I picked this printer up with a bunch of filament for $60. The build plate was really loose so I took it apart and found that the bearings are loose within the plastic part. Not really sure what to do here. I might epoxy the bearings in place. I saw that there is a y axis linear rail upgrade for $40 but that seems like a waste of money.
Buy the upgrade. It will make you much happier in the end.
When fixing a 3D printer always go for the proper solution right away, because you will eventually get tired of the wonky half-assed solution you’ve spent hours or days getting to perform properly and just go for the proper solution anyway. Save yourself the frustration, time, and wasted filament in failed prints and do it right the first time.
Epoxy isn’t cheap, unless you have it on-hand already or buy in-bulk. So you can burn ten-or-so-dollars on an epoxy fix that might or might not work as desired, or $40 on an upgrade that should.
That said, are you sure the printer is otherwise in good working order? Have you tried shimming that bearing and running a test print?
Simply let someone reprint that part for you in ASA/ABS?
Resin isn’t that cheap either. Then there’s shipping. That said, if shimming works for test-prints, it may work for this. Personally, I can’t believe there’s not a wedge-centering end-cap or set-screws for dialing in the centering of the bearing just-so, but I’m no expert on this printer.
The bearing is supposed to self center on the shaft with the fitment between the bearing and the shaft. I can’t imagine the pain of trying to manually adjust those very tight tolerance parts for the perfect alignment. Far better to make the housing the bearing goes into correctly from the start.
Epoxy can be a bit of a crap shoot with plastics. It works wonderfully for some, a not at all for others. I have worked a lot with epoxy and plastics are always a “try somewhere else in the part” thing. Also, if there is grease on the part" forget it. Even with epoxy especially formulated for plastics.
If all you want is to use the epoxy as a filler, it may work.
I have searched aliexpress, and there are kits for around 17€. I don’t know what the shipping and customs are where you live.
