Linear Bearing X Axis Carriage for ToM
by MakeALot, published
Description
I found some LMB6UU (SW06UU in US) linear bearings for £4.50 each, so tried them as a direct replacement for the bushes on the Y Axis based on thing thingiverse.com/thing:9114 by splod, they worked so well that I created an X Axis carriage for them and here it is if anyone would like to try it.
People in the UK can get them from worldofcnc.com/products.asp?recnumber=167 or get them from eBay ALOT cheaper
Update:
I printed the ABP version and found a miscalculation in the end bolt holes; these are corrected in the _FIXED versions of the STL and SCAD files
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Hi,
Can you you also put up solidworks format? I got LM8UU an 8mm rods, this would be perfect to replace those darn busshings.
the file is like you said for LM6UU. can you provide stl for the LM8UU ?
another question.... would this be possible to print on a ToM because of the size? it is actually th
e same size as the printbed right...?
cheers!
Yes, they're the ones, internal 3/8th inch :)
I'm having a hard time finding these bearings on ebay or grainger. Are these the right parts: http://goo.gl/CfZfU I can't find any sw06uu, only sw6uu.
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Instructions
Insert 6 @ 12mm M3 bolts into the supplied HBP part and affix base.
Press 3 linear bearings into the carriage, you may put zip ties round each if you prefer, mine is running happily without.
Insert X Axis belt into slot and slide it down until it is just touching the bolt, gently tighten the bolt so that the belt is just held, but not pinched.
On the Y Axis, I removed the right hand rod and the bushes, inserted the bearings up to the grove and replaced the rod, I let them bed in for a couple of prints before I added the spot of glue to fix them more permanently.
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I'm having a hard time finding these bearings on ebay or grainger. Are these the right parts: http://goo.gl/CfZfU I can't find any sw06uu, only sw6uu.
Thanks for making this great mod. I am curious, what infill and shell settings are you using?
Thanks. It's a long time since I printed it, but I expect it was 25% fill and 2 extra shells.
It's amazing how much quieter my bot is with this. They take almost all of the strain off of the stepper. I am running some 6mm aluminum plates for the HBP and the top x-axis plate and they are pivotal in that setup. It's much more mass to be throwing around, and the added drag from the bushings (others' might not, but mine definitely did have some resistance) would surely have caused problems. This mod is great. Bearings from Marchant on ebay were perfect, however a bit pricier than the LM6UU ones I ordered on accident first (without that B it makes quite a difference) ;)
Yes, unfortunatly the imperial (inches) bearings are far more expensive than the metric (mm) ones. But we have 3/8" bearings, so we have no choice.
I suppose we could insert a 3/8" to 6mm or 8mm spacer at the ends of the rods and change the rods as well as the bearings.
Thanks for the comment, I'm glad it helps. :)
How is this working so far? I'm getting ready to order linear bearings to do this and the y axis. Love it! Just wanted to check as I don't want to tear down if you don't suggest. I stupidly threadlocked my x and y stage so it's not coming apart gracefully. :)
No problems at all so far, If you're printing the Y-axis in http://www.thingiverse.com/thi..., you should print that X carriage, not this one as I moved the pulley to the centre and reduced the distance between the X and Y. The left hand end of the Y-axis could do with some strengthening ( bolt holes above and below) , but I've been using it for 3 months and had no problems. I printed these using it http://www.thingiverse.com/thi...
Just ordered 3x LM6UU bearings for my ToM as radial bearing idler seems to have introduced quite a bit of Z-play in the platform and the axis is noisier than ever. I am hoping this will sort out the problems so I can get back to some nice printing.
Make sure they're LMB6UU for 3/8" rod. The noise is often related to the stepper driver current, may be worth checking it's correct. Hope it all works out!
I've been doing some work on the Y-Axis, trying to get a very light X
&
amp;Y platform, currently working, nice and quiet, but needs more rigidity at the moment.
So is "ToM xAxis LM8UU Base FIXED.scad" the correct .scad file to use for the LMB6UU's?
Yes, I used the wrong part number initially and never renamed the files :)
LM6UU bearings are avalible in the US from www.vxb.com
They list SW6 bearings as 3/8" (or TWU6UU).
Not as cheap as ebay/china, but the product is (in my experience) good and shipping is much faster.
My Cupcake's X and Y axis rods are ~6.36mm (0.25in), so I'm guessing I'll need to cut down some of the 6mm rods I've scavenged from printers to be able to use these bearings. That being a huge effort: just how much will this improve my Cupcake's prints?
