There is a Z-belt drive around for a while. But I found it a bit complicated and I thought why not give it an easier touch. I integrated that first into my Ender 3v2 in August 2023. But at that time I used a stock bought set for the Z axis rail drive (to hang the X axis into it). The issue was there: too many components stick together. So through time, things got loose and fixing it was very complicated as I needed to always remove the X axis completely. As in this kit, the X-Axis was mounted from the backside and it was very difficult to screw it in. So I decided to redesign my own version of printable Z/X Axis connection.

So I came up with this double drive Z-belt modification together with the X-Axis modification to directly implement the Z-belt fixture into the X-Axis design.

Z-Axis

The design has 2 belts. One on each side. Here is how one side on the top looks like:

You see the original blue tensioner screws on top, which I used from the X Axis and the Y axis. I used the screws and the original tensioners for each side of the Z drive.

The bottom part looks like this:

Z-Drive Belt and Resolution

I am using a standard 2GT 6mm belt for the Z drive. For the motor pulleys I am using 16tooth 6mm pulleys.

With the 16 teeth pulleys and 1/16th micro stepping, we achieve an Z resolution of 100 steps / mm which is 0.01 mm. This is absolutely enough for highest resolution print results.

The Z-Belt needs only 4 parts to print, plus the belt clamps (4x). So totally 8 parts.

Let’s define first: what is left and what is right… otherwise everyone gets confused…. I decided, as we naturally build in the parts from the backside of the printer (as the belt will be on the backside of the printer), we define what is left and right based on looking at the printer from the BACKSIDE.

Z-Drive Top Holder (Left and right)

For Mounting both holders I am using M4 8mm long BHCS Screws and T Nuts. They are smaller and fit well into the small space between the Z axis profile screws. Where there is more space, feel free to use Post Install T-Nuts. They are easier to handle.

Z-BeltDrive-TopMount-Left.stlDownload

Z-BeltDrive-TopMount-Right.stlDownload

Z-Drive Motor Mount (Left and right)

For Mounting the motor plate holder I also use M4 8mm long BHCS Screws and T Nuts. And M3 of course for the Motor itself. The Plate is connected to the base profile and the Z profile to ensure highest stability. Each plate uses 3x M4 screws connected to the profiles and 4x M3 FHCS screws for the motor. Its important that thus are FHCS as the heads of those screws are in between the mount and the axis and need to “disappear”.

Z-BeltDrive-MotorMount-Left.stlDownload

Z-BeltDrive-MotorMount-Right.stlDownload

Z-Drive Belt Fix Clamps (4x)

The Z-Drive Belt Fix clamps attach the belts ends to the Carrier. As we have 2 belts and need for each belt 2 clamps.

Z-BeltDrive-BeltClamp.stlDownload

Z-Rails

For the Z-Rails I am using MGN12H carriers (2x) and 2x 30cm MGN12 Rails.

X-Axis

The X-Axis is a unique design and requires a new Aluminum Profile. Its does not use the standard profile. I wanted to reuse it but it just did not work out because it needs to have the holes for the screws in different areas. The Euro 2020V is the same type as used in the original Ender 3V2 design.

The X-Axis has the left and right side, which consists of 2 parts each side in U shape for the rail mount and the X-Axis mount as well as the belt mount and the X-Axis Motor.

Here is my left side – you see there the X-Axis motor as well. If you want to install the X-Axis motor on the right side, you just flip the parts. For a better balance of the Axis I recommend to put the extruder on one side and the Motor for the X-Axis on the other side.

And the X-Drive from the Front of the printer:

Additionally there is the Bowden Extruder mount and the X-stop as well as the X-belt tensioner:

So, lets get to the STL files…

X-Axis Mount – Main (rail mount) – X-Axis Drive Side

X-Drive Motor Side. Here we have only 2 parts as the Tensioner and the X-Stop are on the other side.

