Ultimate Wanhao i3 X Belt tensioner

thingiverse

This thing makes tension adjustment easy, belt parallelism great, and assembly/disassembly a breeze compared to the wobbly OEM bolts. It comes in two parts: the main block (three options) and the sliding block. Choose from three options for the main block; they all hold the belt perfectly well. When deciding between them, consider how easily the belt is removable from each. The toothed option holds the belt to the main block using the GT2 tooth pattern; it's extremely stable but removing the belt takes a lot of work. The looped option allows the belt to hold itself in place by overlapping its own teeth. This design is common in other belt holders, and I found it holds extremely well after a partial print. However, removal was easier than with the toothed version but still took a lot of work. The looped with plier port option enhances the plain looped one by adding a small recess for needle-nosed pliers to grab the belt during removal. This feature is convenient if you frequently take apart your printer for experimentation; it should permit easier belt removal without any drawbacks. Required hardware: - Two M4 x 20mm socket head cap screws for mounting the main block to the printer - One M3 x 25mm socket head cap screw for the sliding block - One M3 nut that drops into a slot on the main block If you want to modify it further, the source Tinkercad model can be found here: https://www.tinkercad.com/things/0HhyvYp1WJb. Print Settings: Printer: Wanhao Duplicator i3 v2.1 Rafts: No Supports: Yes Resolution: 0.2 Infill: 50% Notes: I printed in PETG, and it should work fine in PLA. The print orientation has the belt recesses on top. You'll need support set to "Normal" or "Everywhere" (not just touching the build plate) to get support inside the cavern where the tensioner block goes. With Simplify3D, I can make the supports perfect by choosing 5mm support resolution for autogeneration. This keeps the M3 tunnel and hex slot empty of support; lower than 5mm puts support in there, which is not optimal but hardly a big deal.