Repair Acrylic Y-Carriage Geeetech I3

thingiverse

Acrylic is an ideal material for a printer frame, boasting impressive strength and stability. However, it lacks the flexibility of glass. I learned this lesson firsthand when assembling a printer, as the Y carriage slid forward and the bed struck an object before colliding with it, causing one bed mounting hole to shatter and another to crack. This scenario is a classic case where a 3D printer comes to the rescue, but only if you have access to a functioning machine. Unfortunately, repairing a broken 3D printer requires just that – a working 3D printer. The repair parts consist of two pieces epoxied to each side of the broken carriage (blue part) and a nut holder (red) designed to secure the bed adjusting nut while turning the screw above. These components are tailored to fit an 8 mm nominal acrylic plate with a hole offset 5 mm in each direction. If the acrylic material is damaged, it's best to glue it back into place using superglue before applying the patching corners. You might be able to temporarily get the printer operational with just superglue and oversized washers on the bottom. However, if you don't have the necessary parts, a different technique will be required to fill the broken area with epoxy and then re-drill the hole. I used metal-filled epoxy (JB Weld) and a spring clamp to install the corner patches, two at a time, after previously gluing the broken acrylic back in place. The patches leave a small gap between them using plate material I had on hand. To achieve good adhesion, the acrylic surfaces must be sanded before applying the epoxy. I opted for standard PLA due to a lack of higher-temperature materials. To minimize heat transfer from the screw into the PLA through the heated bed, I added a fiber washer above the Y carriage patch. A similar washer above the nut holder would also be beneficial if you experience overheating screws. A simple fix that could have prevented this issue is to use a spring clamp on the Y carriage belt, ensuring it locks together the two belt pieces coming from the pulley. This prevents the carriage from moving and saves potential damage.