Motorized linear stage

This is a 80 mm travel linear stage that I designed to fill a gap I saw for basic linear motion in the 3D printable world. It's focused around making motion obtainable for anyone with a 3D printer, metric fasteners, and a stepper motor. It is not the most precise stage but it has a lot of opportunity to improve its positioning characteristics if you know how ;) If there is enough interest, I'll post a higher precision version in the future!

The base is 200 mm at its longest so it'll fit on the majority of printers. I did everything with 25% infill and 0.2mm layer height on a Bambu X1. Total print time was around 8 hrs. Print with support but do not allow the base "rails" to be supported. I print everything PLA but if you are wanting to really drive the motor hard, use something heat resistant on the motor end plate.

Important: Print in the orientation shown in the picture with all the parts. (Don't need to print them all at the same time)

There is a printable 5 x 5 mm coupling, but I highly recommend buying a rigid, aluminum one (it must be rigid).

The M5 nut presses into the center of the stage, not the end. The M5 boss on the end of the carriage is for future improvements with an anti-backlash mechanism.

BOM
QTY: 1 - M5 x 194 mm stainless threaded rod
QTY: 1 - M5 steel nut (not stainless)
QTY: 6 - M3 x 6 mm set screws (for coupling)
QTY: 6 - M4 stainless nut
QTY: 4 - M3 x 8 mm socket head cap screws
QTY: 4 - M4 x 18 mm socket head cap screws
QTY: 2 - M4 x 10 set screws (for carriage preloading)
QTY: 1 NEMA 17 stepper motor with M3 threaded holes and 5 mm shaft

Stage operation:
- Yes, I know a M5 screw is not the best lead screw. However it works fine for basic movements/applications. Stay tuned for the high precision/performance stage in the future.
-The standard M5 screw pitch is 0.8 mm. If you can get a 1.8° stepper motor and microstep 64x this gives you a theoretical resolution of 0.0625 µm.
- Preload the carriage with the M4 set screws just enough to prevent the carriage from rocking up/down/side/side. Do not over preload.
-With PLA, a silicon based grease works wonders for smoothing motion
- For controlling the stepper, use whatever you are most comfortable using. I use Zaber X-MCA's for these stages. Their controllers are more expensive than hobby grade, but are feature rich, super modular, and their customer support actually answers your emails promptly! If you use a Zaber controller, you need a 2 phase, 1.8 degree stepper motor.