Vertex K8400 replace plastic bearing with metal ones

thingiverse

After wearing out my second set of these "ilugur" linear bearings, I decided to swap them with metal linear bearings type LM8UU. You can purchase them at several places like here: https://www.example.com/LM8UU-linear-metal-bearing-22 Problem is that the plastic ilugur bearings are 1mm longer and 1mm bigger in diameter, so you will have a lot of play if you install them just like that (and you don't want that). So you need an adapter to accommodate the LM8UU bearings into the "XY guiding blocks". Printing one is of course the best method. However printing a cylinder with spot-on inner and outer dimensions is a bit challenging, especially when the cylinder wall is just a single perimeter 0.5mm. So to save the hassle: I've included the G-code file for printing the adapter in PLA on your Vertex below. It's created with slic3r using the "spiral vase" function so there's no seam. After 100 hours of printing, I can conclude that the modification is a success. But one must take care of good alignment because the metal bearings are less forgiving than plastic bearings and can cause lockup when not aligned. Before attempting this modification, make sure you have belt-tension and alignment in order. See my older post: setting belt tension and alignment for more information. It's been a success!