Best linear motion products according to redditors
We found 92 Reddit comments discussing the best linear motion products. We ranked the 66 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 92 Reddit comments discussing the best linear motion products. We ranked the 66 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
I will give you my background before my opinions. As everyone has different goals, opinions, and experiences.
I got my printer near the end March of this year. I have something like 2500m of filament run though it, and no idea how much print time.
When I received my printer, my test prints failed and I was pissed. But this community helped improve my Cura settings and started producing usable parts. I then went nuts and printed out a BUNCH of mods. This is by far my most favorite thing. There's always something I can print to improve the quality of the prints.
THe down side is I went too far and got to a point where I couldn't produce anything of quality. So, 2 weeks of tweeking and researching later I'm printing in PETG with beautiful quality and very minimal visible layers.
My most recent project in PETG:
http://i.imgur.com/sVf7S2D.jpg?1
So, now to answer your question...
> How do you like your Maker Select?
I love it. It allowed me to buy a cheaper printer (One of the cheapest at the time @ $350) that produced amazing results. It also has upgrades you can purchase or print to improve the quality, so investing smaller amounts over time to make it better and better. I highly recommend it to anyone who is starting because it does require tweaking which forces you to learn and understand how exactly 3d printers work. A major plus was that this community has a lot of Maker Select users for support, which was a MAJOR plus for me.
As of today, I've purchased the following upgrades:
So, in the last ~3 months I've spent an additional $264... Oh god, don't tell my wife! All are totally not necessary, mind you. The only thing I'd 100% recommend you do are print out the following to mods:
DiiiCooler along with buying the 50mm blower fan. There are cheaper options out there, I just wanted it faster so I bought it through Amazon to get free 2 day shipping.
z-Brace - This is key, and will run you maybe $15 worst case scenario to get enough M4 screws and the threaded rods.
Edit: Forgot a couple more things I bought.
That's another $59, so $323... I have a problem. again, 95% of this is NOT NECESSARY. I'm just addicted to modding.
100mm Travel Length Linear Rail Guide Ballscrew Sfu1605 DIY CNC Router Parts X Y Z Linear Stage Actuator with NEMA17 Stepper Motor https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DC42DLW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_CFeBDbC1F8TJM
If you're going to replace the rods, you should really consider upgrading straight to lead screws. I replaced the m5 rods on my Prusa i3v with 8mm leadscrews and saw a pretty noticable increase in print quality. They'll help make your printer more rigid and have less backlash, giving smoother and more consistent print faces.
You can get relatively cheap ones off of amazon that will be a serious upgrade over threaded rods: https://www.amazon.com/Drillpro-400mm-Lead-Screw-Printer/dp/B017AR5QBS
3D Printer Linear Ball Roller Bearing Slide Block Comgrow https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0728J3J9K/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fMhMBbRK4R04A
But before you buy try again with what you have, only slightly hand tighten all the bearing blocks and then while sliding it back and forth, slowly tighten them to make sure it still slides beautifully
For homemade purposes, there are better options than real linear bearings. A wheeled "cart", spring-loaded to ride on a track, will work just fine and can be made cheaply. You can also use heavy-duty drawer slides.
Have you looked at the Shapeoko? They are using rolling "carts" on angled tracks.
also, http://www.amazon.com/Linear-Motion-Length-Chrome-Hardened/dp/B002BBJ0CA/
The website says the new model uses hydraulics, actually it looks like a gas ram, like you'd find holding up a car hood or a hatchback.
An electric-powered linear actuator could work, but they get expensive for the long ones.
I bought these lead screws. Be careful because they will not fit by default. You will have to drill/dremel out the existing z-axis mounts where the original threaded rod brass nuts were to make these fit. These take M-4 screws while the old ones took M-3 so the holes will need to be enlarged on the carriage. It took about a couple of hours to mount it correctly. It seemed that everything the Geeetech came with was too small by a couple of mm. The 8mm spring couplers were not exactly 8mm so I had to purchase new 8mm spring couplers to get the new lead screws to mount to the z-axis steppers. You will also have to cut the rods shorter because these were 400mm. I also had to tap the M4 threads into the mounting nuts for these. this might not be required as yours might come tapped but I would recommend buying an M4 tap or a set of metric taps. These were a pain in the ass to install but they produced really top quality prints, anything better than I've seen come from my printer. I would say it's worth the bit of engineering to get them to fit. I mean that's what this hobby is about right?
