M3 Build Platform Adjustment Thumbnut
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Published on September 11, 2011
Description
This is a printable add-on for your build platform. You can pair it with some springs to easily adjust and level your build platform without any tools!
Instructions
1. Print out some thumbnuts
2. Press-fit M3 nuts into printed thingies.
3. Remove your build platform. Of the two M3 nuts per M3 machine screw used to adjust the distance between your x-stage and build platform, remove the one used for adjustment. Find six springs of equal length and feed them over the M3 screws.
4. Put the build platform back, and use the thumbnuts to adjust and level your platform without the need for tools.
Notes on the springs:
I used the listed McMaster-Carr springs because I have a heavy copper plate as my build surface, and I needed a sufficiently strong spring. However, for your run-of-the-mill T-O-M, this will be overkill. I'm sure somewhere in the wide world there is an easy source for the perfect spring for this application, but I haven't looked too hard. I'm thinking the free pens they have at the bank are a good place to start. If anyone finds a place to salvage springs from, please share!
2. Press-fit M3 nuts into printed thingies.
3. Remove your build platform. Of the two M3 nuts per M3 machine screw used to adjust the distance between your x-stage and build platform, remove the one used for adjustment. Find six springs of equal length and feed them over the M3 screws.
4. Put the build platform back, and use the thumbnuts to adjust and level your platform without the need for tools.
Notes on the springs:
I used the listed McMaster-Carr springs because I have a heavy copper plate as my build surface, and I needed a sufficiently strong spring. However, for your run-of-the-mill T-O-M, this will be overkill. I'm sure somewhere in the wide world there is an easy source for the perfect spring for this application, but I haven't looked too hard. I'm thinking the free pens they have at the bank are a good place to start. If anyone finds a place to salvage springs from, please share!
License
M3 Build Platform Adjustment Thumbnut by johnthomasfoster is licensed under the Attribution - Share Alike - Creative Commons license.
More from johnthomasfoster
Please let me know how this works for you over time. I tried this about 6 months ago, and crashed spectacularly. I used ball point pen springs, but I found that as the HBP heated (and each nut at a different rate) the springs became mushy and inconsistent. The platform was rising and falling, and resulted in extruder crashes into the model, ruining it.