Printable Linear Bearing

General Hardware
#1

Due to my Linear Bearings wearing out, my X carriage is doing the rocking back and forth motion.

I started to look around for solutions and came across Printable Linear Bearings on Thingiverse . Which brings me to asking if any one has given this a shot? They say to use White Lithium Grease to reduce the friction and to also print the Linear Bearings with PLA.

Here is a link to one of them.

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:18219/#comments

I was also thinking about giving this other idea a shot.

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:558500
But was thinking that from the Pulleys, that maybe the Pulleys would wear out the smooth rods like metal ball bearings.

So, if any one could give a shout out about either one or maybe came across something better to use as a Linear Bearing. Any helpful info would be appreciated.

#2

Love it! That second idea, using the metal bearings…VERY VERY VERY COOL. All signs point to it working man, and sure it will wear over time but not as quickly as plastic!! thanks for sharing, this has me thinking now…

#3

The IGUS bearings take a while to wear- don’t get me wrong they are designed to wear, but that wear occurs when the bearings wear onto the rods to reduce friction: http://www.igus.com/wpck/3549/drylin_intro

If there’s a bit of movement on an axis you can move the bearing holders closer together to take up any extra room, just loosen the screws holding the bearing holders, move the bearing holder closer to the midline of that axis and tighten back down. As long as movement is still easy and smooth it should be all that’s required.

Since you asked about printable bearings, most DIY RepRap 3D printers used printed PLA bushings, and had them work well. IGUS now has a filament designed specifically for bearing surfaces like that: http://www.igus.com/wpck/11723/N14_4_1_iglidur_TriboFilament?C=US&L=en

I haven’t tried it personally, but it seems to work well from the prints I’ve seen.

#4

Ok thanks for info. Going with bearing rollers.

#5

Have you checked this thread? The linear bearings have done wonders for my printer.
https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/linear-bearing-backlash-big-x-axis-issues/966/1