X-Motor Mount One Piece Print Idea

[PyramidDave]

i3v_X-MotorMount_rev14_repaired.stl I played with this design a little further & kind of like this shape. It has a little more character than just a simple rectangle shape. X-MotorMountOnePiece_rev14.jpg

[PyramidDave]

I did my 1st test print of this part last night. I printed at 60% infill with PTEG on a BuildTak surface. The shorter corners on the Motor end both lifted up a little, so I was going to add some ears, but then decided to try adding some extra curves to break up the long lines. I will add the ears if it still lifts up this time. I believe it was clough42 that mentioned breaking up the long lines in a post on this newsgroup somewhere helps it from lifting. Other than the lifting up, the test print came out pretty good. The wheels line up well when I put them on a spare 20x20 extrusion. I increased the height of outside Ledges by 1mm, the height of the center weld to match the top of the plate, added a small fillet weld on the inside vertical where the motor mounts & extended the top plate .5mm to the right. That top plate was barely going beyond that motor cutout, but that big top vertical fillet weld should take care of most of that weakness. Here are 2 photos of the test part & an image of what my latest derivation looks like. If this test print goes well, I will test fit it on the machine. I added holes on the outside 4 corners also as it seems like that will give it some more strength & also might come in handy for putting something there.
IMG_7857_800x600.jpgIMG_7858_800x600.jpgX-MotorMountOnePiece_rev21.jpg

[sniffle]

I am really liking how you are rebuilding the i3V and making it printable :-) i can't wait to see what you come up with for the main frame and if you can actually make it stronger than the wood :-)

[PyramidDave]

Thanks. It is kind of fun and is helping me to understand what I can & can't get to work. I am also working on the LCD holder & making that a 1 or 3 part print. My thought on the LCD bracket is it might be a better place to mount my raspberry pi behind the LCD panel.

[PyramidDave]

I think this is the final print. I had to add some ears as the curves did not eliminate my lifting problem, but the ears did. This part feels quite strong. I initially tried creating my own support system using draftsight for the 2d & turbocad for the linear extrusion along a path, but the sli3r support system seemed to work better. Since I did not have a spare motor, I printed a plastic representation of the part of it I needed to test for fit. I initially used needle nose pliers to pull most of the support out, then used a chisel & x-acto knife carving set to clean the last part of the back flat. I was not crazy about having to clean up the supports & does not look real pretty in the back, but the test motor part fits well. The weight of the plastic part with 60% infill of PTEG is 1.78oz. Here are 3 photos of the part.IMG_7864_800x600.jpgIMG_7865_800x600.jpgIMG_7866_800x600.jpg

[PyramidDave]

Just as soon as I thought I had it right, I missed checking the T-nuts. Easy enough to fix on the model, but wish I had seen that before printing it. Glad I had some extra extrusions laying around so I could see this before taking the printer apart.IMG_7867_800x600.jpg

[PyramidDave]

I checked the clearance of the T-nuts & this seems like it will work. Will print it again tonight or tomorrow to see if it works. I added another weld around the plate at the bottom & top since the plate does not really overlap the hole on the inside vertical. I am printing the X-idler plate now.
X-MotorMountOnePiece_rev24.jpg

[PyramidDave]

Thought I was going to be taking my printer apart to replace the X-Motor Plate & X-Idler plate today. I think the X-Motor Plate really needs 4 wheels instead of 3 as the plastic flexes some between that middle wheel & upper & lower corner. I had the extra holes for mounting it, but did not countersink for the eccentric wheel. They were also off by 1mm from the other center eccentric hole. I may as well get this right before taking my printer apart. I was able to create my own support system instead of using sli3r's method. It seemed easier to clean up. I used like an upside down "V" profile for the plastic overhang support where the motor goes. I was able to get most of the plastic out by prying this way & that with a pair of needle nose pliers. I also used a file, small wire cutters & then a dremel type tool for smoothing the surface. When putting this together, I noticed the T-nuts show by 1mm beyond the aluminum. I will move those 2 holes another 1mm to the right before printing.

Weight for this part at .6 infill of PTEG is 1.75oz & the time to print it was 02:34:05IMG_7873_800x600.jpgIMG_7874_800x600.jpgIMG_7877_800x600.jpgIMG_7878_800x600.jpgX-MotorMountOnePiece_rev26.JPG

[PyramidDave]

The test fit on some spare v-slot fits pretty good, so I went ahead & published this on thingiverse today: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:853811

It might be a week before I can change this on my printer as I just ordered some wheels to change. I will probably publish the X-idler plate tomorrow.

[PyramidDave]

After some further looking at this, not sure it does really need 4 wheels which brought up another idea for a design change. Since only 3 wheels are used, there is really no need for the plastic going all the way to the corners that I can see. Plastic volume is 3.6 less cubic centimeters (44.9 instead of48.5). I also fixed my support system for underneath. It was a little too close to center side.
X-MotorMountOnePiece_rev27.JPG