Build Plate Bearing Mod for TAZ 5

thingiverse

In the process of building a **TAZ** clone, you discover how much of the original design was left to chance. That's not bashing the fine folks at **Lulzbot**. They've been awesome throughout the years we've used their printers. However, a simple, viable solution for one team is a nightmarish bout of tedium for another. Case in point: the linear bearings are supposed to be able to slide into these little holders with only the littlest bit of bending and squeezing. I suppose the issue is **Lulzbot**'s bearings are nylon bushings, whereas ours are metal. Put simply, there was no way of putting those bearings in those holders without the holder shattering. We tried every possible means of sliding, popping, pushing, or squeezing that little cylinder into that little cradle. Four broken holders later and I knew it was time for a better solution (or at least one that would work until we figure out something better). [Here](http://download.lulzbot.com/TAZ/5.0/production_parts/printed_parts/) is a link to the **TAZ 5**'s source files. All I did was bring it into **Tinkercad** and cut out a 2mm thin section of the middle, and cloned the bottom half for the pair file. They'll still hold the bearing, but now there's a gap in the middle that lets you slide on the halves with no forcing required. **UPDATE (of sorts):** Well, I've tried re-uploading these photos at least twice and somehow, something somewhere in the software pipeline needs 90-degree angles explained to it, and I lack the dry-erase board and cross-eyed sock puppet to do so. I guess I'll settle for my before and after pics looking like Art Deco-styled propaganda posters. :/