Z Axis Alignment Posts

thingiverse

These are intended to work with printers that have an x-axis bar that moves up and own along a z-axis. If you get creative you may come up with another use for them. They are based on my previous posts I made for my Wanhao Duplicator i3 http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1138928 I also borrowed the basic idea of TeamTEOR's holder for my original posts http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1198375. I decided to build a customizer just to see how it is done. Consider this a work in progress but it 'should' work. :) Note: If you have any ideas on additional features I could add, send me a message or add a comment and I'll see what I can do. UPDATE: 2016/03/22 Drastically shortened the height of the holder. UPDATE: 2016/03/11 Added 'wiggle_room' variable to make the holes in the holder slightly larger for easier fits. UPDATE: 2015/01/03 Added ability to make posts have a flat side like mtnrunner19's remix of my original posts http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1201542 Print Settings Printer: Wanhao Duplicator i3 Rafts: Doesn't Matter Supports: Yes Notes: Supports are only recommended if you print the holder as well. Otherwise any sane settings should work. How to Use Print Them I highly recommend printing two posts as you will get more accurate results. Try to print them at the same point on the X Axis. Raise your Z Axis high enough to fit your posts under the X Axis bars on both sides. You should get them as far toward the the case as you can and still have the X Axis bar rest on them. Disable steppers and manually screw the Z Axis until both sides are touching your posts. If you are way out of alignment make sure to not screw one side further than the other as you may cause issues. Try keeping them level while lowering them onto the posts. Remove posts. Slide posts parallel to X Axis bar until you can remove them without bumping the bar up on accident. Now your Z Axis should be aligned. The Holder If you opted to print the holder, note that it prints upside down. I recommend installing it wherever you want with some double sided tape. I use Gorilla Tape. Assuming you flipped the holder 90 degrees, to place the posts in the holder, put the posts in upside down.