625 Bearing Press for 3D Printer Wheels that use V-slot Grooves

thingiverse

This is a specialized tool for replacing bearings in 3D printer V-slot wheels. I call this tool unnecessary because all you really need to change the bearings is a small hammer and a small screwdriver or punch. Place the punch through one side of the wheel, centered so it can press out the opposite bearing (each bearing exits from the middle of the wheel). Apply very light taps to the inner race, using this tool's base to catch the bearing and the brass or stainless spacer for the inner race. The two bearings are held apart by a thin rim inside the wheel that keeps the outer races separated; the inner races are kept apart by the brass/stainless spacer/shim. If you press both out from one side, you'll eventually have to break this rim, but using this tapping punch method lets you leave the rim intact for manual insertion of new bearings. Replacement wheels seem to have one thing in common: they're fine, but their bearings aren't. So I created a way to replace the bearings in unworn printer wheels, thus building this bearing press. Before learning about the inner rim that separates the bearing races, that's what I did. You can use the press as is or with a C-clamp (over 2" size), arbor press, or hydraulic press. The cylindrical part of the press isn't needed, but the anvil/base works fine for capturing the pressed-out parts. In the end, I manually inserted new bearings into the wheels (clear polycarbonate from Amazon).