Prusa i3 Y-Carraige belt holder V3

thingiverse

I'm having trouble printing your designs. Please download them again if you're experiencing issues. When we were printing for my printer, some of the meshes had errors that needed to be repaired. Unfortunately, asking Nettfab to auto-repair broke even more pieces, including the lack of M3 holes in the top of the base pieces. I had to manually fix each error and re-upload all the parts, which is now complete. If you notice any other issues, please let me know so I can address them. After creating the first version (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:912217), I started thinking about why we still fold the belt back and clamp it tightly. We used to do this because early belt clamps weren't very efficient, and the belt would come loose if not tied back. However, we've moved on from those days with new belt types that are designed not to slip or shear off. With modern belt types, the teeth are designed to prevent slippage, and when clamped down between two parts with screws holding it tight, there's no chance for the belt to come loose. The force needed to tear the belt loose from such a clamp would destroy your printer before the belt would come loose. So, I started redesigning the belt clamp, V2 was good but over-engineered for my taste, so I simplified it and here we have V3. We'll be testing the new clamp part tomorrow along with the base to ensure it prints in good quality. The belt holder is about the same height as the previous versions, with the belt still at exactly the same height as the standard Prusa i3 design. The screws are now recessed into the clamps, reducing the total height even further. The teeth profile in the clamps are GT2 - 2mm specific, and the spacing between the clamp and base is designed to accommodate the same belt without crushing it. Use two M3 by 10mm Allen Cap screws on each clamp. There are M3 threads printed into the four screw holes. If the screws fit too tightly, simply run a standard M3 tap through them. I left the holes open at the bottom for easy tapping. If this gives you more ideas, feel free to improve it even further. I'd love to see what you come up with. Cheers! Update 2015-07-08: I added a version of the base with captured nuts for those who struggle with knowing when tight is tight enough. However, please use M3 by 12mm Allen cap screws as the nut placement for M3x10 was too close to the top for my comfort. A M3 nut measures 5.4mm on the flats and 2.4mm high. I made the cavities 5.5mm by 2.5mm. If you find it too tight, drop me a comment and I'll make it slightly larger. Or if you know what a good size for the nut cavity is, please share your thoughts. Update 2015-07-20: I found that some of the files were not manifold, so I ran them all through Nettfab to fix this issue. Update 2016-02-01 I added the source files in both dxf and stp formats.