Da Vinci Y-Axis Carriage

thingiverse

The problem I have with some printer manufacturers is they use closed loop belts so if something were to happen to the belt you're out of luck unless you can source a belt or buy it at an inflated price from the manufacturer. My goals are to create or modify a carriage to use the factory belt or use an open loop belt which are readily available. My second goal is the ability to replace the rods without having to thread a hole in the end of the new replacement rod. The Da Vinci printer uses softer rods since bushings are used instead of linear bearings, so if you use bearings on the rod it may wear out the rod after long usage. You may have to purchase hardened steel linear rods. The small rectangular opening alongside the holes for the linear rods is to fit an M3 nut in and then thread an M3 bolt into the hole on the side, once tightened this will hold the rod into the carriage without the need to thread the ends of your new linear rod. Both of these carriages use LM8UU short linear bearings. The left carriage is not mine, I modified it for this project. The right side was inspired from a design that can be found on Thingiverse under 2563231, though I started out with a fresh slate. The belt clamp / mounting was inspired from a design that can be found on Thingiverse under 619347. 2/26/18 Update: Printed and did some test fitting of the motor side carriage, seem to be working well. Pictures are shown above. Added an additional version (motor side Y-carriage) with hole to access rear upper motor mount screw.