Ender 3 Z lead screw support for use with filament guide

thingiverse

Support for the top of the Z lead screw on an Ender 3 3D printer is crucial to prevent accidentally bending the lead screw by rotating it by hand unsupported. This design replaces my earlier support with screw fixings, available at https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3355230, but the screw fix version interferes with the mounting bracket for a great filament guide. Therefore, I remodeled my push fit version, accessible at https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3358957, with a shortened mounting key to enable both the lead screw support and filament guide to be used together. For the filament guide, see: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2917932 UPDATE: On January 20th, 2020, I created a NEW & IMPROVED VERSION of this design that combines both the z leadscrew support and mount for the filament guide into one piece. See https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4107804 This lead screw support is designed to be used in conjunction with a Z knob by TechBoners (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3179667) fitted to the Z lead screw. On January 22, 2019, I updated my design with a new Z lead screw knob featuring a finger depression for rapid Z traverse compatibility with this lead screw support. See https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3373265 I also designed a matching extruder knob available at https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3373315 To attach this to your printer, raise the gantry to the top and remove the upper rail of the printer to enable the support bracket to slide into the T slot. Replace the top rail carefully positioning the support bracket to align with the Z lead screw. Verify that there is no pressure or friction on the lead screw and ensure it can rotate freely. Then, fit the knob (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3179667), and again check that the lead screw and knob rotate smoothly. Note that I created two versions: a tight and loose fit into the T-slot. If you like this design, print it. If you print it, share your creation. If you like it and make it, any tips are greatly appreciated. The difference between my Z lead screw designs lies in their attachment methods: My initial version (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3355230) attaches to the upper rail using screws and T nuts. I designed it this way because lights mounted on the upper rail made it difficult to remove the upper rail for mounting the lead screw support. This design allows the lead screw support to be mounted without disassembly. However, I subsequently redesigned a new lighting system for my printer, making removal of the upper rail unnecessary. I also found that adjustment was not necessary, so I remodeled the lead screw mount for a press fit. See: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3358957 This design allows the lead screw mount to be inserted into the end of the upper rail and has a cleaner appearance, but it requires either removal of the upper rail or lead screw to install. However, this design is not compatible with the mounting block for the filament guide, so I redesigned it to work together. This version also requires either the upper rail or lead screw to be removed to install it to the printer, but it works very nicely together with the filament guide.