Belt Tension Meter

thingiverse

Finally a way to repeatably measure the belt tension on your printer! You can now compare belt tension across printers and with others. This simple tool measures the deflection of the belt across a 150mm distance. Markings are easy to read from the top or the bottom of the meter. It uses a readily available pen spring from Pilot G-2 pens. I created this because attempting to feel the difference in belt tension had too many variables. It depended on the length of your belts, the printer, and of course your finger. Trying to judge belt tension by deflection or by sound depends too much on how long the belts are. For example, at the same tension, it feels like the belts are so tight that they're going to break something on the small printer bot play, while on my delta, the belts feel super slack. This tool is especially useful on deltas, where you need to match the belt tension on each tower. How to assemble: File off any zits, strings, blobs, or corner overshoots on the stick, and on the inside of the hole in the base and finger. The stick should slide smoothly in the base, and the finger should fit tightly on the stick. Remove the spring from a Pilot G-2 pen. A good whack of the pen housing against a table should dislodge it, or you can use a hook to remove the spring. Slide the stick into the base, slide the spring onto the stick, and super glue the finger on the stick. 3* Optional step: use black paint in the indicator grooves to make them much easier to read. Use a rag to wipe off the excess paint on the surface. Measure your belt tension!