Increasing rigidity of tubing

Mostly Printed CNC - MPCNC Troubleshooting
#1

So as I am printing out my parts I have some thoughts.

Has anyone looked at increasing the rigidity of the 3/4 emt conduit.

I thought of using the spray expanding foam on the inside of the tubes. It would dampen the vibration and increase the tube stiffness. However I don’t think the foam would survive the vibration that is present in the construct. Maybe filling with something else? Air soft beads or bean bag fill packed in the tubes and then epoxy the ends to maintain the bead placement.

Thoughts? Yeah yeah just go with bigger thicker walled tubes, I know…

#2

Putting anything in a tube doesn’t really make it stiffer, it just makes it heavier.

#3

Is there a way to support the EMT over longer spans?

#4

Yes there are a few different midspan supports that fit under the rollers.

#5

The issue with too long of tubing isn’t the outside X and Y tubes, it’s the ones that hold up your Z axis assembly. Those tubes move around so it’s tougher to support them. Maybe some type of roller design?

#6

Mid span support get rid of the out flex and leaves you with less inner flex. If they are both floating in the breeze it is pretty wobbly on the giant builds. The midspans should add a considerable amount of rigidity, on the outer beams it decreases flex by a factor of 4 on just the outer rails, each, plus the added legs and feet.