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My bowden tube and wires have a tendency to flop to one side. Once they got caught in the limit screw on one of the towers during a motion and stalled the stepper.

The simple solution was to take the tiniest dog's retractable leash and feed the clip through the hole on the center of the top of the Max and clip it onto the bowden tube. It gives it just enough tension to keep the tube and wires straight and it pulls with almost the same tension everywhere in the work volume. It looks a little funny with the handle on the top, though.

you read my mind

Once the bowden tube on my printer got hooked on one of the leveling screws and yanked the extruder off the platform as it was homing.

Scared the hell out of me, good thing I was sitting next to the printer and had an emergency shut-off switch.

[img]http://i.imgur.com/9GYQhjt.jpg[/img]

I added a similar safety feature.

That's actually both Hilarious and Ingenious with the retractable Dog Leash!

I used a totally non humorous split loom, still flops a bit but never gets caught in anything.

I used a retractable ID badge holder thingy

http://www.amazon.com/Retractable-BLACK ... B0019N3RDY

ApacheXMD wrote:I used a retractable ID badge holder thingy

http://www.amazon.com/Retractable-BLACK ... B0019N3RDY

I like it! Same concept without the sillyness factor.

Excellent, in this single post we have guys sleeping in the same room as their printers, using dog leashes for retracting bowden tubes.

We're doing one of the most advanced things in technology today and yet.... LOL

Anyone using duct tape for anything yet?

When I helped a coworker build his Printrbot LC+ in October, I used some scotch tape to avoid wire snagging when it happened on one of his early prints. Not duct tape, but the same idea.

- dan

Well, after probably chewing up my belts a bit this morning, here is my solution. @SeeMeCNC, I think this needs a product solution.

My tube leans to one side... Uh so ya, I cut a length of steal wire from the insulation of the wire that came with the kit. Tied one end to a cheep skate and the other near the center of the tube. Most of the time it has slack but it keeps the tube from leaning to far and snagging a screw.

I did use duck tape (and yes, both duck and duct are correct). I extended the lcd wires so i wrapped them in tinfoil and a layer of tape.

Still messing with this...the people at Ace Hardware are giving me my own corner...

I bought a spring with the least amount of tension. Ultimately, I'll print up a guide but this might work for a week.

I'm actually using a piece of string that I run through the center hole of the top plate down to the bowden tube and flex tube containing the wires from the hotend. I worried that a spring, or any other "mechanical" solution would put too much tension on the carriage and affect it in some way. My string is slack most of the way down, but almost completely taut at z0 so it keeps the tube(s) from flopping over to the Z cheapskate.

Positioned my extruder up there, now it just coils... Nice fixes though!

I use an ID badge reel on my Dreadnought sized Rostock, it maintains nearly constant force throughout all 817.5mm of Z travel.