X-Axis-Drive-XMotorMount-Front.stlDownload

X-Axis-Drive-XMotorMount-Back.stlDownload

X-Axis Mount – Main (rail mount) – Extruder Side

Extruder Motor Side. Here we have 5 parts. The main rail holders:

X-Axis-Drive-ExtruderSide-Front.stlDownload

The front side is the one with the three screw holes in a row – which is mounting the X-Axis.

X-Axis-Drive-ExtruderSide-Back.stlDownload

The Tensioner and the X-Stop:

X-Axis-Drive-ExtruderSide-Tensioner.stlDownload

X-Axis-Drive-ExtruderSide-X-Stop.stlDownload

And the Holder for the Extruder Motor:

X-Axis-Drive-ExtruderSide-ExtruderHolder.stlDownload

Final comments and thoughts

It was a bit of a work to design and implement those changes. But the results are dramatically better. The only disadvantage I see since months of printing, is the fact that the X-Axis Motor holder is bending about 0.5 to 1mm which causes a little bit of rubbing off the X-Axis belt on the side of the pulley. But even if it is a little rubbing – I do not have any ringing on the prints.

The only way I thought about making it more stable would be another bigger change, and I am working on it to get this design done. It would put the X-Axis drive to the main feet of the printer – similar like the switch wire but better. Stay tuned…

And I am very happy to have your comments here. Happy to see peoples interest in my changes.

The post Ender 3-v2 Re-Engineered – Part 3: Precision Z-and X-Rail Belt Drives appeared first on Tech Guy Zone.

There are basically 3 different rail designs for the Y Axis of the Ender. I do not want to go into the details of other non-rail designs, because I personally have the best experience with rails and I think they are the best (but maybe a bit more expensive) solutions for 3D printers in general.

Lets look at the following different solutions and why I like the one I pick for my printer the most:

1 rail on the side of the aluminium-profile

Yes I have painted the bed with much too much tilt, but I believe this is what will happen. Beside the fact there is another problem I think is as important. The rail slider has 4 screws only. And I think for a stable connection to the bed we need more than 4 screws. I think for this kind of moving bed we need minimum 5 screws to have a non moving and none wearing out design. Further, there is a force on an area (the side where there is no rail) which needs to be also covered by the same rail slider. I think this design is not stable, and will not provide the performance we need to have perfect prints for a long time.

1 rail on top of the aluminium profile

I think this design provides a bit better force distribution but still is not enough to create the stability we want. It still has an unequal distribution of forces on the slider and – because it is only one slider, it again only results in 4 screws. Now those screws – as they are in 90 degree direction of the bed movement, will become unstable and wear out in a bad way through time. I do not believe here as well that this design will provide what we need.

Comment: I did not measure those things of those 1-rail designs. This is pure thoughts and reasoning of basic understanding of physics.

2 rails – each one on one side of the aluminium profile

This is my design of choice. I think it provides an amazing stability and durability and offers the best of all choices with respect to distribution of forces as it is absolutely balanced and equal on both sides. It also has 8 screws connecting the bed indirectly with the sliders. Each slider 4 screws. And the screw direction is parallel to the Y movement force which provides overall the best durability.

Yes this design is a bit more costly as it requires 2 rails and 2 sliders.

For my design I am using:

2x MGN12H

2X MGNR12C rails 30 cm

I think you can achieve the same with MGN9H. But as the Y axis is a very sensitive part I rather recommend the 12H rail design.

So here is the connection block which connects the rail sliders with the bed-carrier and which also connects both sides directly. It need to be printed in ABS.

Y Drive 2-Rail Carrier

Y-Drive-2RailCarrier.stlDownload

I like to point out the strengthener cells I have added to the design to create a better stability. You see in the top area, there are 2 layers of around 0.5mm holes in 2 directions horizontally. Thus are breaking the filing of the slicer and add a much higher stability to the design.

Y-Drive Belt Fix Clamps (print 2x)

The Y-Drive Belt Fix clamps attach the belt ends to the Carrier.

Y-Drive-2RailCarrier-BeltFix.stlDownload

Adaption

Please see my YouTube Video for how to adapt the design to your hole setup of your Ender3v2.

