Linear bearings in 3D printers: 70 % less weight, 50 % higher acceleration

The BOSON 3D printer from Polish manufacturer Boson Light can be described as one of the fastest Cartesian printers in the world with a working area of 40x40x40 cm. Thanks to space-saving components, its dimensions do not exceed 60 cm in height, width or length.
In order for this vision to become reality, the company had to make some important decisions in advance for the implementation of central functions of the system. Overall, the ambitious goal was to design a compact and lightweight 3D printer that would impress users with its ultra-fast realisation of the desired 3D parts and high reliability.
In particular, the internal structure, consisting of linear guides that represent the X, Y and Z axes of the printer, had to be designed to allow the highest possible accelerations. At the same time, no compromises should be made in terms of the robustness and rigidity of the 3D printer and therefore the linear bearings used.
High speed and particular flexibility were also required of the cables and cable routing used to reliably supply the bridge with energy.

The central feature of the 3D printer's "bridge" is its particularly light and flat design. drylin® R-shaft guide consisting of aluminium linear shafts in combination with completely lubrication- and maintenance-free slides. They enabled an extremely lightweight construction on the XY axis, which, among other things The new bridge was able to contribute to the more than 70 % reduction in bridge weight. The rigidity of the system was increased by flat drylin® T-rail together with TW carriages, which enable smooth and noiseless movement without lubrication. The entire unit is operated by four drylin® E-stepper motor in combination with spindle and lead screw nut from the dryspin® modular product system which correct the clearance during the process and ensure the quality of the printouts. The Z-axis was also equipped with drylin® electric motors.
By using the components, the lifting capacity has been increased to over 400 mm/s and acceleration has been increased by more than 50 %, resulting in a reduction in printing time of up to 65 % compared to other solutions. This makes the BOSON printer one of the fastest Cartesian 3D printers in the world with such a large working area.
Finally, the table is supplied with power via a chainflex® cable of the CF880 series, which comes in a compact E2 energy chain and guarantees long and maintenance-free operation of the worktable.