| X-Axis Assembly - Belt and Motor |
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For this part you will need:
This part consists of putting on the belt that drives the x-axis carriage back and forth. This will be similar to putting on the belt for the y-axis. You will need an 1.5mm allen wrench for the grub screws, a 2.5 allen wrench for the cap screws, and a couple of 13mm wrenches to tighten the nuts on the idler bolt. You may also want some pliers to help pull the belt tight.
You will start this section by getting the idler in place. Get the belt-guide piece ready by putting two 608ZZ skate bearings into the piece like you did in previous sections. Put it aside for a moment. Put an M8 nut onto the 50mm long piece of 8mm threaded rod so that there is about 1/4" of threads on one side of the nut. Put an M8 washer on the longer end, follwed by the belt-guide, and then another M8 washer. Now, put that end through the back of the x-end-idler piece where the hole is. The x-end-idler was the one on the right-hand right of the printer. Once the threaded rod is through a little ways, put an M8 washer on it, then an M8 nut, and snug things up. Make sure the threaded rod isn't poking into the center hexagon shaped area of the x-end-idler. It doesn't matter how much thread ends up on the outside. This is what it should look like:
The motor that will drive the x-axis will now be put on. Get the belt-pulley ready by putting in two M3 nuts and the two grub screws like you did for the motor on the y-axis. Put the belt-pulley piece onto the motor shaft almost as far as it will go, just make sure to leave about a 1/2mm gap between the piece and the motor. Tighten down the grub screws once you get it on. Since this one is so far on, you shouldn't have much problem with the belt-pulley being crooked. If it is, make sure that you tightened down the grub screws evenly. Once the belt-pulley is on, take the three M3x10mm cap screws and put the motor onto the back of the x-end-motor piece. Tighten down the cap screws evenly. The wires are best positioned down or outwards. This is what it should look like once it's on:
The belt for the x-axis is the next item to put on. Turn the printer around so you are looking at it from the back. Get two of the M3x22mm cap screws and put them through the top of one of the belt-clamp pieces. The top is the smooth, flat side. Put the ends of the cap screws through the set of two holes on the back of the x-carriage that are closest to the x-end-idler end of the printer. Put on an M3 washer and start an M3 nut onto each of the cap screws. Lift up the belt-clamp you just put on and put the end of the belt through the gap between the belt-clamp and x-carriage so that the flat side of the belt is down. Position it so just a couple teeth are through the gap, then tighten down the belt-clamp so the belt cannot pull out. Now the other set of two holes needs to be prepared to hold the other end of the belt. Take the other two M3x22mm cap screws, put them through the other belt-clamp, then through the other two holes that are closer to the x-end-motor end on the back of the x-carriage. This time, you will get the belt started through before getting the washers and nuts on. Start from the clamped end of the belt, run the belt from the bottom of the idler around to the top, then over to the top of the belt-pulley on the other end of the printer and around to the bottom of the belt-pulley, then over to where you just put the belt clamp through. Feed the end of the belt between the belt-clamp and x-carriage piece. Once the belt is through the gap, pull the slack out, then make sure that there are no twists in the belt and that the belt is still on the idler and pulley. Put an M3 washer onto the cap screws for the belt-clamp and get an M3 nut started onto each. They need to be very close to the end so that we will still be able to pull the belt tight. Pull the belt tight and tighten down the belt-clamps on this end so that the belt stays tight. Depending on how long your belt is, you may want to cut a little bit off. The picture below shows how the belt should go on:
The x-axis is now on and ready to go. Lift up the assembly a little bit so that the x-carriage and rods aren't sitting on the bed, then slide the x-carriage back and forth. It should slide pretty easily all the way to the left and to the right. If it slides hard(the y-axis is a good comparison), then the belt needs to be loosened up just a little. On the other side of things, you will want to make sure there is no slack in the belt once the belt-clamps are tightened down also. The next step will complete the axes by putting on the threaded rods that drive the z-axis here |
