Play in the y axis

[Prime]

Has anyone notice play when using the makerslide y axis?  I purchase a y axis upgrade in February and I am seeing some up and down movement in the axis.  Do the bearings need lube, or where can I order replacments, incase mine are defective?

 

Thanks,

John Barnes

[Daniel Bates]

Do you mean as the table is pulled back and forth by the motor, or do you mean sideways rock? Because I have problems with the former and have yet to find a solution..

[Alex Klimaj]

My Y axis rail purchased from trinity labs has slight play in the x direction. It doesn't effect the print unless I touch the bed during the print or the hot end drags across the print and moves the bed. 

[stoof]

Printer, think you could provide some pics?

[Mike Payson]

I assume you mean the MTW Y axis, not the makerslide Y, right?

You can adjust much of the play out fairly easily by gently squeezing the opposing bushings together as you tighten the mounting screws. 

On plain bearings like these or the TL PBC rails there will always be some small amount of play between the bushing and the rail, otherwiset it would not move. Because these rails use a round bushing, gravity keeps the rail centered and flat during normal operations. That is different than the PBC rails, which have less overall play, but because their flat surfaces provide no "normal" position for the bearing, the play has a much larger overall effect on the print.

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[Printer]

pics attached.

[Prime]

My kit came from Makers Tool works.  Let me post a video of the play, probably would make it a little clearer.

I posted two videos:

http://youtu.be/o6Vr86-dkcc

http://youtu.be/Lyb7RKtgmzw

Hopefully they will help some.  I am not sure about the amount of play that is acceptable and I anticipate some is required to manage head crashes, etc.

Thanks,

John Barnes

[Brad Norman]

John -

I see the play you speak of.  Like Mike says, these rails use a round bushing, gravity keeps the rail centered and flat during normal operations.

To me it is all about results.  Below are pics taken from last lights print.  They were printed on a MM1.5+ using igus Drylin components.   I believe these are quality parts; ones that meet our standards for resale.

Lastly, there are more expensive linear solutions out there that may provide some improvements.  To me, providing affordable kits with are capable of good printed results is more important than costly components that print marginally better.  This statement is directed to the community rather than to the OP.

IMHO - Brad

[Alex Klimaj]

Printer, could you post the stl for that clamp? I would like to try it on my trinitylabs rail. 

[BusyBotz]

Hi John,

Have you been able to make any prints yet? The amount of movement may be "normal", but it is sometimes hard to tell in a video. I see the movement, but if the prints look OK then it isn't really a problem.

I have Y axis rails from both TL and Ultibots. Both have a certain amount of wiggle in the bearing surfaces. Since the movement is not in the direction of Y travel, it seems to have little or no impact on print quality.

Would you like to meet in person? You are welcome to bring your machine over so we can compare a few printers together. Since I printed some of your parts, I also want to make sure you are in good shape :) 

-Mitch

[Prime]

I replaced the rubber washers and tighted things up.  Next print went fine.

Will post a picture later.

On Wednesday, April 24, 2013 7:40:47 AM UTC-5, Prime wrote:

[Printer]

Mine is an Ultibot. The videos shows the same problem that I had. The play in mine was bad when moving back and forth but the stabilizers took both out completely.
I attached the .STL file, but it may not work in your case. I measured and made mine to fit custom. originally it was going to span the y rail with a slot to clear the bolts in the middle but I ended up cutting it down and making 1 for each end.
**make sure you clear those bolts (see my pics) Plus. on my machine the outer dim's are held within .003 in the x,y,and z but holes come out .025 undersize. havent figured out how to adjust so i compensated on the model.
I threaded a M5 bolt for adjustment.

[Brad Norman]

Prime -

We are also printing without the rubber washers using a G10 plate secured tightly to the 4 Drylin bushings.

Keep us posted,

Brad

[Mike Payson]

The rubber washers make the bushing alignment more forgiving, but they do increase the play slighty. You can axssemble the Y axis without them and you will have an easier time adjusting the play out.

Mike

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[MutantGarage]

I put them on one side and left the otherside slightly loose, I pulled against the loose side while tightening the side with the washers.

When I tightened the non-washer side, the tension from the washer side took out all the play and did not bind the slide.

[stoof]

Interesting solution printer.  I've noticed my MTW y rail has a little bit of play, but isn't a big issue when I'm not printing at max speeds or am not using the outer regions of my build surface.  Even then, the past couple weeks I have been printing platters using the whole 220mmx290mm at 100+ mm/s and haven't had many issues, though I am definitely going to try and adjust the bearings and see what I get out of it.  I was curious though, with those stabalizers you made, have you limited your Y range?

[Printer]

No, the Y range is the same. I have the table kick out at the end of all prints and the front stabilizer runs off the rail but stays attached because of the press fit.
My machine prints beautifully since I installed them. I have virtually 0 play in the bed in either direction now. Even at high speed the table has no rocking at all. They work incredibly well for me and am impressed with the quality difference. The back one even gave me a place to attach the bed cable.

But I'm not endorsing anything. Someone asked for pix- I posted, someone asked for the model- I gave. Anyone can use them if they want, but responsibility for damage rests with them. It was jut the easiest, quickest, and cheapest solution at the time for me. I will always use them now.

[Printer]

Also, i see my picture doesn't show it but on the back side I placed the stabilizer on the opposite side of the rail which is why side to side movement is stabilized too...Just F.Y.I.

[vlado4]

Hi Everyone,

Sorry to open an old thread, but this issue is driving me crazy :-).

I followed the procedure shown in the MTW video on you tube, and tried numerous times to tighten the Drylin bearings so the y-axis carriage does not have play in it. I have not been able to remove the play and obtain a stiff y-carriage.

I understand this may not be a critical issue to achieving good prints, but it is rather disappointing, considering the MM2 is designed to be a rigid, metal 3D printer.

Are there any robust solutions to this issue? Is there an upgrade that resolves it? I am willing to purchase different bearings, etc which would enable a more rigid y-carriage and/or axis.

Please help!

On Wednesday, April 24, 2013 7:40:47 AM UTC-5, Prime wrote: