Each gantry wheel plate will have nine wheel assemblies attached to allow sliding along the tracks. The five wheels that ride on the top of the tracks will be attached to the plates with standard spacers. The four wheels that ride underneath the tracks will be attached to the plates with eccentric spacers. The eccentric spacers will be used to finely adjust the spacing between the top and the bottom wheels such that the gantry will roll smoothly and snuggly along the tracks.

Note that you need to assemble a left-hand and right-hand version of the gantry wheel plate assemblies.

Pro tip

It is best to lay out the gantry wheel plates as a mirror image of each other and attach all of the wheels facing towards you to ensure you end up with both a left-hand and a right-hand assembly.

Step 1: Attach the upper V-wheels

Insert an M5 x 30mm screw through a V-wheel and a standard 6mm spacer. Then insert this into the gantry wheel plate as shown and add an M5 flange locknut on the other side of the plate. Tighten the wheel assembly using the 3mm hex driver and the 8mm box wrench.

Repeat the above process for the remaining four V-wheels with standard spacers. All five of these wheels should be positioned on the plate in a straight line.

Step 2: Attach the lower V-wheels

Insert an eccentric spacer into the gantry wheel plate.

Snug fit

You may need to lightly tap the eccentric spacer into the hole using a mallet.

Then insert an M5 x 30mm screw with a V-wheel through the spacer and secure the assembly with an M5 flange locknut on the other side of the plate.

Repeat the above steps for the remaining V-wheels attached with the eccentric spacers.

Step 3: Attach the nut bars

Loosely attach two 60mm nut bars to the plate using four M5 x 10mm screws. The nut bars should reside on the same side of the plate as the V-wheels.

Step 4: Repeat

Repeat the above steps for the second gantry wheel plate assembly. You should end up with two gantry wheel plate assemblies that are mirror images of each other.

Step 5: Adjust the V-wheel spacing

The eccentric spacers on the lower wheels of each gantry wheel plate assembly are used for making fine adjustments to the spacing between the lower wheels and the upper wheels. Adjusting this spacing is the key to having your gantry move smoothly and wobble-free across the tracks.

If the spacing is too little, then the gantry will not fit onto the tracks at all or be tough to move. If the spacing is too great, then the gantry will be wobbly and loose. Adjust the eccentric spacers using the eccentric spacer adjustment reference guide.

What’s next?