Sounds like a cool project, probably more suited to the hobby CNC subreddit: /r/hobbycnc , but I'm still happy to throw in my 2 cents here.
Instead of building up trucks with threaded rod / bearings / nuts, and using an aluminum tube for your linear motion, I would highly recommend using off the shelf linear bearings and shafting. The proliferation of the hobbyist DIY CNC / 3D Printer segment has flooded the market with cheap linear motion components. It's still going to be a bit more than your proposed solution, but I think it would be worth it - you'll save yourself a lot of frustration and end up with a better performing solution, even using the cheapest off the shelf components. Something like these, for example:
For the gear rack / spur gear: Do the individual "blocks" the louvers are attached to need to move independently of each other, or can they all move ganged? I'm assuming you need the independent linear motion, but just in case you don't, it would be much cheaper to use one motor to turn a single leadscrew that runs the full length of the machine axially and have a nut on each "block".
Assuming you need the independent linear movement, your use of a gear rack is a good solution. You mentioned wanting to use NEMA17 motors but were unable to locate a gear that would fit on the 5mm shaft. McMaster has brass spur gears with the DP and PA to match your rack with a .1875" bore, however they're brass, not stainless:
You'd obviously have to ream the bore to fit a 5mm shaft, but that shouldn't be much of an issue. If you can't live with brass, and you can't find a 32DP 20° spur gear with an appropriate bore elsewhere, you could always turn down a bushing to press fit on the 5mm motor shaft to make the larger bore spur gear work. If you're not paying for your time to make the bushings, the material cost for that is going to be a lot less than the price delta between the NEMA17 and NEMA23 steppers.
Also, if the "blocks" are moving independently of each other, you probably want to put limit switches on them to prevent them from running into each other and trashing your steppers / gears / whatever else.
Lastly, I'd try to avoid using the 2x2 wood stud for that structural component. Structural timber like that is terribly unstable and not dimensionally accurate at all, I can see it causing you issues - take a look at 80/20 aluminum extrusions for those structural components. They're obviously more expensive than wood, but you can find good deals on eBay (the actual manufacturer of 80/20 even has an eBay store where they sell surplus / off cuts / scratch & dent / etc.: 8020-Inc-Garage-Sale)
Anyway, hope some of that is helpful. Like I said, looks like a cool project, and I think it's certainly achievable, even without taking any of my suggestions on board. Oh, and BTW - nice looking rendering you made there!
I think one of these should work. The thingiverse mentiones 45cm long, which is roughly 17 inches, so I think a 16inch or 19inch should be fine without cutting.
https://www.amazon.com/Hardened-Chrome-Linear-Motion-Shafts/dp/B01LXAZFKZ/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=8mm+rod&qid=1566315274&s=gateway&sr=8-3
https://www.amazon.com/ReliaBot-Hardened-Chrome-Plated-Linear/dp/B07DPFH7HL/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=8mm+rod&qid=1566315497&s=gateway&sr=8-5
You could always just buy these and also get a saw. Alternatively, use this page, select the approximate size of your rod (in this case 8mm/251-498.5mm) and then enter the exact length you need in the "customize" section before adding it to your cart.
Worst case is you have a bad bearing, replacements are super cheap. Super worst case is you have a bad bearing and it begins to wear the linear rods. But, they are hardened rods, so I'd say this is pretty unlikely. I'm guessing the seal must be bad on one of them.
If you're feeling up to it, you can order some LM8UU linear bearings (8mm inside diameter, 15 mm outside diameter, 24 mm length), disassemble the X-axis and replace them. This can be done without completely disassembling the extruder if you're careful, just be very careful with the heater cartridge wires, as they are very susceptible to strain and will break easily right at the cartridge if you bend them around much.
After doing quite of bit of reading, I went with these:
OTRMAX 4-Piece 8mm Longer Linear Motion Ball Bearing Double Side Rubber Seal Linear Bushing CNC Part LM8LUU https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MXTYSVL/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_5iPSBb8S68Y2Q
I'm pleased with them so far.
Oh thank god Reddit is back up! Okay, I think a good bet might be these: https://www.amazon.com/OTRMAX-4-Piece-Longer-Bearing-Bushing/dp/B01MXTYSVL/ref=sr_1_2?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1498657770&sr=1-2&keywords=lm8luu as it is the correct size and has good reviews.
Pretty generic Not super high quality, but a big improvement over the bearings my printer came with. They were rough.
