Smooth rod
Vitamin
| Smooth metal rod, used as axis. | |
| Wikipedia | none |
A smooth rod is a metal rod usually used on the axis for components such as the X-carriage or print bed of a RepRap to slide on. The most commonly used diameter is stainless steel 8 mm. Stainless steel is a pretty hard steel, and doesn't rust, making them ideal to slide bushings on. (A smooth rod can be seen as a kind of cut-to-length construction material).
Minimum material requirements
Bearings/bushings have minimum requirements on rod surfaces to avoid exorbitant wear. For example, using a ball bearing on an aluminium rod wouldn't last more than a few hours.
| Slider type | Rod material |
|---|---|
| Ball Bearing | Hardened steel, ideally > 60 HRC |
| Brass bushing | Steel, stainless steel or hardened steel |
| Plastics bushing | Anodized aluminium or one of the above |
Not all rods are created equal, and lower quality rods might be too small or too big by a fraction of a millimeter, which will cause problems with the bearings. Unless yiou have adjustable bushings, ensure that your rods have the correct diameter, or when buying, ensure that they are 8h6 (0.009mm) tolerance. Any bend in the rods will cause issues, so it may be useful to sight down the length of each rod to ensure it is straight.
Smoothing the smooth rod
If the finish of your smooth rods is too rough, you can smooth it up by carefully sanding the surface with an 800 grit wet & dry abrasive paper, then a 1200 grit paper. Then put the final polish on the rod using metal polishing paste (the same stuff as what people use to polish their car wheels). In about two hours you'll have all your rods polished.
Vendors
| Vendor | Loc. | Product | Diameter | Length | Tolerance | Material | Additional notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3D Acessories Hub | IN | Prusa/ Mendel/ Orca | 8 mm | Harden chrome Plated SS | |||
| Alfa-Tech3D | DK | Stainless steel | 6, 8, 10 mm | 20-1500 mm | Inox 304 | Cut according to your measurements, Shipping worldwide | |
| Ridings et Dafrodis | FR | Ronds Pleins | 3-30 mm | 1000 mm | Inox 316L | ||
| HPC Europe | FR/IT | Shaft for linear guidance | 5-80 mm | 1000 mm | H6 | Cf53 hardened | |
| IJzershop | NL | Assenstaal | 6-50 mm | 1000 mm | Indicate cutting lengths in the comment area of the cart just before finalizing the order. Only ships to the netherlands. | ||
| Makemendel | IN | Smooth Rod for Orca/Prusa/Mendel | 8 mm | SS | |||
| McMaster Carr | US | Rods for linear motion | 1-50 mm | 200-2,500 mm | 0.008-0.016 mm | Hardened Steel, SS | Straightness Tolerence of 0.025 to 0.050 mm per 300 mm |
| MakerBeam.de | DE | MakerBeam | 10mm x 10mm | 40-900 mm | Aluminum anodised | (Isn't this actually Extruded Aluminum T-slot, not smooth rod?) | |
| Motedis | FR | Arbre acier | 6 mm | 5-200 mm | Cf53 hardened | ||
| OpenBeam.de | DE | OpenBeam | 15mm x 15mm | 30-1000 mm | Aluminum anodised | (Isn't this actually Extruded Aluminum T-slot, not smooth rod?) | |
| Technobots | UK | Silver Steel | 2-30 mm | 333 mm | |||
| ULM Technologie | FR | Tube acier inox | 8-60 mm | 1000 mm | Inox 304 | Indicate cutting lengths in the comment area of the cart just before finalizing the order. | |
| VXB | US | Rod Linear Motion | 8 mm | 762 mm | |||
| RepRap-India.com | IN | Harden chrome Plated SS | 8 mm | 762 mm | Harden chrome Plated SS | ||
| 220v.biz | UA | 220v.biz | 6,8,10,12 mm | 3000 mm | 0,01 | stainless steel | cutting trees, Delivery in Ukraine and Russia |
