Z Motor Thrust Bearing Bracket

This bracket holds a Thrust Bearing in position between the z-axis motor housing and the lead screw coupler.

Normally the weight of the x-axis gantry is transferred through the motor shaft and into a compressable washer inside the motor itself, which can lead to layer height inconsistencies especially at the beginning of a print (elephant's foot).

This takes the force from the lead screw coupler, transfering the weight of the x-axis gantry through the thrust washer and into the motor housing. It also protects the rotor from accidental impact of the lead screw (like if you hit the top with a hammer, or dropped a brick on your build plate) - Note: Does not prevent lead screw from lifting up, but should not be an issue unless your x-axis gantry binds when moving down (such as after a z-hop)

The design is to fit ender style stepper motors with a 22mm diameter step around the 5mm shaft. The washer is required in order to cover the ~9mm hole around the motor shaft and provide the thrust bearing with more contact area to rest on. It also raises the thrust bearing height, so that the lead screw coupler can actually rest on it.

There are 4 versions in total:
Shrouded and Unshrouded (thrust bearing is either exposed or encased)
Cut and Uncut (A section is removed to accomodate mounting brackets or other features around the motor)

It requires:
1x 16mm (od) x 6-8mm (id) x 1.5mm high washer.
1x 6mm (id) x 12mm (od) x 4.5mm high Thrust Washer

Remember to set 'Horizontal expansion' & 'Initial Layer Horizontal Expansion' to zero for testing and recallibration, especially/specifically if you have been using those settings to combat elephant's foot or general layer height inconsistency.*

Layer Height = 0.2mm