So that you can easily adapt my design files using blender, I have added here 3 more files which you can combine the way you need them, in order to fit your design. The first is the main Block, without the Screw and Thread holes.

Y-Drive-2RailCarrier-NoScrews.stlDownload

Y-Drive-2RailCarrier-Screws.stlDownload

Y-Drive-2RailCarrier-Aligner.stlDownload

Installation

I will provide the installation instructions in the next few days. Please stay tuned.

The post Ender 3-v2 Re-Engineered – Part2: Precision Y-Rail appeared first on Tech Guy Zone.

The implementation need 3 kinds of changes:

• The physical structure to clink into the X-Axis at a certain height – inclusive screws and magnets
• A modification in the Firmware – I use Marlin 2 which implements the X-Axis handling
• An additional GCODE in t he slicer which handles the parking of the X-Axis when the print is done

1. Physical Structure

All parts should be printed in ABS.

The Holder Mount for the hook – print 2x

HoldMyX-HolderMount2xDownload

The Hook to hold the X-Axis – Left-Side

HoldMyX-HolderHook-LeftDownload

The Hook to hold the X-Axis – Right-Side

HoldMyX-HolderHook-RightDownload

The Trigger-Right which is installed on the right side of the X-Axis

HoldMyX-HolderTrigger-RightDownload

The Trigger-Left which is installed on the left side of the X-Axis

HoldMyX-HolderTrigger-LeftDownload

The Hooks and Triggers need to be equipped with Ferrite magnets. You need to get in total 4x 8x2mm magnets. There is no glue required. Just use a tool to squeeze them into the holes.

Why Ferrite?

• Ferrite Magnets: They are known for their good resistance to high temperatures. Ferrite magnets can typically withstand temperatures up to about 250°C. Beyond this point, they begin to lose their magnetic properties. This makes them suitable for applications where the magnet is exposed to elevated temperatures.
• Neodymium Magnets: In contrast, neodymium magnets are more sensitive to heat. Standard neodymium magnets start to lose their magnetic properties at temperatures as low as 80°C. However, there are specialized high-temperature neodymium magnets that can withstand temperatures up to about 200°C, but they are less common and more expensive.

Beside the fact we want High Temperature Environments, as we want to have the trigger also working then Printing ABS and other High-Temp Stuff, we need not powerful magnets… so Ferrite is exactly perfect for this Application.

Very important: Please take care that the 2 magnets on each side “like” each other and not push each other away! Otherwise the Trigger will not work! In case you put them wrong, you might need to print the part again.

Firmware Changes

The change in the Firmware (I am using Marlin 2) is simpler than it seams. The design makes use of the HOMING_HEIGHT. If you switch on the printer, the Z-Axis position is unknown for the Firmware. So we define in Configuration_advh.h a startup command to Home on start:

#define STARTUP_COMMANDS “M17 Z\nG28”

You need to check if it is already there. If yes maybe you need to modify it. Then we need to change the HOMING_HEIGHT. Default the value is 5mm. We add a little – 7mm is exactly what we need to trigger the Z-Holding Mechanism and release the X-Axis. This command you find in the Configuration.h:

#define Z_HOMING_HEIGHT 7 // (mm) Minimal Z height before homing (G28) for Z clearance above the bed, clamps, …

Thats already it to release the X-Axis on startup.

Now we need to make sure to park the X-Axis after print. This is something you need to add to your GCODE of your Slicer to make sure to move the X-Axis to the Z-Holding Point and after a little down so that it does not “fall” into the holder mechanism. We don’t want to add extra stress. Here is the code I use:

G90 ; Set to absolute positioning mode

G1 Z227.3 F800 ; Move Z to my measured trigger point

G1 X120 F800; Move X into the middle – so the X-Axis is better balanced.

G1 Z225.7 F100; Move Z a bit down – very close to the end.

