Any 3d printing passionate and ambitious user, once has passed the 3d printing childhood period, might feel the need to completely revise her/his printer, to move to another 'higher level" 3d printer or to build its own 3D dream printer.

The 45mm ZX axis design is developed for those users that would prefer the last option and have the strength and the skills to engage in relatively complex modifications and construction.

At the end of a hard road one might get a machine with excellent printing quality in a package with fun, enjoyment, a bit of challenges and a lot of satisfaction.

-The 45mm gantry system is based on the "original Prusa" i3 large family of printers based on 45mm X-gantry systems and consequently all the X-carriages and extruders developed within this concept can be used.
-The design provides a complete ZX kinematic system, that includes a 45mm X-carriage fully adapted for Ai3M. The X-carriage is developed from Prusa MK3 R2 X-carriage, having "standard" Prusa interface attachment points. It changes the Prusa curious cable support to a decent cable chain attachment and adds a provisioning for the hot end PCB.
-The design includes optional top Z axis guiding fittings (4 ball bearings 8x16x5mm required, I used something abbreviated 688 RS 8x16x5). Optional fittings - but highly recommended for the best printing quality :)
 

I decided to test this design using one of the best direct drive extruders available in the 45mm world - the Bondtech MK2-MK3 (full kit) upgraded extruder made for Prusa:
https://www.bondtech.se/en/product/prusa-i3-mk2-mk2s-extruder-upgrade/

A few words about my experience with this extruder:
-I was surprised to see the complete Bondtech X-carriage assembly having almost the same weight as my E3D Hemera X-carriage! - it looks way more massive!
-After some 250h+ of printing I can say I felt this extruder accurate and reliable. I liked how the (automatic) filament loading - unloading works, smooth and precise.

Two 3D printers using this axis:

• FINAL EDIT:
  The last minor design evolution and refinements, as well as the complete CAD data, 2d drawing and hi-res pictures are saved in:
  https://github.com/Sergiu-I/AI3M---FoX-45mm-ZX-Axis/tree/CAD-models
  If opening a step file and saving the required models as STL files sounds unfamiliar or is too much trouble, the included models are very good too - they are fully tested and satisfactory working.