printable T profile belt with soft PLA

cults3d

Soft pla is a superior material for printing, yielding impressive results after initial experiments on my mendel reprap with feed and flow rate adjustments. A working profile was established, although slow, it proved to be strong. In an effort to have some fun, I attempted to replicate a portion of the belt surrounding my x-axis using soft pla's identical light grey color. OpenSCAD once again demonstrated its value in tasks such as this. A single pattern consisting of one tooth and a subsequent gap was created, which was then duplicated 20 times. The comparison to the original belt was nothing short of stunning. The next step involved printing an endless belt, a design that proved somewhat tricky in OpenSCAD, but I persisted in learning new commands. To achieve this, I had to fine-tune the skeinforge profile slightly, but the outcome was well worth the effort: the belt fits perfectly. I put it to the test by attaching some mendel parts together and securing them on my desk. The endless belt measures approximately 380 mm - a respectable length, not even approaching its maximum capacity. It is remarkably tough, yet still susceptible to breaking under excessive force. However, its elasticity is satisfactory, stretching about 2 mm (~0.5%) before giving way. While not as durable as belts used in reprap machines, it far surpasses expectations in terms of resistance.