M84 ; Disable stepper motors

We have 2 position we need to measure:

• The Trigger point of our X-Axis holding mechanism – this is when the small hook goes into the X-Axis Profile on both sides. At this positions the magnets should never trigger. In order to find this position we need to manually move up the X-Axis till it reaches this point. This point can be measured Z hight without the magnets installed (or moved out) on the X-Axis.
• From the Trigger point, we move the X-Axis slightly down in 0.1mm steps till the hooks nearly not moving anymore. This is the second point (around 2mm in total).

In order to adjust the Magnets for the release trigger in the correct way, you need to just slide the magnets on the X-Axis left and right. The best is to move the X-Axis to the first point (mentioned before) and then, move it another 5mm up (remember – we lift 7mm on startup).

Now you move the magnets in a way that it just triggers the unlock mechanism. If you think you find the right position, move the X-Axis back 5mm down (Trigger point for Hanging). The magnets still should be triggered. If you now manually push the hook towards the Profile, it should stay there and should not trigger the magnet. That setup is what we need.

Now if all done you can add for a better controllability 2 custom commands to your Code. One is: release Z, the other is Park Z.

Because for example if you interrupt your print, you might want to park it. The GCODE for parking will not be executed.

My custom commands are as follows (of course, you need to change the height and trigger points accordingly):

#define MAIN_MENU_ITEM_1_DESC “Park Z”

#define MAIN_MENU_ITEM_1_GCODE “G90\nG1 Z227.3 F800\nG1 X120 F800\nG1 Z225.7 F100\nM84”

#define MAIN_MENU_ITEM_2_DESC “Release Z”

#define MAIN_MENU_ITEM_2_GCODE “G90\nG1 Z231 F100\nG1 Z20 F800\nG28”

…. MORE TO COME… pease stay tuned…

The post Ender 3-v2 Re-Engineered – Part1 – Hang My X appeared first on Tech Guy Zone.

function CreateSignature($inputFilename, $outputFilename) {
    # Define replacement strings as an array
    $replacements = @(
        @{ Name = "GivenName"; Value = "{{First Name}}" },
        @{ Name = "Surname"; Value = "{{Last Name}}" },
        @{ Name = "Department"; Value = "{{Department}}" },
        @{ Name = "Title"; Value = "{{Title}}" },
        @{ Name = "MobilePhone"; Value = "{{Mobile}}" },
        @{ Name = "homePhone"; Value = "{{Ext}}" }
    )

    # Import the CSV file from a network path
    $csvPath = ".\company.users.csv"
    $userInfo = Import-Csv -Path $csvPath

    # Get the current user's username from the environment variable
    $currentUsername = $env:USERNAME

    # Find the user's information from the CSV file
    $currentUser = $userInfo | Where-Object { $_.Username -eq $currentUsername }

    # Replace the placeholders in the HTML signature template located on the network path
    $htmlSignature = Get-Content -Path $inputFilename -Raw

    # Loop through the replacements array and replace the placeholders with the corresponding user data or an empty string if not found
    foreach ($replacement in $replacements) {
        $replacementValue = ""
        if ($replacement.Name -eq "GivenName" -and ($currentUser.Title -eq "" -or $currentUser.MobilePhone -eq "") -and $currentUser.GivenName -ne "") {
            $replacementValue = "<br>$($currentUser.GivenName)"
        }
        elseif ($replacement.Name -eq "Title" -and $currentUser.Title -eq "" -and $currentUser.MobilePhone -eq "") {
            $replacementValue = "<br>"
        }
        elseif ($currentUser -and $currentUser.$($replacement.Name)) {
            $replacementValue = $currentUser.$($replacement.Name)
        } elseif (-not $currentUser) {
            $replacementValue = ""
        } 

        if ($replacement.Name -eq "homePhone") {
            if ($currentUser.homePhone -eq "") {
                $replacementValue = ""
            } else {
                $replacementValue = "Ext.$($currentUser.homePhone)"
            }
        }

        $htmlSignature = $htmlSignature -replace $replacement.Value, $replacementValue
    }

    # Save the personalized HTML signature to the output file
    Set-Content -Path $outputFilename -Value $htmlSignature
}

#Create the signature
$inputFilename = "\\company.local\IT\Config\ComapnySignature.htm"
$outputFilename = "$env:APPDATA\Microsoft\Signatures\CompanySignature.htm"
CreateSignature $inputFilename $outputFilename