At the risk of being overly instructive from an amateur, some misc. parts I have on the bench.
Metric bolts with nylon inserts. Vibration resistant bolts that don't need lock washers.
Metric collection of flat and split washers.
Heat shrink tubing to insulate connections.
3m IDC 314 connectors. Great for splices and easy to use.
These Seems I can never find small enough clamps.
I bought 20 of these. They show up all the time when looking at projects.
Metric set screw collection. Needed one when I was trying to change out an extruder block.
Last, but not least, these.
Feel free to ignore, but these are random things that I've suddenly found the need for in the last couple of months. Pretty much starting from scratch, so I need everything.
Mine printed fine for a couple months until I got lines like those.... I bought a new lead screw on amazon for about $10 and it’s been printing fine ever since.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017AR5QBS?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
This is the one I bought.
ACME thread leadscrew
The part that I don't understand is the gas spring. Are you envisioning a manual lock that will lock the bed at the top and bottom, and the gas shocks are intended to make it easier to manually raise and lower?
My thought would be similar to what /u/TW_2 suggested. If it were me, I would be looking at linear actuators. The longest ones I found in a quick google search have an 18" stroke length so I'm not sure if that gives you enough travel.
EDIT: I found this actuator with a stroke length of 30". This actuator will move 225lb, so if you're using four of them they should be enough to carry a bed and a few people.
We just bought this one.
https://www.amazon.com/Homend-Actuator-Mounting-Recliner-Electric/dp/B07HNV39YL
So as far as I know, it just goes forward and retracts nonstop. We can make a type of end figure to attach to the windex handle and shoot everytime it goes forward.
ReliaBot 400mm T8 Lead Screw and... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QXYT9MH?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
I'll second the printrbot play.
I use a printrbot play, and I'm very happy with it. $400 entry level printer, recommend a y-axis upgrade and a zebra-plate from printinz. I also use hatchbox filament from amazon.
You could realistically increase the Y axis with only two longer 8mm rods, a printinz plate of equivalent length, and a GT2 belt.
Long detailed post about it here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/3xkxf7/thoughts_on_printrbot_play_and_printrbot_simple/cy6791u
My most recent print, replacement feet for my son's Combiner Wars Transformers: http://imgur.com/k0MYjH0
Favorite print: DL-44 blaster http://imgur.com/XMRSe2y
Various: http://imgur.com/Gwhv28z
That's not to say there aren't problems and heartaches with every 3D printer. It's still an emerging technology. There are tons of issues that can happen. I recommend shopping not only for a printer, but also a printing community.
Here is the z screw, you have to update you z steps after installing obviously
Here is the Dual Z, but he is working on a version 2 that will fix some issues so you should prob wait for that. I had some issues with binding
Linear actuator
https://www.amazon.com/Homend-Actuator-Mounting-Recliner-Electric/dp/B07HNTGY2F
That may be the exact one.
I purchased a single block from amazon, I was planning on dumping the bearings out and taking the measurements of a few to see what standard size they match most closely with. As for the rails themselves, I haven't decided on which ones to go with, the Chinese ones I've seen all look so jagged and poorly formed.
For the angle of motion of the igus rod ends I've done something a little different from a design standpoint. Instead of mounting the rod ends parallel with the bed I mounted them perpendicular and at a 60-degree angle. The reason I did this comes from a thesis paper that I found Design, Construction, Control, and Analysis of Linear Delta Robot. From the simulations, I did in fusion 360 it seems that the effector is just able to reach the ends of the bed with the angles allowed.
Wobbly was a bit of a worry I had, I'm really looking for a stiff and rigid frame and I absolutely love that hexagonal design you have for your delta. I would have used a hexagon but didn't want to have to deal with so many extrusions. At the moment my design uses Misumi 60 degree extrusions for the height of the frame.
With these current extrusions, I have no real way to connect the linear rails to them. I have however found these extrusions from Germany and would like to try and acquire three, although they may require me to rework everything in 4040.
the ultimate solution is to upgrade to linear railings like these
​
Here's a video of mine in action
linear rails can be had reasonably enough. They offer superior accuracy and stability, and if installed properly, last a long long time.
Amazon has a new brand that hasn't got many reviews yet but man that price. been watching them to see how it plays out.
3d printer linear ball rollers work well. Decently cheap too.
