Hypercube evolution 12mm XY modification by sverreb

Last crawled date: 3 years ago

Thjis is a modification of the XY-gantry and motor mounts to support 12MM X and Y axis rods. The x-carriage is designed to use IGUS LME12UU compatible bearings as it is assumed that a carbon or aluminum rod will be used for the x-axis.
The Y-axis is designed for LM12LUU bearings but two LM12UUs should also work though not with the security of the circlips.
Use circlips to secure the bearings, tension the clamping bolts so you have no play.
There are three versions of the x-carriage uploaded 00, 02 and 04 The only difference is the OD for the igus bearing carrier. which is designed exact (22mm) in the 00 version, 22.2mm in the 02 and 22.4mm in 04. The reason for this is that 3d printers tend to shrink IDs somewhat the bearing still fits as the outer part of the carrier is flexible, but this has the effect that the bearings are moved slightly outboard which causes binding. So higher number means smaller bearing pitch.
To find which version you need, I suggest starting with the 02 version then assemble the entire x-axis with x-rods and BOTH y-carriages. If the x-carriage experiences increased resistance near the y-carriages you have a binding issue. To find if you need the 04 or 00 try to pinch the xrods a bit while moving the x-carriage, if the carriage moves easier, the x-carriage bearing pitch is too small and are binding on the outside. You should then go to a larger pitch (00). Then spread the rods with your thumb and index finger. If this cause the carriage to move easier your bearing pitch is too large and you should go to 04 OR you can sand the insides of the bearing carrier.
If you have excessive binding or are unable to push the rod through the double bearing the self aligning feature of the carrier does not work. Try to sand a bit off the width of the carrier to avoid having the circlip bind the bearing (The circlips should move freely) Also check the inside for burrs or other unevenness.
I modified the idler corner in order to enable them to be printed in the same orientation as the motor mounts and to allow it to register on the side of the extrusion to help kepping the Y rods square and parallel to avoid calibration issues. Rod holes are oversized by 0.2mm to compensate for the 3d printers tendency to under-size IDs. (So don't dial it out with horizontal size compensation)
Optical endstops are removed and replaced with holders for standard mechanical endstops. Only two are provisioned and they are not adjustable.
The x-carriage extends further down than the original, so some hot-end mounts may need modification. It should work with the e3d volcano but is not yet verified
The design has been proven in use.
By request I have added versions of the x-carriage for the japan dimension bearing (LM12UU compatible) These are just uploaded, not tested.
A new x-carriage have just been uploaded. This adds a 4th bearing to minimize rocking that were affecting mesh bed levelling (It has no apparent effect on print quality). The CAD for this can be found at: https://a360.co/2orpBo4