Ender 3 Modifications - Precision Z Axis Support!

Since Creality was running a special on the Ender 3's I purchased a number to refresh our print farm here at DIY3DTech and with this converted to them direct drive extrusion using this kit (see more here: https://amzn.to/2DsqPuI ). Because the Ender 3 has only one Z-Axis and we are adding weight to the moving hotend with motor and extruder we wanted to provide additional support to the Z-Axis lead screw. Now there are a lot of Z-Axis bearing based retainers out there however all of the ones I have used in the past where fixed and designed to fit the creators machine. Now these would fit "in general" other machines, however we want one where we could adjust the fit in a "precision" way so we designed this one!

Here we use two common 20mm bed leveling springs (see more here: https://amzn.to/31FdDKK ) cinched with two (2) 25mm long M3 bolts (see more here: https://amzn.to/31zMh8V ). Worth note is the design has modeled threads or you could use inserts (see more here: https://amzn.to/2DrT3pp ) for a more secure fit. The bearing is a common 608ZZ skate bearing (see more here: https://amzn.to/31y8Ivj) so nothing fancy. Note, that the base bracket mounts to the 20x40 upright via two M5 (important they MUST be hex / cap heads and NOT button head).

*Warning!* the M3's are spring load and if not printed correctly could come fly out so use at your own risk! To avoid this, we suggest inserts (see more here: https://amzn.to/2DrT3pp ).

*Note:* While this was designed for the Ender 3, it should also work with most other printers which uses 20x40 extrusion.

Direct Drive Kit: https://amzn.to/2DsqPuI
608ZZ Bearing: https://amzn.to/31y8Ivj
M3 Inserts: https://amzn.to/2DrT3pp
M3 x 25 Bolts: https://amzn.to/31zMh8V
M5 T-Nets: https://amzn.to/31BvgLx
M5 x 8mm Bolts: https://amzn.to/3fMAKrU
Bed Springs (20mm): https://amzn.to/31FdDKK

The STL's and Fusion 360 file can be found here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:456...

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