[DIY Panel Saw] Z mount (v7a)

Model originally uploaded to Thingiverse at https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5345250.

These 3D-printed Z Mounts, which are inspired by the LowRider 2 X Mounts, can be used in combination with 608zz bearings to grip a steel pipe or tube from three sides per mount, providing a sliding mechanism which can be applied many ways, and in my case here, for making a sliding saw sled for a type of panel saw.

NOTE: I keep calling it pipe, but it's actually listed as conduit. This is the specific item I bought at Lowes and used: "3/4-in x 10-ft Metal Rigid Conduit"

I also designed another part for this project, the "[DIY Panel Saw] Pipe Inner Endcap Nut/Bolt Holder (M8) for .75" ID pipe" which is available here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5343898

This saw I have mounted on the rig is a beast. It can cut steel and pretty much anything else. Price was pretty appealing, especially considering all it can cut. Seriously, I cut some angle iron (mild steel) with it, and it sliced it like butter. Here's a link to where I bought it:

https://amzn.to/3DJd9py

How I used these:

I recently built for myself a type of panel saw, based on this approach:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sa2I0vUCXsE

(The Japanese man who posted that video has plans for sale for it. I bought his plans. At the then-current exchange rate, the price was $10.50 USD.)

My build is chronicled on the V1 Engineering Forum, here.

I made several changes in my approach, some purely for innovation and some were innovations to save money.

1. Instead of having the t-tracks extend the full length of the base from end to end, such that the "end plate" boards seal off the t-tracks, preventing either removal or addition of new t-track nuts or t-track bolts, I made my base longer than the t-tracks by 1 full inch, so I have a gap at the top of my panel saw where t-track nuts/bolts can be added/removed.

2. Instead of buying linear slide blocks, which have become quite pricey (perhaps due to recent hyper inflation), I vaguely remembered seeing that someone had repurposed the "X Mounts" from the LowRider2 MPCNC to build a saw sled of his own. That someone was actually Dan, who is listed as @SupraGuy on the V1 Engineering Forum. I liked that approach, which involves combining 608zz bearings with 3D-printed plastic. However, since I planned on this being wall-mounted (vertical instead of horizontal) I designed "Z mounts" which, although they are inspired by LowRider X mounts, have a much wider footprint (where they attach to the base plate) than the original X mounts.

3. Instead of either stainless steel pipes with long threaded rods spanning the full length inside them (plus more) to extend out for nuts (thus using more threaded rod than I felt was needful), or use of expensive linear rods that have been drilled and tapped on the ends (which are quite expensive, especially at the called-for diameter), I chose to use galvanized .75" ID pipe (commonly sold at hardware / home improvement stores). I designed this part to glue inside the ends of both pipes. This approach is affordable and has worked great.

Printing notes:

No supports needed. Be sure your slicer's "bridging" supports are enabled. In Cura that is located under Experimental. Because this part is structural and needs a lot of strength, print at 3-4 exterior walls and 50% infill. I have my slicer set to have my .4 nozzle emulate a .6 nozzle, so for me, 3 walls is as thick as 4.5 walls.

There is no great need to print a mirrored version for two of the four needed mounts, but I did it so the top bolt head would always be facing toward the outside, to ease tightening and loosening of it.

Mounting notes:

The holes for the bolts to hold 608zz bearings are made for M8 bolts. The capture slots for them are intended to hold M8 nylock nuts. The mounting holes and capture slots for attaching each mount to the base plate are intended for M5 x 25 mm bolts and M5 nylock nuts.

Note that tightening the top M8 bolt is intended increase the mount's grip on the pipe, and loosening it will reduce the grip. Accordingly, if you mount the M5 screws very tightly, and/or if the M5 clearance holes in the base plate are too small to allow a little wiggle room, this will thwart the ability to tighten and loosen the mount's grip on the pipe. If you tighten and nothing happens (pipe still slides too freely or there is slop in the mount), loosen your M5 screws and then retighten them after tightening the top M8 bolts.

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