Project FAXE (Full Acrylic X End) by JoeHidden

Last crawled date: 3 years ago

Naming: FAXE stands for Full Acrylic X End, FALXE for the left, FARXE for the right end.
Color selection: I use RED Plating on the left side (Port/Backbord) and GREEN on the right (Starboard/Steuerbord) side, so i do not get confused.
Important remark: This X-End is created to exactly cut on my cutter, supporting exactly my Aluminium Slider in exactly my configuration. Please accept that you need to do modifications to exacly fit on your cutter and your slider. Only by chance my files will fit your setup without modification.
Material:
4x Bronce Bushing 8x10x15
1x sheet of 5mm Acrylic
1x sheet of GUTTACRYL 3mm The color you like (from HORNBACH). It is important to mention, that GUTTACRYL varies in thickness between 3,1 and 2,87. The holes in this Project are sized for a 3,05-3,08mm thick sheet. Everywhere you see a Orange Acryl in these pictures or ORANGE is referenced in the Text, this means a 3,08mm sheet. For the other 3mm-class sheets the exact thickness is not so much important. If you do not use explizitly this Acrylic thickness, you have to rework some notches & a lot of rectangular holes.
(optional) more colorfull sheets of Acrylic 3mm (i used GUTTACRYL from HORNBACH in Red and Green).
1x thin superglue
2x Bolts M3 >8mm <13mm in length
6x Bolts M3x20mm+Nuts
Tools:
Laser Cutter
Screwdriver matching your screws
Cutting:
Calibrate your Cutter or zoom the Holes. A 8mm Hole must cut 8mm exactly, the 10mm holes must cut exactly 10mm (we are aiming near H6 tolerance). Otherwise you won't benefit from the FAXE precission. Also get the Rod holes distance right. It took me several tests to find the correct distance. I wasted lots of 1mm cardboard first, not to use too much plastic. Nevertheless it took additional 4 distance tests in plastic to really get it right. So be prepared to waste quiet some plastic. For testing it is sufficant to cut one of the FALXE 5mm parts in 3mm Acrylic. You absolutely need to adjust on FALXE and FARXE rod holes! Outherwise it won't mount or run smooth.
You need to cut every part in in the plan once. Where more than one same part is needed, it exists that often. But maybe you want to cut 2 extra Y Bushing Holders.
Mounting:
Y-Bushing Holders: Take a bushing and push it into the Y Bushing Holder hole, put 3 holders per bushing, make shure the openings are aligend on the same side. If everything is cut perfectly, they fit in with moderate pressure.
FALXE: I decited to glue together 3 Layers (the inner 3 in fact) with extra fluid superglue and screw on the outermost shell. This enables me to change the Y bushing holders, when they brake.
So take the inner plate first, push your rods thru, then prepare the first 5mm part on the rods too, but keep distance to the inner plate to apply glue. When glue is applied (don't use too much) push them together using the rods as position rails. Take care not to accidentally glue the rods. Press firmly together until the glue bound. Repeat for the second 5mm part. When everything bound, remove the rods.
The Y Bushing Holders and the X Wheel holders are just slot in without any glue. Slot them in, use a rod thru the bushings to check alignment.
Now position the outer shell and make the Y Holders slot in. Use the 2 M3 Bolts to bolt together. Dont use extensive force, since the Acryl may break.
FARXE: Take the motor holder, mount the motor and insert inner shell first, then slot in X-Endstop plate. Next insert the outer shell. Now slot in prepared Bushings+Holders from above, Make shure not to use extensive force, take care on alignment instead.
Use the 5mm parts and slot them in from the sides. Use the longer parts on the motor pulley side. When these parts are inplace, mount the 4 bolts+nuts, DO NOT TIGTHEN! When you feel that the Pulley blocks inserting the 5mm parts, loosen the Pulley and slide fully on the Motor Rod. You can re-align it later.
Next turn the X-End upside down and slot in the bottom plate. Now loosly mount the remaining 2 Bolts, do not yet thigthen.
Insert the axes with slider and FALXE mounted. Align rods so that the silder easily slides. NOW tighten all six bolts. The upper four may be tightened pretty strong, Take care on the bottom two.
Now mount the belt and align pulley. Make shure to maintain some space between pully and X-End (for me 0,2mm is sufficent).
Don't forget to mount the X-Endstop switch
Update JAN 23 2017:
Slighty modified FALXE, basicly just adding some screw holes.
First cut on FARXE, first mount, quiet some changes. Now mountable, but issues
Updated Documentation
Update JAN 25 2017:
Finaly got FARXE working. All FARXE Files Updated.
No Updates to FALXE.
Updated Documentation
Update JAN 26 2017
No changes on shapes itself, just reuploaded CDR, files slightly rearranged.
Fixed typos in Documentation
Update FEB 1 2017
Updated 5mm FARXE Motorholder, just added a hole, for a ziptie to hold the X-Cables.
Update APR 5 2017
Updated comments about Acryl thickness
Open issues
Motor holder is still twisting slightly, but it is fully operational in present state. Maybe, or maybe not i will fix that one day. Currently its not perfect but good enough.