Prusa i3 extruder idler x-xcarriage interference

Hello!

I am putting together an i3 and am printing the parts on my i2. I am not sure why, but when I try to piece together the extruder:

[www.thingiverse.com]

with the standard x carriage (three bearing version), it seems like the screw that holds the idler on (the hinged end at the bottom) wants to hit the x-carriage, which prevents the two pieces from fitting flush together. Am I doing something wrong? If the idler was just a little higher up, it would clear the xcarriage.

Edit: Also, the screws that hold my hot-end in the extruder want to sit between the two pieces, which also makes them not flat against each other. Is this normal?

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/10/2013 05:45PM by mjrice.

As an alternative, I tried printing the version of Greg's that is in the Prusa i3 "extras" folder, but that one doesn't work either because the stepper motor is too low and hits the carriage. Would someone please point me toward a known X-carriage and Greg's extruder combo that will play together?

This one I designed it for 30mm T-shaped x-carriage of single_plate i3. [www.thingiverse.com]

Hi Misan,

I downloaded and printed your extruder today, (well, mrice's remix,) in anticipation of upgrading my i2 to a single-plate i3. When I had the piece in my hands, I discovered that the x-carriage I have, which I got very recently from the prusa github, uses the 24mm t-shared x-carriage.

Where can this 30mm t-shaped x-carriage be found? What part do I see as an x-carriage in the photos you've placed on Thingiverse?

TIA.

You can get it from Josef Prusa's github: [github.com]

Please note you will need to set the right type of belt and build it with OpenSCAD as different belts need different inter-teeth distance. This is done is configuration.scad file in the same repo. Please note it depends on bearings.scad too.

What most likely happened is that you got the vanilla repo.

Thanks, misan.

I apparently had forgotten that I'd downloaded the github of the EiNSTeiN variant of the i3. I'll have to compare what I got from there to the Prusa Github.

If you care to address it, I sort of think it odd that this x-carriage (which to my eyes looks simpler ergo better) was in the "single_plate_old" directory. Prusa, it seems, favors the x-carriage from the box frame directory. Do you know what's going on there? Are there other i3 components that are somewhat "unsettled" to which you might call my attention?

Thanks again. The community help here is phenomenal.

Guys like misan and sgraber have been doing some good work in extruders. I like the compact version. I don't know that Jo is into extruders as he is into the mechanical bits of the frame. Extruders and x carriages are a place on the i3 where go outside the repo and find what works best for my application. There is a modded version of the 3 bearing carriage that has slots for mounting an extruder with variable mounting points from 24-30 mm. I'll have to look at it when I get to the shop in the morning, I don't have it with me. There is also a hole spacing variable in the source of the compact extruder to allow you to use custom hole spacing to match your carriage. An issue I've found with the i3 and the Gregs Wades is that it's possible to lose a bit of build envelope depending on the part used. This isn't an issue with either the compact extruder or the Gregs variant that misan made that has a higher profile that allows for better placement of the endstops to get full travel from the X axis.

The best news is that you can simply print a new part to change the carrage around. Nothing to spend money on, just an excuse to play with your printer.