​
https://www.amazon.com/Printer-Linear-Roller-Bearing-Comgrow/dp/B0728J3J9K
You could even use linear actuators. Something like the link below.
https://www.amazon.com/12Stroke-Actuator-Electroic-Mounting-Brackets/dp/B07S2KNL42/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?keywords=linear+actuator+12+inch&qid=1573589176&sr=8-5
This picture is inland PLA printed at 220 C at various speeds - 60 mm/s on the left to 10 mm/s on the right.
Like most Wanhao i3 pluses, my y axis bearings started going, so I replaced them with these LM8LUUs. I got a lot of ringing. Tightening the belt didn't seem to help. Adjusting print speed and acceleration work, but only with extreme values - the printer was printing fine at 60 mm/s print speeds before the swap, and now I can only get rid of the ringing at 10 mm/s. Similar with acceleration values, originally printed at 1000 mm/s^2, and can get rid of ringing sub 200 (the picture is all 800 mm/s^2). Obviously this is not ideal. I'm out of ideas, but am wondering if this could be a problem with the bearings themselves at this point - that is, if I should replace the bearings again.
I've basically had this problem for about 2.5 years and have posted about it about 6 times, this was the first time anyone knew what it was.
Here's the changes/settings I've made:
EEPROM:
Cura 4.2.1:
Upgrades to the printer (apart from those already mentioned):
The rest of my settings tend to vary based on what I'm printing; and my retraction currently isn't dialed in.
We took a ton of inspiration from Cybots and made what worked for us this year. Here is a video that we used a reference.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkeNEMUYbiA&t=49s
As for sourcing parts we tend to use google a ton. It's still one of the best ways to find things. In the case of the carbon fiber rod sourcing, we found a linear bearing that we and started there.
The linear bearing that was used originally came from servo city.
https://www.servocity.com/8mm-linear-ball-bearings
After realizing that we needed a lot of bearing we decided to try and find a cheaper source and we ended up purchasing them from amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LXX22B0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
After having the bearing picked out we wanted to source the Carbon fiber rods these where the rods that we purchased first.
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/carbon-fiber-tube-hollow-8x750mm.html
Those rods would be great for hobby use but they had a seem all the way down the rod and didn't slide nice in the bearings.
At that point we figured out that we would have to purchase something with more precision so we googled 8mm carbon fiber tubes and found one that fit what we were looking based on the failed last purchase. and ended up buying rods from here.
https://dragonplate.com/DragonPlate-Carbon-Tube-315OD-x-239ID-x-24
I guess the basic gist of what we do for sourcing is little more than guess and check. We are a very fortunate team that we can afford to make a mistake or two every year when purchasing and it won't hurt our build.
If I was to do part sourcing on a budget I would figure out what is the most critical part that you need and purchase 1 or 2 of that item and inspect it and learn what you can from it before you make a bunch purchase.
Can't confirm these are the ones I got but they look like something Id buy, i just look for case hardened. If you dont have long lm8luus check those out too. And white lithium grease lube
https://www.amazon.com/Hardened-Chrome-Linear-Motion-Shafts/dp/B01LXAZFKZ/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1525048454&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=8mm+linear+shaft
He sent me the source via PM, they are on Amazon UK. You can of course order them from IGUS directly as well.
I got mine from here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00QZ7YGFW
https://amzn.com/B00OZJMX1Q
Thanks for your reply. I have already started building my robot and didn't know about this problem at the start. I don't plan on using it very long and do not want to have to rebuild the parts I have done since it is only a prototype. I am thinking I could 3D print some spacers to avoid this problem but I don't really want to go to the trouble if I do not have to. Here is a list of what I am using. Nothing should be getting wet but it could be humid out while in use.
I am using:
These Machine Screws:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IZFX2CU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
With these pieces of Aluminum
http://www.ebay.com/itm/360756951885?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
These bearings
http://www.ebay.com/itm/182410832446?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
And this actuator
http://www.ebay.com/itm/261647340418?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
With This Aluminum Rod
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LREEESC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
rods are original (7.94mm in diameter)
I think the bearings are the regular LM8UU ones
Here's where I got some really good LM8UU bearings recently, https://www.amazon.com/6pcs-LM8UU-Linear-Bearing-Bushing/dp/B008RIKN7W, it comes in a 6 pack for about $8 bucks
https://www.amazon.com/Skateboard-Bearings-Sackorange-Shielded-Miniature/dp/B07216D1SZ/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=bearings&qid=1549756573&s=gateway&sr=8-5