3dpBurner - Z Axis Sidegrade

thingiverse

This upgrade enables you to mount a Prusa i3-compatible X carriage while also gaining a Z axis. Why call this an upgrade? Adding two additional motors does make the whole thing significantly heavier and less suitable for engraving, requiring you to tone down the speed accordingly. As I mainly use my 5W laser for cutting, I was able to cut the amount of passes required for my materials in half and gain the ability to focus my laser to the tiniest spot possible. Tips ------ - Keep your Z rods as short as possible so the structure remains stiff. - The bearings and rods are a tight fit, which is done on purpose. - Check the length of your Z motors; about 50mm is the maximum you can get away with. Materials --------- - 2x 8mm rods with a maximum estimated length of 200mm - 2x NEMA17 steppers (make sure they're not too long!) - 8x 20mm M3 bolts to secure the additional steppers to their mounts - 2x Whatever you want to use for setting the Z axis height. I used the classic M5 rods. All Prusa i3 X gantries should be compatible with this design. I modified the one in the picture to have the motor in-between the two mounts as I was running out of space in my enclosure. Installing this upgrade should cost you roughly 25mm on your Y axis. I've included the source file in case you want to modify the design.