Sunhokey Prusa i3 Universal x-carriage, direct drive or bowden

thingiverse

This is an X-carriage designed specifically for the acrylic framed Sunhokey Prusa i3. It's a versatile design that allows you to use it as a bowden tube setup or as a direct drive with the original extruder. To set up the carriage, you'll need to mount the extruder upside down on its piece. The hole in the idler arm is just large enough to securely fit the piece of PTFE tube to hold it up next to the gear. You can use a shorter motor with the same hole pattern to reduce weight and improve performance. You might need to use full steps to get the required torque for optimal results. I've been printing with this carriage for over a month now, and it works exceptionally well. The clip is mandatory for retractions, so make sure you don't forget to install it. You won't need a bowden coupler at the top either; that picture was taken before I printed the awesome spool holder from Davidwyl's design. Check out his design – it's great for the Sunhokey frame! UPDATE: I added a clip to retain the right side of the setup during and after retraction. The clip needs a bit of filing afterward to make it fit perfectly. If anyone wants, I can update the right side of the motor mount to accommodate the clip better. UPDATE: We've received our new sensor, and I quickly drew up a holder for it to mount to the new hole in the left side instead of a cooling fan. I'm using a separate house fan and a lower bed temperature for layers after 2 – 45°C, which seems to work alright for models closer to the fan. Keep in mind that I'm using an E3D V6, so the length of my tube may vary based on the hotend used. To mount the extruder first with the tube hanging down, then fit the hotend up the tube and fix the metal mount up. MAKE SURE TO REMOVE THE BOWDEN COUPLER FROM THE TOP OF YOUR HOTEND – if you don't, you'll have a bad time removing the tube later. The carriage mount uses the stock rod bushings that come with the printer, and the arrow points down. To adjust the tension arm, twist the nut up tight until the spring is just under tension, maybe a turn more. If it's hard to push in the PTFE tube, oil the outside of it – I didn't have to resort to pliers. Printer Settings: * Printer: Dildometer * Rafts: No * Supports: Yes * Resolution: 0.2 * Infill: 20 Post-Printing: Remove the support and file a spot down on the inside of the left leg of the mount where the head of the hotend mount screw will be. Also, file down the 2mm portion of the clip to fit between the extruder and its mount. After printing, post a make – I'd love to see my design being used by others! How I Designed This: Fusion 360