I want to add linear rails to a printer as opposed to the current

3D Printing
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1

I want to add linear rails to a printer as opposed to the current setup of bearings on smooth rods. Any suggestions?

2

Are you referring to v slot rails or linear guides?

3

To be honest im not 100% sure of the difference lol

4

Honestly, I can vouche highly for MakerSlide, or V-slot from OpenBuilds. Delrin v wheels on extruded aluminum is SOOOO quiet.

5

Either buy genuine Hiwin or better brand from a proper authorized reseller or make sure you buy a spare of each length if you can’t afford to wait for a replacement if one turns out bad. There’s a lot of HiWin knock-offs that look like the real thing but are usually worse. I’ve had some that were warped. Often you’ll need to clean off packing grease or else they will not roll very smoothly.

6

@ThantiK do you have some links to it? Sounds like you speak from experience lol

7

Im upgrading my Prusa i3 MK2S to an aluminum extrusion frame and installing a bondtech extruder and noctua fan. But even with drylin bearings the linear motion is still too loud so while im at it i want to install some rails on the X and Y axis. The Z axis can stay the same :slight_smile:

8

@Cristian_Martinez , the reason I mention the Makerslide, is that the V rail is offset from the actual T-slot, allowing the sides of the T-slot to continue to be used even while the linear rail is on.

We use these on the DeltaMaker and it’s about the most correct decision that was made for this printer. When I tested out the @Watterott_electronic Trinamic drivers, the machine was absolutely silent. I’ve used all sorts of sliding rail systems throughout the years and I’ve always been really happy with delrin v wheel + aluminum extrusion V slot of some sort.

http://openbuildspartstore.com – I haven’t done a conversion on an I3, but there should be existing workups on thingiverse/youmagine.

9

Thanx for all the info :slight_smile:

10

have a look at D-Bot and Voron 2 (not yet release) for some ideas.

11

I’ve used THK’s HSR linear ways for CNC machines. They are astoundingly strong and accurate but have a fair amount of drag, so they may not be the right choice for a fast machine with lightweight stepper motors.

12

@John_Bump 12mm rail rarely has the drag found in the larger sizes.

13

To be completely honest, the MK2 frame is rock solid vertically. Upgrade it to the MK3 x axis and you should be fine. Have you had issues that make you think this will help print quality?

14

I want to add the extrusions to reduce wobble and increase print speeds. And also dont have to fiddle with those annoying nuts on the y axis lol