The Thing-o-Matic uses
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b
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3/8" (9.525mm)
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/b
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rods not 6mm, so you'd need to change the parameters:
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b
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bearingLength=23; and bearingDiameter=16;
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/b
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To suit 6mm bearings. If you're doing that, it might be worth getting 1/4" bearings instead i.e.
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b
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LMB4UU or (I assume SW04UU in U.S.)
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As far as improvement, I don't have a cupcake, so I'm afraid I can't tell you, all I can say is that I don't get any slip on the X-Axis even at 150mm/sec with this setup on the ToM. If you are suffering with slip on the X-Axis, first I’d try calibrating your steppers and if still no good, you co
uld always try one of the other bearing follower mods available here on Thingiverse, it might be a simpler mod for you.
Hope that helps?
Hi,
For some reason the US doesn't use the same names for these bearings. After much hair pulling and research, I've found the US equivalent: SW06UU
Once again the US bastardizes the English language by calling them "side ways" bearings as opposed to "linear motion" I'm so proud.
Here's a link to a shop where they are $6.60 each: I've just ordered some, I hope they work. :)
http://bearingsdirect.com/stor...
&
amp;p=2572
Hi Bob, I checked the sizes against the ones I have here, they look perfect. Thanks for pointing them out. :-D
On thing http://www.thingiverse.com/thi... splod used LMB06UU bearings for Y axis mod as per your questions there. So what is the difference between those and LM8UU used here ? *DONT_KNOW*
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Ahh, you're right!, I've put the wrong type number
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/b
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, it should be LM6UU ! :(
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Check it's for 3/8" rod
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/b
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Sorry to anyone who's gone and ordered any :-E
Is there any specific reason for not incorporating the radial bearing follower? Ed achieved no measurable resistance with just bushings and the follower.
Not particularly, I found it easier to just push three of these into place. I think you would have just as much luck with any bearings, but these are the only ones I have. They
’re neat and just push fit. Feel free to modify this design to include the other bearings on the follower. I'd love to see it. :)
BTW, I produced a 20mm test cube at a flowrate of 150mm/s I even produced a 60x60 cylindrical cup at 150mm/s, unfortunately, this one failed on the Y Axis, I have no
t managed to get any slip on the X Axis since I installed this mod (I have calibrated my steppers) I haven’t tried any faster than 150mm/s I thought the machine would shake itself to pieces.
I think that the problem now is the weight of the Y carriage, this either needs to be lighter or we will
need to introduce acceleration/deceleration at the ends of the Y movements.
I don’t pretend to be an expert, I’m just trying out a few things, hope this goes some way to answering your question?
Just can't get tired of good designs and beautiful prints. I sure like these machines.
I keep coming back to this page. The more I look, the more I like. I just need to give up on the RTV and start printing again! :-D
It's the same for me, but the radioactive green color certainly helps to grab one's attention! :)
I don't know what the quality is like but if you are willing to wait for shipping from China you can get these bearings for less than $2 each on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/8pcs-LM8UU...
&
amp;hash=item230d6c5479
If the above link is out of date by the time you read this then just search for LM8UU on Ebay.
i got ones from ebay,
£2.45 for 2, and i made an offer of £1.99 for 2, bought 8 in the end!
I've got 8 for USD 19.99 from eBay yesterday at
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA...
&
amp;item=160456115324
&
amp;ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_2057wt_922
I will post when I receive and try them (they were one of the recommended ones from eBay and shipping to the US is included).
Very nice! Did you get any Z height improvement?
I am working on a fast switching carriage to flip between the ABP ( have not given up on it yet) and the HBP ( using 4 plastic clips that "hugs" the carriage in the 4 corners ) and this looks really better as a starting point ( ABS beats wood over time). Some super magnets and matching pins would
allow the easy switching.
That all sounds very interesting! having just done up all those nuts, I was considering the same. After fittin it, Z position changed from 105.5 to 119.7, but I think that is the same as a standard HBP over ABP.
I modelled it on the base of the HBP, so not much surprise that it turns out the same height. I expect that I could get another 7-8mm before running into the end stop and if I really tried, maybe 12-15mm. So a possible 130mm, it seems a lot of effort for 10mm extra height.
This is my first bash
and it only took a few hours, so I'm sure I'll be playing some more (makes a change from pencil holders :) )
I look forward to seeing your efforts...
Hi,
Can you you also put up solidworks format? I got LM8UU an 8mm rods, this would be perfect to replace those darn busshings.
the file is like you said for LM6UU. can you provide stl for the LM8UU ?
another question.... would this be possible to print on a ToM because of the size? it is actually th
e same size as the printbed right...?
cheers!