PersonalizeSignature.vbs

Set objShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
objShell.Run "powershell.exe -WindowStyle Hidden -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File \\SERVER1\ITScripts\PersonalizeSignature.ps1", 0

UpdateUserInfo.vbs

#Define the Admin user (Not from AD)
$AdminUser = '"Administrator","Company","IT","Cloud Services","",""'

# Import the Active Directory module if not already loaded
if (!(Get-Module -Name ActiveDirectory)) {
    Import-Module ActiveDirectory
}

# Define the output CSV file path
$outputCsvPath = ".\company.users.csv"

# Get user information from Active Directory
$users = Get-ADUser -Filter * -Properties GivenName, Surname, Title, MobilePhone, homePhone, UserPrincipalName, Department

# Filter users with a UPN, remove the domain from the UPN, and export to a CSV file
$users |
Where-Object { $_.UserPrincipalName -ne $null } |
Select-Object @{Name = 'Username'; Expression = {$_.UserPrincipalName -replace '@rival.local'}},
              GivenName, Surname, Title, MobilePhone, homePhone, Department |
Export-Csv -Path $outputCsvPath -NoTypeInformation

#Add Admin User at the end
Add-Content -Path $outputCsvPath -Value $AdminUser

CompanySignature.htm

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
	<meta charset="UTF-8">
	<title>Company Email Signature</title>
</head>
<body style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
    <div style="margin-bottom: 20pt; margin-top: 20pt;font-size: 11pt;">
        Thanks and best regards<br>{{First Name}}
    </div>
    <div style="margin-bottom: 5px;">
        <table style="width:100%">
            <tr>
                <td colspan="1" style="border-top: 1px solid black;">
                </td>
            </tr>
        </table>
    </div>	
    <div style="float: left; margin-right: 20px;">
        <table style="border-collapse: collapse; margin: 0 auto; width: 500px; text-align: left;">
            <tr>
                <td style="width: 120px; vertical-align: middle; padding: 0 10px;">
                    <div style="display: flex; justify-content: flex-start; align-items: center; margin-bottom: 10px;">
                        <a href="https://www.mycompany.com"><img width=80% src="./logo.jpeg" alt="Comapny Logo"></a>
                    </div>
                </td>
                <td style="width: 250px; vertical-align: top; padding: 0px 5px;">
                    <div style="text-align: center;">
                        <div style="font-size: 110%;"><strong>{{First Name}} {{Last Name}}</strong></div>
                        <div style="font-size: 100%; margin-bottom: 1pt;">{{Title}}</div>
                        <div style="font-size: 80%; margin-bottom: 4pt;">{{Depatrment}}</div>
                        <div style="font-size: 80%; margin-bottom: 6pt;">{{Mobile}}</div>
                        <div style="font-size: 90%;"><a href="https://www.company.com">www.company.com</a></div>
                        <div style="font-size: 80%;">Phone +1 x769 x806 3066 {{Ext}}</div>
                        <div style="font-size: 80%;">Fax +1 7x69 2236 3627</div>
                    </div>
                </td>
            </tr>
        </table>
    </div>
    <div style="font-style: italic; font-size: 80%; margin-top: 10px; text-align: left; line-height: 1.7; width: 100%; display: inline-block;">
        <p>The content of this email is confidential and intended for the recipients 
            specified in this message only. It is strictly forbidden to share any 
            part of this message with any third party, without the agreement of the 
            originator of this email. If you received this message by mistake, 
            please forward this message to <a href="mailto:companyIT@comapny.com?subject=Received%20this%20email%20by%20mistake">companyIT@comapny.com</a> and delete it 
            afterwards, so that we can ensure such a mistake does not occur in the future.
            <br><br>Please care about our environment and think before you print, if you really want to use paper. We have only one earth.
        </p>
    </div>
</body>
</html>

The post Company-Wide Email Signatures on Windows Server appeared first on Tech Guy Zone.