FT-5 Chimera & BLTouch X-carriage by cozierad

Last crawled date: 3 years ago

Still a work in progress.
edit 9/25/17
All parts are uploaded. I have not printed with this yet. I found some problems with the BLtouch hitting the cable chain when homing. This may require a new cable chain mount, replacing FT9 so that the cable chain actually rides parallel to the y axis. I am working on that model now.
Also I uploaded all of the parts upside down... sorry will fix that with the next upload
I plan on redesigning the duct and BLTouch mount to get the BLTouch closer to the hot ends and make the ducting system look nicer.
This is my first custom X-carriage and I am new to the FT-5 but this is my 4th machine. I would suggest printing in ABS or PETG for the temperature stability.
This is a Chimera mount for my Folgertech FT-5. It replaces the entire X carriage. I never used the original hotend so I am not sure how much room you lose when using this. It is modeled after the original mount though.
It has an adjustable BLTouch mount on one side. I tried to make this printable without supports but the rear section and fan duct will take a few.
It also contains a 40x40mm fan for part cooling along with a ducting system. I tried to sneak this into the design, it is a bit clunky but should work decently enough.
I tried to include enough extra holes for future bolt on parts like nice captive wiring connectors. There are some tabs built in to try and deal with the wiring in an efficient and flexible manner. There are several bolts that are intentionally undersized for M3 screw to thread into the plastic. Also all bolt holes are intentional modeled at 3mm to give just a small amount of stock to drill out for an M3 screw.
I plan on designing a front section that can be machined from AL. insert something about how engineering projects are never finished just abandoned...
If you have any comments, positive or negative let me know. If you have any ideas for how this could be improved I am all ears.