Prusa i3 MK3 aluminium X axis carriage

Today arrived my new CNC machined x-axis carriage that I ordered from Aliexpress.

It is a 2 part item, just like the original 3D printed version from Prusa.

They use some plastic washers from Nylon or POM as spacers.

It came with 2 LMU bearings and had alle the required holes and cavities for screws and cable management like the original one.

As all the other CNC parts I ordered, this one came also well made and the anodization was flawless.

So why is this one better then the other ones, like this one I own one already.

Well as you can see the form is much simpler and optimized for a Titan Aero or Titan extruder.

So this one is not bad, but as always it depends what you want to attach to it. In my case I am already sourcing parts for my next project. An MK3 klon with the new Bondtech BMG Extruder Upgrade for the Prusa printers. And this Bondtech upgrade requires to have the same x-carriage as the original from Prusa. Of course you could make an adapter, but why spent the effort?

You may also ask why the 3D printed part is not ok and I want the alu version. Well, as with all the other parts, they are just more stable as the 3D printed versions. Not that there is a lot of force in 3D printing required, but you have vibrations. So a more stiffer setup means less vibrations.
This is the reason why many do the Bear or Haribo upgrade on their Prusa printers.

One disadvantage is that the alu parts are heavier than the 3D printed versions. But you cannot have everything, right?

I have also asked triangle lab if they will klon the Bondtech upgrade, but they replied that there is not enough demand that it would justify a mold for injection molding of the extruder parts.
Given the price of around 110€ for the original upgrade kit form Bondtech including a pancake stepper motor for the extruder, I guess there is not enough money to make for the Chinese knock-off manufactures.