Replicator 3d Printer Issue, Solution, and Replicator needs a proper name!

[Jonathan Clark]

I'm putting this in the group thread just to have a record of the issue until we have a wiki page created to document it there. 

Last night the Replicator starting printing horribly, the prints seem to drift badly to the right with each layer.  After ruling out GCode settings and bad stl files, we realized it was due to the set screw on the gear for the x-axis.  The screw had apparently come loose allowing the belt to slip slightly with any tension or hard jerks of the x-axis.  Re-aligning the set screw with the flat portion of the motor-shaft and re-tightening has appeared to fix the problem and all is well. You can tell when this has happened if when the head moves away from it's home position it appears to sit in the corner for a few seconds before it actually starts moving back to the platform.

As far as naming the Replicator, and creating the Wiki page is concerned.  I had made the suggestion that we let Cindy give the replicator it's name for her involvement in the process that lead to getting the printer. So... unless there's any objections... Cindy, do the honors, and pick a name for the replicator.  

Once we have a name picked out I'll make the wiki page and add these details to it.  

[Sean McPherson]

Sounds like some Loctite needs to be on the Birthday wish list ;)

 

Sean

[John Coder]

I suggest double set screw rather than loctite. That way you don't have to heat the necessary object to break the bond. Also on small screws loctite has a way of getting in the cup and if you want to hear some choice cuss words directed at the person who used loctite on small set screws just hang around when they have to be removed for some reason ( Spoken from experience ). I did unmercifully rail against the manager for using loctite when I had to spend an hour or 2 cleaning the cup so I could even begin to remove it. I ended up just manufacturing a new part because of it.

[Sean McPherson]

That was more tongue in cheek than serious, but since there are various loctites for differentneeds, I'll mention that loctite blue (242 for dry application, 243 for oily) is designed for non-heat-required-removal and is for use on metal bits that need to come apart at times. Red (various #s), however, definitely requires some serious heatage or breakage to remove :) And green (various #s) is for bushings/bearings and such, no is right out. 290 Green is the wicking threadlocker for use on screws once they're set, but you ought to be sure it's where you want it as it's igher strength than blue. And finally, on small surface area and almost specifically tiny/set screws, purple (222) has a lower break strength (~1/2)  than blue for easier removal w/o stripping the head off a tiny screw surface.

Does this mean I'm a loctite nerd? *sigh*

 

Sean

[Brian Wagner]

I use locktite on the setscrews on the cnc machine downstairs and have not had any problems breaking them loose if needed.  I think there may be some locktite in the purple bin under the cnc (in a coffee can).  Or you could just torque down on the set screw....

b

[Jonathan Clark]

New information regarding Replicator belt slippage:

So a couple of prints after fixing the set screw issue we started seeing the same issue as before but this time on the z-axis. We checked all the set screws and they all appeared to be fine.  It turns out that the Replicator has something called "Accelerated Mode" which allows the head to travel much quicker then in standard mode.  You can specify very high settings when generating the GCode that will cause the model to print in this mode.  Here's the catch... It appears that setting the values this high causes the printer to jerk rather harshly when the head changes direction at the higher speeds. If you want to use the Accelerated Mode settings you need to enable accelerated mode on the printer itself using the printers built in utilities options.  I believe this makes the printer head  ramp up and down slightly as opposed to an instant direction change.  After enabling the Accelerated mode on the printer the head has stopped jerking and the print is coming out great.

[Brad Luyster]

Weird, I had enabled accelerated mode a few days ago, and it appeared to persist through a power cycle.

[#]

i had somethen like happen on my cnc machine , i had the accel/ velocity turned up to high .  freaked me out jerking around  ended up rechecking alignment , bearings, useing  blue locktight an adding dampers that helped give me more speed with less jerking an noise an the alignment stayed longer ,,

http://solsylva.com/cnc/dampers.shtml

alignment , bearings , code/controller        check them off should be cool again  ?    

 pretty much only used mach3  , sorry i cant help more

[Cindy Harnett]

How about "Clive Badger"

--He's a character from Fantastic Mr. Fox, carrying on the Roald Dahl naming lineage for our Makerbots

--He's black and white. Dual extrusion!
--He's a demolitions expert

Cindy

[Jason Dodd]

If we go with Clive, I vote, I don't have voting rights, but I still vote we print him.

[Brian Wagner]

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