Geeetech Prusa I3 Pro Belt Clip for X Axis

thingiverse

1/18/17 added another belt clip with wider teeth and a narrower slot for a tighter fit to the belt. The original tooth width did not slice well in Slic3r. Under most settings, the teeth disappeared. They did print OK when sliced with Cura. 6/24/16 I removed the Y axis clip after many downloads there had been no feedback as to if it was usable or needed a change. 6/22/16 No change today. I just want to clarify something I wrote on 6/20 about the Y axis piece. Let me know if you find an error, but more importantly, let me know if you try the Y axis Thing and it fits and works as hoped! 6/21/16 moved Y clip mounting holes to center the belt below the holes. Update 6/20/26 I added a similar clip for the Y axis. It has not been tried as yet, and the dimensions may not be correct. I scaled them from a photo of the existing mounting block. Let me know if you find an error. Note: The X axis part is for the current model of the Geeetech I3 Pro printer that uses a metal plate on the X axis to support the linear bearings and extruder holder. When I was assembling my Geeetech I3 Pro C printer, I was struck by the fact that they furnished a smooth idler wheel which was used against the cogged side of the belt in the X and Y axes. I knew very little about printers at the time, but running a cogged belt against a smooth faced idler didn't seem like the best choice. I did a search and found that other printers put a 180 degree twist in the belt so the smooth side runs against the smooth idler wheel. This is very easy to accomplish in the Y axis of the I3 Pro without extra parts, but the X axis has a printed piece to capture the ends of the belt, and it requires that the cogged side of the belt run over the idler. The replacement belt clips here allow you to put a 180 twist in the drive belt. Besides this piece, I replaced two M3 x 6 cap screws with M3 x 6 button head screws in the extruder carrier plate, in order to give greater clearance for the twist in the belt and prevent chafing of the belt by the cap screws. The interference is minor, and the cap screws aren't abrasive, but in the long run spending $0.70 for screws will lengthen the life of the belt. The belt grip slot in X axis printed part is a bit wider than it has to be to tightly grip the belt, so I added a piece of masking tape in the smooth side of the slot before inserting the belt. Maybe two pieces of tape could/should be used. Once I put it in place, I quit thinking about it. Maybe it improves the accuracy of the X and Y axes by making it easier to eliminate backlash in the drive train. I don't know, but I get very good looking X Y surfaces with the printer as it is now. Print Settings Rafts: No Supports: No Resolution: 0.4 mm nozzle. 0.3 mm layer height Infill: As required Notes: Printing it with the belt slots up requires no supports and there is plenty of surface to hold it down. I used PLA filament Post-Printing You will probably need to file-to-fit in a few places. Not much material has to be removed, but there were no second drafts to make it fit better, since I only needed one copy. How I Designed This The Sketchup File was created from a .3DS file which was made from the original .STL file of the Geeetech part in (Correction) Blender, not Meshmixer (I didn't remember correctly). The 3DS file was enlarged on my monitor and critical dimensions were measured with a caliper on the monitor screen and scaled against the printed part to determine the critical dimensions for the sketchup drawing. The STL file of the original part was obtained from Geeetech Inc. The resulting file eliminates much of the unnecessary material in the original part, and grossly simplifies the belt grip teeth (due to my inexperience with Sketchup). From what I can tell, there is no loss of functionality from the original design. Besides the #4 sketchup file I used to generate the .STL, there is a #6 file which contains an intermediate belt grip design which may be of use if anyone wants to improve the fit.