Vertical x for Prusa by North90ty
Release status: experimental
| Description | A very simple and easy to print vertical x-axis for reprap Prusa and mendel.
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| Categories | Development
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This is a contribution to the Vertical_X_Axis_Standard_Contest. The design is focussed on a quick design that is easily modified and that is easy to print.
Contents
About the design
The axis is compatible with the Vertical_X_Axis_Standard. The smooth x-bars are 15mm offset from the z-bars (center to center). The current extruder design positions the nozzle 5mm in front of the z-bars. Therefore 5mm of workspace in the y-direction is possibly lost. A different extruder might solve this (minor) issue. The axis is designed to be compatible with the standard Prusa hardware: same belt and same length of bars. Currently the design that is working uses about 30% less plastic to print than the standard Prusa x-axis design. When the final design is made more useless plastic will be scraped off, the target is to reduce the amount of plastic needed by 50%.
The continous part of the x-belt is designed to be running behind the lower smooth x-rod. Which frees most space between the x-bars for longer extruders. With the current design this is not the case: the belt runs about 5mm above the lower x-bar.
The bushing/bearing holders on the x-end-motor en x-end-idler parts can be integrated in the print. I prefer to glue printed parts together instead of making difficult to print parts. It is important to note that eventhough gluing ABS is easy, PLA is in my experience hard to glue. (If you know a glue that works well on PLA please edit this page!)
The design files can be found on Thingiverse: Vertical x by North90ty and Micro wade for vertical x
Status
Design is working but likely to change
Vx-motor
Left a x-end-motor with a traditional setup, right an newer setup which uses less plastic, is easier to print and has no tendency to bend due to a tight belt.
Vx-idler
Vx-mWade
Bushing holders
The vertical x-axis is designed to be compatible with LM8UU linear bearings, i prefer not to use snap-in holders.
Printing
Other toolheads
The vertical arrangement of the x-axis is very suitable for toolheads other than plastic extruders. Here is a setup that uses a rotary tool with a flexible shaft to engrave in aluminium.
