One RepRap part not covered much elsewhere is the belt tensioner. Here's the one fitted to my Darwin - it was printed out on aforementioned Darwin using a screwdriver in a clamp-down vice as an impromptu tensioner.There is another version for ball-chain with a groove in the idler. These allow you to tension up the belt without moving the position of the Z posts.
The design is a little unusual in that I have used a piece of 3mm PLA filament as the axle for the idler wheel instead of the usual M3 bolt. To fix it in place I simply heated one end and pulled it into the body of the idler holder - instant welded axle.
I've just designed one for the lasercut RepRap kit. Hopefully I'll get that run off next week and we'll see how well it works in practice.
Vik :v)
nice!
ReplyDeletethis was sorely needed.
next up: some thrust bearings plz. the "nut on washer w/ grease" trick just doesnt cut the mustard.