I’m Baaaaaaaack! It’s been three years since I’ve been on here. Finally getting around to upgrading my MPCNC to Primo. Being the cheapskate I am, I got to the point of needing the idler pulleys and just didn’t want to spend $20 for 8 pulleys. Decided to see if they can be 3D printed. To improve the odds that they will survive reasonably I added a brass bushing. I already had the brass and just turned them on the lathe. Got a nice press fit and used a little CA glue. Anyone betting on how long this will work?
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Nicely done. But, you can get 8 metal wheels with bearings, shipping included on Alieexpress for about $6.50 so it hardly seems worth the bother.
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804403517748.html
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I’ve been avoiding Aliexpress, and was impatient . I have all these metalworking tools now so, any chance to use them. lol.
Fair enough, I can most certainly appreciate both impatience and wanting to do it yourself. 
If the 3D print doesn’t work you could always make the whole thing out of brass. The ends only really need to be the thickness of the belt to stop it wandering I would think.
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Id turn the entire thing from brass then.
Turns out the whole problem with this is the lack of bearings. When I tightened the belts, they became very effective brakes. And the bearings cost about the same as pulleys with bearings. I found a pack of 10 for just under $14. I may have had the belts too tight, but now I have real pulleys installed. Moving on.
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