Anet A8 X-belt tensioner for GT2 pulley

This is a remix of Kommander92's thing. The "fork" on the original design had ~3mm of vertical play when used with the stock anet a8 x-idler block (white injection molded part, purchased early 2018). The slop allows the pulley to move up/down a ton on the new idler blocks. I widened the distance between the prongs to fit the stock idler housing and remove most of this slop. I presume the original "thin fork" design was meant to fit printed idler blocks, which probably have a smaller opening. So this remix may not fit printed idler blocks (I have no printed idler blocks to check this... will edit some info if someone discovers this is the case).

Also the 16T GT2 toothed idler I purchased online was 8.5mm wide overall. The flat wall opening on Kommander92's version is 10mm wide. Presumably the extra room was there to fit washers on either side. Standard 3mm washers will rub on the bearing dust shields (no bueno). So I moved both shaft holes inwards 0.75mm. This transformed the walls where the pulley goes into shallow cones, which keep the bearing well centered without rubbing on the dust shields (no washers required).

I printed this in PLA and it fits well. Other x-tensioner things seem to be done with 20% infill, but on a critical structural component like this I feel 40% is a better choice.

Print Settings

Printer:

Anet A8

Rafts:

Supports:

Doesn't Matter

Resolution:

Infill:

40%

Category: 3D Printer Parts