Amsterdamman's Stabilized Z axis Herringbone Gear for Reprap Ormerod

thingiverse

Both gears are now refined - Drive Gear: A small correction was made to the position of the drive gear hole, ensuring it's properly centered. The Stabilized Gear: The flare around the inner hex nut hole has been removed, allowing for a tighter fit on top and providing the bearing with a more secure surface to sit upon. The stabilized Z-axis herringbone gear is now paired with nuts on both sides of the gear. Initially dissatisfied with my Z axis's performance due to centered rotation issues on the threaded rod, I decided to experiment by printing some custom herringbone gears, though they unfortunately didn't fit my machine - it may have been the result of a printer still in its early stages (just a month old). By reassembling the gears in Sketchup and making various modifications, I was eventually able to recreate an entire gear profile based on the original dimensions, reworking most other aspects of the design. Multiple iterations ensued until I achieved working, lash-free herringbone gears on my Z axis and addressed around 98% of Z issues caused by a combination of factors: my herringbone gears, an extended nut holder, and aluminum arms supplied by Dave from the UK. However, centered rotation still wasn't possible due to the slight angle resulting from placing the gear against the threaded rod's nut, affecting its contact with the bearing at the top. I discovered that moving the second nut cavity over the bearing significantly enhanced the centering of the gear on the threaded rod. For better security and to prevent unwanted slippage, a 3mm M5 washer was also printed using my home printer, since having it here wasn't feasible but owning a 3D machine certainly came in handy.