Makerfarm Prusa i3V 12" Lead Screw Upgrade

thingiverse

After mistakenly stripping one of the Z screws, I realized it was time to upgrade them with higher quality options that provide greater accuracy. The ideal solution became apparent after discovering Lead screws equipped with bearing blocks at qtecstore.com. Ordering these components took three weeks, but they exceeded my expectations with their rugged design and smooth operation. To further optimize my setup, I created a custom bracket for the Z Steppers and an adapter plate for mounting on the X rails. Additionally, I added support for the bearing to enhance stability. Initial setup utilized a shim due to dimensional discrepancies, as evident in photos from that time period. However, subsequent modifications rendered this intermediate measure unnecessary. Modifying Marlin firmware from 4000 to 2560 proved necessary due to differences in Z height per rotation between the new Lead screws and previous configuration. A redundant Z endstop was also installed for precautionary purposes; one possibility is an emergency where the nozzle declines unexpectedly or my ABL servo fails to deploy. I find it prudent to have a safeguard in place since the stock makerfarm setup relied on nut trap safety mechanisms, now absent from this iteration. Moreover, re-including springs on the hotbed served as an analogous precaution; I previously removed these, only to reinstall them following realization of similar safety considerations as mentioned above.