Update: cable chains nearly there

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I have spent quite some time playing with designs and tweaking tolerances to come up with what I think is a good solution for the cable chains I'm planning for the X and Z axes. I had a few requirements

  • As easy as possible to print
  • As easy as possible to assemble
  • Create a solution to add and move links and cables in situ
  • No wider than 20mm
  • As light as possible



I tried numerous options and this one seems good. There is a compromise between capacity and including a mount for a removable cap, but this seems pretty solid. I tried smaller but the parts became too small and broke too easily.

The cap is a friction fit into the link with a few pillars to provide additional grip. It stays in place well when inserted, but can be removed with a bit of force and can also be re-used afterwards. The earlier more delicate attempts used less space but simply weren't durable enough. 

I now need to print a sufficient quantity to create a test chain and then I can commence on creating the mounts. There are a number of challenges here in terms of orientation, space and fixings. I have a couple of ideas, but I really need a test chain to confirm them. 

Once this is done, I plan to look at converting to discrete Z axis stepper drivers to allow for automatic stepper alignment. Not the most important change, perhaps, but the mainboard has a spare socket, so it seems silly not to do it. 


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