Moving from horizontal to vertical x-axis bars?

I find it really difficult to change/mod the x axis when the bars are horizontal. I have leadscrews with T8 Nuts, an E3D Hotend, my own fan shrowd, a custom x-carriage etc. There are not many off the shelf designs or parts for the horizontal bars. I would like to move from my bowden setup using a BMG dual drive extruder to a direct drive. I need to reprint the x axis clamps for the rods anyways and would have to design some part/adapter to mount the extruder. I have been wondering if I should abandon the horizontal bars and move to vertical bars while I am doing this.

I recently acquired an used i3 style printer and find it much easier to work with. Has anyone gotten experience with changing to an i3 style x-axis on the Mendel90?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/06/2019 04:17AM by Diemex.

I have changed my MendelMax 1.5 over from horizontal rods to vertically spaced rods. You mean moving the rods from laying next to each other to being on top of each other right?

It makes the machine more compatible since most if not almost all of the extruder/hotend holder designs are made for a Prusa i3 style X-axis. It also makes mounting easier and it's less work to manage the machine. Plus the belt now runs in between the rods, instead of it also taking up space.

So I would say: go for it!

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