Brad's Compatible Carriages for Solidoodle 2 (or other LM8-style)

This is a new set of carriages for the Solidoodle 2. They were inspired by Lawsy's carriages and additional work by CHAMP and others.

I made these because I needed a bit more space for tightening the fishing line I use instead of belts. Other designs couldn't fit the "line length control washer."

And I don't like the X carriage solutions available for bowden extruders. Too many pieces.

Should be fully compatible with both belt-driven and string-driven setups, and original SD2 idlers, pulleys, gears, stepper placements, etc.

Probably compatible with other printers, too.

X carriage

Compatible with printers designed to use LM8 bearings on 8mm diameter rods.

This carriage rides 3x LM8 bearings, two in back and one in front, along 2x 8mm diameter rods, centered 40mm apart.

The X carriage includes a mount for a J-head style hotend (E3D or Prometheus, etc.). It is intended for use with a bowden setup, as there is no mounting point for a stepper motor on the carriage.

It uses 3x LM8-UU linear bearings; two in back, one in front. Hold them in place with tightened cable ties.

Y-Left carriage

Compatible with printers designed to use LM8 bearings on 8mm diameter rods.

This carriage rides 2x LM8 bearings along an 8mm diameter rod. It holds 2x 8mm diameter rods, centered 40mm apart, perpendicular to its axis of movement.

The Y-Left carriage holds the NEMA-14 stepper in the same position as Lawsy's carriages and the original Solidoodle design (IIRC). My design differs from Lawsy's in that there's more clearance for the belt/string-tightening bolts, allowing for the use of these (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:182786) "line-length control washers."

This part is designed to "capture" M3 hex nuts for (I think?) all the points where M3 bolts are necessary. Not the NEMA-14 mounting points, but everywhere else.

It uses 2x LM8-UU linear bearings. Hold them in place with tightened cable ties.

Y-Right carriage

The Y-Right carriage does not exist yet. SOON.

See Also:

For a strong, reliable bowden connection from the extruder to the hotend, I recommend my own variation of Lawsy's bowden extruder (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1621967), which completely captures a push-fit connector at the cold end. You can pump up the e-stepper's torque and stop worrying about your bowden line bursting free.

I recommend these (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:182786) "line-length control washers" for relatively easy tightening of fishing line.

To Do:

• make Y Right carriage
• update X carriage to "capture" M3 nuts
• figure out a nice way to mount fans/accessories on the X carriage
• ??

Send me feedback! Updates ongoing.