Designing a new Z carriage for an outdated RepRap

I am the proud owner of a Techzone Huxley. As shipped the thing is useless but I have upgraded nearly every component and now it just barely prints.

One of the last things that needs to be done is a redesign of the X-Carriage. The original used imperial sized rods, tiny bearings on one side, and a brass bushing on the other. I have upgraded the bushing to a linear bearing but the real issue is that they designed the machine with the rods horizontal instead of vertical. This means that any hotend you use has to fit between the rods and there is no room for cooling.

My plan is to design a new platform out of 3/16 sheet metal and mount a e3d v6 to it. I have mocked it up in sketchup but I wonder if my clamping is going to leave the hotend too loose.

SKP file
[www.dropbox.com]

Many thanks for sharing. I have just bought a bag of bits that used to be a Huxley. I thought it would be a fun project to see if I could get it going again. There is no controller board or hotend. But I do have a Melzi and screen in my spares box (plus other controllers if necessary.). I am interested to see what other mods you have done to get this intriguing printer going?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/27/2019 06:34AM by Macflame.

where you going to fit the fan?