Poor Man's Anti-Backlash Nut - No Assembly Required (Page 1 of 3)

This looks like it, for anyone wanting a link:
http://www.lowes.com/pd_137185-37672-88 … Id=3012496

I personally hate going into a hardware store looking for one small specific thing. I much prefer to wander and see all the many wonderful things my wallet could obtain. So it's safer if I just order this online.

sounds like my kind of fix....cheap

Same idea, except the rubber acts as the spring.  obviously the flange is not needed, as it doesn't need to hold a spring in place, so that can be trimmed if needed.

And yes, it stays in place perfectly.  I even put a silver paint index mark on the face of the rubber and the base to monitor the alignment, but it not moving at all.  I even moved the print bed a few times to its extents and it moves very nicely.

An added benefit was also it cut down the noise by quite a bit.  When you print, the "Z" movement noise is not really noticeable, but if you just move the bed up und down in large chunks, you can hear it distinctly, but not with this installed.

You're right, if you install it upside down, you have more compressibility because the nut would be further away, and the're be more rubber in between.

However, this was a quick and dirty test to see if it would work, and there's still enough ribber that can be compressed.  It also allowed me to screw the nut down unitl it got wedged between the 4 bolt heads/nuts.  That's what's holding it in place right now.

If I were to put it in up side down, I'd need to secure it, probably with set screw through a hole in the flange.

I'm sure there's plenty of room for refinement.  So guys, please explore the possibilities, and post you findings here.

Thannk you, thank you, THANK YOU !!!

(takes a bow)

I'm building my post count .... 

Just a quick follow up.  Has anyone else tried this little mod yet?   If yes, how is working for you, or is it?

Yesterday I re-printed one of my favorite models, Domino.  The first print was done with .15mm layers and had pretty visible banding.

This latest print is .1mm layers, and while there is still some minor banding, it's nowhere near as bad or visible as before. 

Here is a shot of the parts right after the print job had finished 

And the Before and After comparison

She's embarrassed to show her face without her hair. 

Actually, that's a retty good idea.  Install it reverse than what I have, and use notches in the flage that line up with the existing retaining nuts.  That would require some work to get it down past the 4 retaining nuts though.

In my case, I have now used it to print a few things including the model above, and I think I put about 20 hours on it since I made the mod, and it hasn't moved 1mm yet.

great work!  Will this work with the aluminum carriage?

I'm thinking of picking one of these up and drilling/tapping M4 holes in the outer ring of the washer in the same configuration as the holes in the aluminum bed.  Tap those holes M4, then capture the well nut flange between the washer and bed.  Anybody that has the well nut in hand think that will work?

For all the newbie's out there who might be tempted to Gorilla this down (like I did - doh) ... make sure you don't overtighten the well nut, or you may stop the rod from turning.  Put it on enough to be snug and it should stay in place.

And it does indeed work with the Aluminum carriage (SD3).

Thanks for the great tip!