Geeetech i3 Clone V2 - X axis

myminifactory

This is a modification of the X axis for Geeetech i3. The x rods are placed horizontally instead of vertically and the extruder is turned into a Bowden setup. It fits original printer's Z interaxis and larger as it is adjustable in that direction. The belt and motor are rotated 90 degrees too. Interaxis of X axles is 45mm. The belt locking plate and extruder cooling case should be glued together to the bearing support to ensure they will not come loose. I still didn't glue it, but it didn't come loose even after many prints, so I suggest gluing it anyway. The Z low endstop has an adjustable plate to fix it on the original plate, but the trigger now is the step motor lower side of the body. This may need some fiddling as my printer is a bit modified, so I cannot test it. The x carriage has accommodation for X min end stop screw if you want to keep it further away from the side, otherwise it is the carriage itself that will trigger the endstop. As there are multiple fittings for microswitches, you can add a max endstop microswitch too. Fit for a 40x40mm cooling fan. You will need a longer GT2 belt. Additional hardware includes 2 fittings for the Bowden tube, M6 thread, and a few M6 nuts and M6 washers (both normal and large size) for the cooling part of the filament tube. There is an assembled rendering to show the setup, plus the files for each single part. Printing area increases to 240mm with original LM8LUU bearings, 250mm with shorter LM8UU bearings. Where the x rods are inserted in the lateral supports, there is place for a screw and nut that is used to compress the x rods and relieve any pressure on the z axis when the belt is tightened. I made the two lateral supports identical, there is an extra plate to fit the idler pulley on one of the two. The Z axis threaded rod's nut is not fixed to the lateral supports but is free to move sideways to help decrease wobble for bent rods and the original Z bearing is mounted upside down. As my Z-axis is modified, I don't know if there is any loss in vertical printing area; the different orientation of the X rods make the extruder nozzle a bit lower than before but the different height of the side carriage itself should make up for this difference with probably a little gain. The parts should be printed oriented as they are and if your printer has a decent bridging ability, there is no need for supports at all. Should be enough around 15% infill. I printed the belt lock at 0.4, was okay but a 0.3 would be better. UPDATE 6/6/18: Reworked X carriage with clamping for bearings.