Topic: Need a Y carriage that moves the X motor out of the way
So the large solidoodle build that I started a while ago is starting back up after taking a couple month break. I've just been enjoying the summer weather with more outdoor activities. Anyway, when I last left this project, I had realized that with a bed this size, I could not have a cantilevered bed holder and I would have to support it from both sides (left and right). Well, when I do this the X motor runs into the bed holder. It doesn't help that I have a fan on the bottom of it, but it would hit even without that.
I considered several options, none of which I really like:
Put the bed on longer screws and springs. This can lead to more wobble.
Build some crazy bed holder with a cut out for the motor. Too much work, and possible strength issues.
Mount the additional Z rods in the front of my printer, and turn it 90 degrees to make the current right side (idler) carriage the new front. This puts the X end stop in the way of the view but is otherwise a decent idea.
Flip the Y carriages upside down. I can move the Y rods to below the X rods to make this work, its fairly easy on open beam. This is my current plan, but it makes the X motor cable routing somewhat awkward.
I have seen a couple other carriage designs like this one from makerbot (http://i.imgur.com/Zjwjlwd.jpg) that move the X motor to a different orientation so its not hanging down. Unfortunately, this will require a new E carriage as well. Also, I have not found an .stl file of that carriage.
I'm trying to avoid designing custom carriages from scratch because I don't have the time (or really the skill) to do this. Any other suggestions? Thanks.
