Cantilevered Z-Stage for Cupcake

thingiverse

Upgrade your Makerbot Cupcake CNC with this design inspired by cantilevered Z stages of Thing-O-Matic and Ultimaker. This upgrade enables 140mm z travel with a standard x/y stage, fitting a standard reprap extruder. You will need 2 x 268mm lengths of 8mm smooth rod, 3 x LM8UU linear bearings, an M8 Coupler, m3 nuts and bolts, and a printed http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:9622 to couple your z motor to the z rod. Additionally, you need a popsicle stick, an m3 x 30 bolt (fully threaded), and a printed z-endstop-adjuster part. If there's enough interest, consider getting an upgrade kit available. Follow these instructions: remove z pulleys and belt from your makerbot; remove top panel bolts without completely disassembling the bot; transfer z-motor to new top panel and put it in place on your bot; replace two bearing brackets with new ones; cut popsicle stick, drill 3mm hole, install nuts, bolt, washer, and nut; assemble z stage using bolts from old z brackets (m3 x 12mm and m3 x 16mm); drop LM8UU's in place before closing things up; tighten all bolts; install extruder and adjust endstop flag; tighten down the z-rod clamps; finally, hook up your motor and test.