Building the C-Bot 3D printer: Part 6 : Tapping the linear rail
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Six of the aluminum OpenBuilds v-slot linear rails need tapped for their M5 bolts: The four vertical legs, and what I’d describe as ‘the two top Y-axis beams’. The legs only need tapped on one end, while the two other beams need tapped on both sides.
I borrowed my buddies M5x.8mm tap and got to work: I’ve got to say, this has been the least enjoyable part of the whole operation to date: 16 holes to tap (2-holes per end * 8 ends) fell into a rhythm: Squeeze anti-seize paste into a hole, twist tap 21 times, untwist 21 times, meticulously remove shavings and paste from tap, clean paste from hole, screw in M5 bolt to test, repeat.
Gotchas:
- Everything was cruising along fine until I got going too fast, twisted off-axis, and snapped the tap off in one of the holes. Which stopped activities for the evening. Luckily this was one of the legs that only needed tapped on one end: I used my angle-grinder to shave off the remainder of the tap sticking from the hole, relived to know I could tap the other side. Next day got a new tap from Home Depot and finished the job. Lesson learned: Go slooooooow….
TAP!
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