Y-axis with linear rails for Tevo Tornado, direct mount with ordinary u-profile

thingiverse

Another solution for linear rails on the Tevo Tornado (and probably CR-10 and look-a-likes). This solution mounts the rails directly to the aluminium bed-mounting-plate. Some drilling into this plate is required. Fair warning: If your printer is running fine, leave it as it is and enjoy it. If your printer is getting old and tired: linear rails are a nice option to revive it. It is originally designed for 480mm MGN12-rails that I had in stock. First i tried it with two blocks per rail, but 1 of the blocks (other brand) did not fit well and I switched to 1 block a rail. That also works pretty well. The railholders: There are two versions, for 480 mm linear rails that i use and for the more common 500mm rails. I did not test the last one, but as far i can see there is no reason it will not work. Profiles to mount the rails on: I used 20x10 aluminium U-profiles from the hardware store. They are a lot cheaper, are more than strong enough and they have the right height. Together with the railholders, the linear rails will be 12 mm higher then the underframe of the printer. That is just enough with some room to breathe. The length of the profiles with the 480 mm rails is 2x500 mm. If you are using 500mm linear rails the profiles must be 20 mm longer. Drill-template: The template will fit the Tevo Tornado (green) aluminium plate. Use 3.5 or 4 mm drill for the mounting holes. The holes are a little oversized but you need that for proper aligning and smooth running. There are holes for one or two blocks a rail. The measurements are lent from https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2893730, take also a look at that design. Y-stop: Well the Y-stop is a little bulky in an attempt to fit the now unused holes for the wheels. But it works and it is adjustable. Mounting: - The railholders are a tight fit to the U-profile. Use a plastic mallet to tap it carefully in place. - Fit the profile with holders to the frame and when it is a good fit, secure the holders to the U_profile with two M3 screws (this is a little overkill). - Attach the rails to the profile using m3 screws and nuts. - Attach the two rails (blocks) loosely to the aluminium groundplate for the bed. - Prepare the bolts and t-nuts on the railholders. Aligning: - Tighten the first rail in place and tighten the block a little and move the carriage (belt not attached) up and down until it run more smoothly. - Tighten the second rail and block and loose the first rail. Move carriage up and down until it run more smoothly. - Repeat this until your satisfied. - To fine tune: Tighten the rails and loose the blocks. Carriage up and down until it run more smoothly and tighten the blocks. Happy linear railing :) Aluminium directly mounted to (stainless) steel can cause corrosion. Isolate the two from each other with some tape in between the two materials. Probably overkill, but it costs nothing and better safe than sorry.