Metal Upgrades for 3DS CubeX 3D printers

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CubeX printers are available for purchase at discounted prices through ebay. The mechanism is flawed due to several plastic components that should have been made of metal, and indeed, are made of metal in CubePro printers. Upon receiving my CubeX Duo machine, I immediately assessed its flaws and devised a plan to address them. First on the agenda was replacing the plastic Z axis nut plate, followed by the X axis motor mount (the plastic mount was flexing and tilting the motor due to belt tension).\n\nI machined the Z axis nut plate using a milling machine with a rotary table. The X axis motor mount was fabricated utilizing a band saw and a drill press, resulting in an unattractive but fully functional design.\n\nThe right side Y axis belt clamp plate was created from the same aluminum material. Belt clamp bottom pieces were printed in ABS before being replaced with phenolic top pieces; however, I may replace these with aluminum due to their ugliness. The acrylic pieces are prone to breaking if screwed down tightly.\n\nTo prevent X axis motor screws from interfering with the left side Y axis belt, I countersunk and used flat head screws. This modification eliminates any possibility of belt interference altogether.\n\nI designed and 3D printed a screw-adjustable Z=0 switch to replace the original magnetic sensor, which only worked at one specific XY location. The new design utilizes a standard microswitch that can be wired in either NO or NC configurations.