Flexible Spider Shaft Coupler with Hot Glue Spider

myminifactory

While I think the original Printrbot Z axis shaft coupler is clever, it's not exactly my cup of tea. Mine frequently slipped off the shaft and ended up ruining my prints entirely. As you can clearly see, the finished product worked decently enough to use on my Printrbot, but there's one major drawback - no vertical support whatsoever when using these. You can simply grab the printer's z axis and lift the entire thing straight up at any time. So be careful not to disturb your printer too much while in use. This design can handle a lot of misalignment without slipping, but it's also significantly taller than the original Printrbot Z coupler. To be completely honest, if you're willing to part with around twenty bucks, I'd just recommend buying some aluminum bellows or disc-type flexible couplings instead. Those lock everything in place and prevent accidental lifting of the z axis. Aluminum version available on Amazon here: http://amzn.to/28Ozw0z