6mm smooth rod instead of 8mm ???

Hi I'm building a mendel prusa and am having problems sourcing 8mm smooth rods locally.

I did however find some 6mm smooth rods, could i use these instead?

The only problem i can see is that the bushings will be too big, I could use alternative bushings?

you could drill into a 6mm nylon nut. cut the bottom of the nut afterward to allow for some play. I'm sure that someone here sells 6mm bushings. if you need to go 6mm use steel rods . upgrade to 8mm when possible.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/14/2011 04:52PM by jamesdanielv.

How important is it to get the smooth rod locally? The bushings will be too large, and so will all the clamps for the smooth rod (both ends of Y and Z axes). Then there is the question of whether they will be rigid enough. (Probably, but nobody has done it.)

I think 6mm will flex about three times more because it is a fourth power law, so they will bend too much. Even 8mm rods sag a little in the middle and are only just adequate.

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

Yep, you need to stick with the 8mm, if you have to order it online.

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repraplogphase.blogspot.com

if you cant get 8mm can you get 10 or 12? That would be a better way to go.

yes i can get 10mm easily.
but would it make the axes too heavy?
and would the bushings still fit?

Every aspect of the machine would need to be altered in openscad... or you could just look harder for 5/16 ro 8mm

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repraplogphase.blogspot.com

[forums.reprap.org] suggests you try to look for 'steel distributors' if looking locally.


here is the supplier parts list off of reprap mendel web page [www.reprap.org]


here are the sellers that have mechanical parts. some of them sell rods.

* McMaster-Carr - ships to US addresses only (online) - one stop supplier for all the non-RR mechanical parts of Mendel.
* Fastenal - Canada and US (stores/online) - supplies all non-RR mechanical parts except for the drive belts.
* SDP/SI - Canada (online) - supplies non-RR mechanical parts including drive belts (unknown if they supply all non-RR parts or not).
* MSC Industrial - US, Canada, Mexico (online) - good for nuts, bolts, threaded rod and washers, not much else
* Small Parts - US, Canada, Mexico (online) - good for materials like PEEK and PTFE in small quantities
* Bolt Depot US, maybe others - Metric bolts, nuts and washers.
* VXB Bearings International Shipping - Bearings and Linear motion Bars(exact sizes needed for mendel)
* MixShop Canada Online, International Shipping - MENDEL Hardware Kits, bearing, belts, M4 Insert and more!
* Marleva France, Europe (online) - Bolts, nuts, washers, threaded rod,

Where can you find 10mm steel rod? I'm looking for some.

In addition to those listed above, Misumi ships internationally and has a good range of metric parts.