
- 3/4" Birch Plywood - Overall size is 5" x 22" - If you choose not to put edging on, then cut the piece to it's full 22"
length. If using the edging, cut the piece to 21 3/4" length.
Cut the Dadoes Needed
Since the Left and Middle supports have a matching 3/4" dado, it's easier from a setup perspective to cut the 3/4" wide, 1/4" deep dadoes with the same tool setup rather than going through the motions for each one independently.
After cutting the 3/4" dado, check it with a scrap of the 3/4" Birch plywood to make sure the fit is right.
The two dadoes on the Middle support piece and the Right support piece are identical, so it's easier to set up to cut both of these pieces and their two dadoes at the same time. Cut the two 1/4" dadoes as shown in the drawing. Look at the drawing for the proper dimensions for those dadoes.
Install the Left and Right Support Pieces
For the Left and Right supports pre-drill some holes (with countersinks) for #6 x 3/4" flat head screws to attach these pieces to the left and right side of right-hand opening just below the top of the main box. Slide the pieces all the way to the back of the box and then secure the piece to the main box with the screws.
We won't install the Middle Support piece until after we've made the Toolhead Pull-Out piece. This will ensure that we have a good fit and that the pull-out will slide in and out easily.
Make the Toolhead Pull-Out
The Toolhead Pull-Out is a piece of 3/4" Birch Plywood with a handhold cut into it. On top of the 3/4" plywood is a piece of 1/4" hardboard with cutouts for the three toolheads supplied with the Snapmaker. This piece of hardboard is just screwed onto the 3/4" plywood, so it can easily be removed.
As with some other parts made from the 3/4" plywood, I have chosen to face the front edge with a piece of 1/4" Poplar edging to hide the plywood's end grain. This, like the other pieces, is an option. The drawing shows the dimensions of the pull-out.
I left space in the back of the pull-out in case a new toolhead is released for the machine. When that time should come, I can remove the existing hardboard template and create a new one to accommodate any new toolhead (assuming that it's not much bigger than the existing ones).
Cut the 3/4" Plywood to Size
Cut the plywood to size based on the drawing then drill two 1" holes near the front of the pull-out for the handhold. Use the jigsaw to cut between the two circles to create the handhold. I used a small roundover bit in the router to smooth the edges of this cutout.
Make the Cutouts for the Toolheads
Use the drawing as a starting point for making the 1/4" plywood with the cutouts for the the toolheads. The spacing isn't critical here other than to make sure that the toolheads don't collide with each other. Two of the three toolheads need only a rectangular cutout. The 3D printer head needs the rectangular cutout, but also needs a small cutout at the front to accommodate the surface sensor.
I used #6 x 3/4" flat head wood screws to attach the 1/4" plywood to the pull-out base. As long as the plywood doesn't interfere with the dadoes in the support pieces that hold the pull-out, all is good.
Install the Middle Support Piece
Now that the Middle Support Piece is made, use this opportunity to slide it into place using the just completed Toolhead Pull-Out as a guide. Keep in mind that the pull-out should slide in and out freely. Use a large square to ensure that this Middle support piece is straight and plum.
Once the support piece is in the proper place, determine where the center of the 3/4" plywood is on the top of the main box and draw a line using a square that extends back to the rear of the box. It's a good idea to clamp the Middle support piece in place to prevent it from moving around. Then, like was done while constructing the main box, pre-drill a couple of holes (with a 3/8" countersink) through the top of the main box and into the Middle support piece in a couple of places. Using the #9 x 2 1/2" screws attach the Middle Support. Add some screws from the bottom as well but since those screws won't be seen, there's no need to countersink and use dowels.
Then glue in pieces of 3/8" dowel into the countersinks on the top of the main box. Once the glue has dried, the excess can be cut off and sanded smooth with the top of the main box just like you did before.
Make Two Small Pull-Outs
There are two small pull-outs that are needed for the right hand side bay of the upper section of the box. As with the worksurface pull-outs, these are made from 1/4" hardboard.
Consult the drawing for the dimensions for these two pull-outs. Before committing to the width of these two pull-outs, check the space between the support pieces where they will go. Always a good idea to double check in case some dimension gets off.
Cut the hardboard to size, then drill holes and use a jigsaw to create the handhold for these two pieces.
Test fit them to see that they fit correctly.
Install the Flip-down Drawer Fronts
The last thing to do is install the hardware for the flip-down drawer fronts.These hinges require no mortise, so they are easy to install. I used this Amerock hinge, but I suspect there are other vendors that make similar products. These hinges when fully opened keep allow the pull-outs to slide out with no problem. I toyed with the idea of using hidden, euro-style hinges, but they took up too much vertical space.
The most difficult part of installing these is getting the hinge placed correctly on the bottom edge of the opening such that when the door is closed the door is flush with the front of the cabinet. I ended up mounting the hinge to the door then using a scrap piece of wood to mount the other part of the hinge to. Just to get an idea of how far back/forward to set the hinge to get the door flush.
Once you've figured out where to position the hinges on the main box, mark the locations, pre-drill some holes and use the provided screws to install both flip-down drawer fronts in place. Take care to see that the gaps on either side of these drawer fronts are even. Sometimes these small things make a big difference in how the finished product looks.
I had to sand a bit of an angle onto the top edge of the door so that the back edge of the drawer front didn't hit the main box as it was closed. I didn't have to take off too much, but just enough for the drawer to clear.
Once the hinges are mounted and the door fits nicely, add a magnetic catch to each drawer to capture the door when it's closed. These catches have elongated holes so just get them in the ballpark, then adjust as necessary to get the drawer front to end up being flush with the case.
Project Complete!
Congratulations! You've just completed the build of a roll around cart for the Snapmaker 2.0 - or some other piece of equipment.
The photos show the pull-outs and how nicely the cart fits into the space I made for it in the shop.
For carts and stuff like this for my shop I generally don't end up painting or staining them. But that is certainly up to you should you want to devote more time to the project. I'm just happy to have my workbench open again, and have one place to put all my supplies, tools and projects related to this new 3-in-1 tool.
Now it's time to get to work!