January 7, 2021
Description
So I've been using the belted Z mod on my E3 Pro for a bit over a month now. It's been fantastic. Zero problems. No more messing around with lead screw, wobble fixes, lube, tilted gantry, any of that. Highly recommend and performs great. Faster Z movement too if you want that.
I just found the brackets to look a little skinny. Beefed 'em up. Top brackets no longer require unbolting the top extrusion - just one bolt and t-nut added. These are asymmetric to clear the X plates - could potentially get even higher Z height (around 280mm) if you don't use the outside bolt. It's super solid with just the single top bolt to be honest.
Bottom brackets I remixed to use F695-2RS bearings as the original spec'd 623 bearings seem way too tiny. Smooth bearings work fine, don't get wrapped up with needing a toothed idle gear, it doesn't really matter. It does make the belt go out a bit further away, but it does not matter at all for functionality and actually matches the radius of the top GT2 pulley. Performs exactly the same.
I posted up a picture of a print I did with the same exact gcode before and after, I hated my lead screw.
Parts list:
14x M5x8 hex
14x M5 t-nuts
2x M5x30+nuts for bottom bearing (5x25 technically work too)
4x F695-R2S bearings
4x 608zz skateboard bearings
Use the same motor mount piece and plates from the original design.
Update: New alternate bottom bracket that can use 623 bearings. I don't have these bearings to test if they fully fit, so someone try them and let me know if they need adjjustments.
Update2: Raised top bracket added for those that want to use the rotated top transmission mount. The rod has to be raised 2mm, so the brackets are adjusted 2mm higher.
License:
Creative Commons - Attribution