Ender 5 - Z Axis Counter Weight

thingiverse

After adding a glass plate to my Ender 5 build plate, I noticed that the bed would drop when power was turned off. I hesitated to shim the spring that prevents this from happening, fearing it would put more strain and wear on the Z-axis stepper motor and related parts. However, the counterweight adds some inertia to be overcome in the Z axis, and there is so little movement in the Z axis during printing that the consequence of added inertia should be negligible. This design uses a lead-filled shell as the weight. I placed about 1.4 pounds of lead in the shell, which compensates for a 1-pound glass plate and some extra weight from part of the build plate assembly and printed item. Besides the printed parts, eight #8 x ¾” bolts and nuts, four #6 x 8” flat head screws, two 608RS 8 x 22 x 7 mm deep-groove ball bearings, a length of high-strength braided fishing line (70-pound test), and a paper clip are needed. Tips: The holes for pulley pins can be reamed with a 5/16” drill bit to make insertion easier. A paper clip can be used to make cotter pins to retain the pulley axle pin. The short leg of the Z Bar fits into the build plate clip with the Z Bar facing down. The short legs of the build plate clip go on top of the build plate support, around the threaded Z-axis rod. The long legs of the build plate clip go under the build plate support and clip onto the support when fully pushed into place. When installing the string and weight, attach the string to the Z Bar on the build plate clip then move the build plate to its lowest position. Thread the string through the pulleys and tie the weight as close to the side pulley as possible to ensure full vertical range of motion for the build plate and weight.