The whole idea is to build a corexy printer that has: Modular Scalable to a larger format Linear Rails BOM utilizes standard and available printer parts people already have so they can convert their printer into a SolidCore Easily add an enclosure The components are metal or printable
We’ll probably make some changes such as reorienting the the y-axis linear rail into a vertical position similar to the RailCore, redesigning the carriages and motor/belt mounting plates where the z-axis motors are placed on the bottom of the machine. When I first designed the plates I thought it would look cool with the motors on top but after I machined everything I realized that moving the bed up and down could cause deflection in the main plates. I’m also considering making the carriage components and rail support one piece similar to the latest update on E3D’s Tool Changing printer.
CoreXY CarriageI've been working out the geometry for a modular y-carriage design for the SolidCore printer. I prefer to have the hotend and sensor interchangeable. Here's some different models I'm working on.
- Independent hotend/probe mount.
- Combined hotend/probe mount.
The new carriage design has M2 tapped holes to mount the y-axis endstop switch and act as a self locking post. For now the motor mount plate has slots to tension the belts.
Y-Carriage AssemblyHbot vs CoreXY
The difference between hbot and corexy is that hbot has a single belt on a single plane, corexy can have either two non-intersecting planes or a single plane with pulley idlers on different levels which keeps the belts from rubbing.
While the Hypercube has the stacked belts on different planes configuration unlike the SolidCore corexy configuration "x" crossed belts.
Stacked PulleysOffsetting the stepper motors with stacked belt path pulleys may give the belts a clean run and simplify belt alignment. A printer's motors can be offset at different heights so that the belt routing runs a straight belt path and don't have to be twisted. But this belt routing path would also mean that on one side of the gantry the belt would have the teeth on the side of the idler wheel which wouldn't run as smooth and could lead to artifacts within printed parts.
SolidCore and RailCore Crossing Belt SegmentsWhile many frown upon the crossed belts configuration found on the Railcore or SolidCore due to the y-axis could possibly bind if the y-axis isn't completely perpendicular to each other.
Linear Rail: Supported vs UnsupportedI'm using a crossbar made from u-shaped aluminum extrusion. Depending on the rail length if the y-axis has an unsupported linear rail it could possibly lead to deflection. The load of the belt paths have to be balanced along the running plane with the pulleys. An unbalanced load can lead to the belts trying to slip off the pulleys and premature wear of the bearings.
XY Idler Pulley MountsZ-AxisX-Carriage AssemblyX-Axis Linear Rails Alignment
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