prusa i3 Zonestar p802 z axis upgrade

thingiverse

This version is no longer supported, so please use V2 below which is significantly improved. Even using only the updated top plates still results in a substantial upgrade. For reference, click on this link to see the new version: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1470886. It has numerous improvements including adjustable belt length due to modified top plates, an 18T stepper pulley, and upgraded 36T pulleys for the Z lead screws offering twice as much torque. You may also want to refer back here for construction tips and part assembly because V2 is very similar but with a more complex belt setup. As it stands now, I highly recommend upgrading to V2 (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1470886) because it offers so many advantages. This z axis upgrade was designed for my own zonestar p802 i3 and includes a top plate with stepper motor mounts, 608 bearing holes for the Z lead screws and slots for idler wheels that can be adjusted to accommodate standard belt lengths. One of its greatest benefits has been to eliminate the necessity for me to re-adjust my X stage each time I needed to print something. For version V2 only: one tweak I made involved addressing an issue with the blank shaft connector rubbing against the z guides, so in V2, they are slightly smaller in diameter than before. The necessary parts required to build this project include: 2x 8mm toothed pulleys, 1x 5mm toothed pulley, 1x GT2 2mm timing belt measuring 976mm x 6mm (488 teeth), 2-3 idler pulleys, 3x idler standoffs, 2x shaft couplers with M8 threads, used to secure the underside of Z lead screws - these were modified in version V2 2x base mounts for keeping the 8mm shaft securely positioned from top-to-bottom replacing the need for the lower mounted stepper motors, 7x 608 ball bearings, M8 x 50 bolts (for attaching idlers), studding to provide added support using M8 screws, and a variety of M8 nuts that are used alongside M4 washers. Potential future upgrades may include a bottom bearing assembly specifically designed for the Z lead-screws. There is already an 8mm hole present directly beneath them which could be leveraged to make such additions - although I only started planning this after finishing this build, it could possibly simplify some procedures if done later.