20mm Plastic T-Slot - Rev 2
Completely redesigned; the new beam prints faster and is stronger both against deflection and torsion.

UPDATE: Added DXF of Profiles. Naming convention is [dimensions]-[bolt size]-[Wall Thickness]-[Multiplier]. We are starting to prefer 1pt6 (1.6) wall thickness profiles and find printing them No Infill, 1 Extra Loop, No solid Layers, with a trace thickness of .8mm results in a quick and adequetly strong beam.

These beams are being designed as the main structural component for a 3d printer though arguably they are of more use as a general hobby framing and mounting set. That said they are designed with both printing and commercial extrusion in mind.

If printed in ABS, they can be solvent welded with the aid of a T-Slot Welding Jig thingiverse.com/thing:13598 and ABS Glue thingiverse.com/thing:14490 . A center hole increases the beams second moment of inertia while aiding in fusing beams.

PLA beams are more rigid though they are not as easy to fuse into various lengths.

Hardware
An example of Friction Fit hardware is located -
Here - thingiverse.com/thing:9797
& Here - thingiverse.com/thing:13599

The standard beam profile is meant to accommodate both M3 hardware as well as 6-32 nuts and bolts. Both bolt heads or nuts will fit in the slot with an insert provided to help guide and captive M3 nuts. 6-32 Nuts will captive natively.

Alternative profiles are provided for M4 / 8-32 hardware as well as dedicated M3 and 6-32. All profiles are located in "20mm Profiles - Printing.skp" Use the 'Push/Pull' tool to create a profile of the desired length.

If the printing instructions are followed, these beams can be printed fast (going at even a moderate pace we're able to produce all the beams needed for a Prusa in under 12 hours). While the beams can technically be printing with any working profile, they will not print as quickly and may not perform as intended structurally.

Files
100mm Beam.stl - actual height is 101mm to allow for loss during welding
20mm Test Beam.stl - shorter for testing settings
M3 Nut Insert.stl - use with metric hardware
20mm Profile-Printing.skp - profile faces for printing and creating different heights
20mm Profile-True.skp - diagram of a properly printed profile
20mm Profile-Printing-pt4.skp - profiles based on 0.4mm widths, contains a M5 profile
M3 Nut Insert.skp - source file for insert

Check Back For
T-slot Profiles for Thing-O-Matic, Ultimaker & Mosaic at various resolutions, speeds.
OpenScad version to ease design of compatible hardware and accessories.

Table saw is overkill for the 10mm extruded aluminum (translation, nearly hurt myself yet again trying to feed it to a full size table saw). So, Makergear Prusa Mendel to the rescue.

Pictured is Microrax microrax.com/

Also will work with Makerbeam makerbeam.eu/

this is all the home made parts you need to make a 6 wheel drive out of micorax at home useing ftc parts

I designed this a few weeks ago, but I wasn't able to print it successfully because of massive warping of the printed ABS.
Since I've recently pimped up my MakerBot with a heated build platform, warping of ABS isn't an issue anymore!
That said, be sure to print this either with a very strong raft, with PLA or with a heated build surface...

You'll need a standard iPod/iPhone 30-pin-connector/USB cable for this.

Nope, not Dash Rendar, Ponda Baba, or even the young Lando Calrissian. It's your favorite smuggler Han Solo lovingly packed in carbonite for convenient shipping and storage. Enjoy Han Solo by yourself or with friends. Han makes a lovely conversation piece and will be certain to make you the center of every party.

I owe a special thank you to Sci-Fi 3d { scifi3d.com } and the awesome free STL editing package Netfabb { netfabb.com }

Designed for an upcoming robotics competition at WPI in which the robots must "improve quality of life" in some way:

Bloombot is an open-source automated hydroponics system that aims to build community and increase the engagement of people with their food. Bloombot is capable of growing plants like lettuces and herbs throughout the year and, through use of Twitter integration hopes to build off the work of other products (like AeroGrow and Botanicalls) to integrate some of their functionality to produce a machine that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Still working on finishing up the parts list but it's almost complete.

These are MakeBeam 10cm prototype .STL files that have been run through "Magics 14 64bit" to remove all kinds of errors and make play nice with the majority of 3D printers throughout the world... (courtesy of Materialise)
I've included a 254mm (10") for yucks (if you print on a Dimension - wrap it with support material otherwise it will bend on you ...)

Note: as a curiosity I made a horizontal an a vertical lay/orientation - and as you would guess the horizontal is a lot stronger. If I had unlimited funds, it would be interesting to do real testing to see at which orientation (90, 60, 45, 15, 0 with rotation components also - permutations get astronomical), would be best to build for overall beam performance verses maximizing in a single plane of force (vertical lay/orientation with no side forces would win hands down, compression load only)

SSS (servo suspension system) is designed to support standard servo motors and act as a basic suspension. It is still a work in progress and has not been tested yet.

Will update results soon.

This is my second prototype of a Sarrus linkage type linear axis. A Sarrus linkage uses hinged joints to make linear motion. The idea is to have a linear bearing suitable for making part of an x-y cartesian assembly without needing long polished metal rods, thus getting a 3D printer that can make more of its own parts.

Notice that there is a set of 4 holes on the top armature that match 4 hole patterns on the end pieces. This means that one axis could mount on two others at right angles.

Drive system: DC motor from a cheap garage sale inkjet printer, using the timing belt from the printer. The pulley at the other end of the belt is a screw/washer/spacer combination with a skate bearing. The skate bearing is mounted in a flexure plate style mount to give tension the belt.

Optical feedback: I took a optical quadrature encoder and encoder strip from the same printer as the motor. The encoder is mounted on the moving armature, and the strip is anchored at both ends in the end blocks.

Hinges: The hinges on the Sarrus linkage are made with 1/16" diam brass rod as the hinge pins. The holes for the hinge pins were reamed out with a 1/16" drill bit.

Frank Davies

This is a printable version of the dino support.

Bearing retainer plate for the other side of the bearing for the Z Axis. For the version to refit your Cupcake CNC without needing to remove the Z stage, use the U-Style version.

Features integrated M3 nuts for ease of installation.

Note: Do not print from SD card, as it will not stop on the operator stop for insertion of the M3 nuts.

If you find that the upgrade version is not strong enough for you, use the thicker version which has a extra layer.