Update: This project is now finished. Final post is here. Want to do the same thing to yours? Check the LAYZOR website.

Previous articles: part 1 – part 2 – part 3 – part 4 – part 5

Over the past few weeks most of the parts I ordered have been coming in. Some took longer than anticipated but I guess that comes with the territory when you order from China. But now I can finally start building the drive system. The order in which I built my machine may seem pretty random, and that’s because it really was. I just worked on whatever parts I got in my mailbox on a day-by-day basis. I didn’t document everything, but I think the important steps are covered. As for the rest, I just followed my 3D mockup and it looks like I did a good job as I didn’t encounter insurmountable setbacks along the way.

The Y-axis drag chain is attached to the 2nd mirror bracket. I drilled and tapped some extra holes in that plate and dremeled a cutout in the drag chain mounting piece so it would not be in the way of the mirror mounting bolts. Don’t pay attention to the extra holes I drilled in that end piece; it was a test which didn’t work as I hoped. Below you can see the final assembly. The mirror mounting bolts were salvaged from the original machine, as they happened to be the exact size I needed.

In the following picture I added the limit switch ‘fingers’ and aligned them to the optical sensors. The X-axis one has some washers underneath to help it line up. I also bent the Y-axis belt attachment plates in a 90° angle in the bench vise.

With an exacto knife I cut some slots down the middle of the Y belt ends and inserted a locking bolt (also salvaged from the old machine).

I found that the easiest way to get the belts properly set up was attaching them securely to the Y belt bracket first, and then tensioning with the adjustable screw to the front of the frame.

The washer(s) in between the idler bracket (from original machine) and the frame ensure appropriate belt tension. In my case 1 washer was perfect.

A similar method was used for the X belt.

As of the time of writing, I couldn’t finish the adjustable Z system, because I am still expecting some pulleys to come in. But I worked with what I did have already and connected the jog wheel to the threaded rod.

To ensure the threaded rod doesn’t sag and touch the bottom plate, I needed a locking bolt on top. I took my time hand-drilling a hole in the 5mm top face and took even more care tapping it. In the end I only had a few millimeter of working threads, but with a tiny screw (again, from original machine) and some washers, it worked out perfectly!

That’s about it for the mechanics. The title image shows the almost fully assembled machine.