Captain Jack's Rum-Max build!

[Capt Jack]

I just ordered my MAX on 06/24/13, and I'm looking forward to it arriving. I had to order a number of the other required items, but that's just a great excuse to buy more tools and toys! (But honey, I HAVE to buy this stuff....otherwise I can't use the $1100 machine I bought!).

I have a number of projects that I have in mind. I'm an avid costume maker, and a member of the Replica Prop Forum (www.therpf.com), so a number of the projects are costume related. I'm currently working on an Iron Man and War Machine build, and this printer is going to help a ton!

While I'm waiting for the printer to arrive, does anyone have an opinion on making your own filament? I see a number of different extruders out there, and while the price of DIY filament may be cheap, is it worth it? There's more to an item than just price, so if the quality of DIY filament is for crap, then there really isn't a point, right?

[jetpad]

I have a filastruder kit coming this week so I don't have any experience with it yet. It was kind-of an impulse purchase and unless you are really using a lot of filament or just want to experiment, it probably isn't worth it unless maybe you are trying to match an exact color.

[lordbinky]

I have my eye on the ExtrusionBot.com who also has a kickstarter going

"Yes 3 ft. +/- per minute of ABS, PLA at 3mm and 1.75mm with tolerances better than +/- 0.10mm."

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/162 ... -abs-pla-i

[Capt Jack]

I'm looking at both the Filastruder and the ExtrusionBot. My main concern is the quality of the filament, not the price of the machine.

Even if you are casual printer, I think that these machines pay for themselves pretty quickly.

I figure that a Filastruder is around $200, and the ExtrusionBot is $365.
Based on $31 for a 1kg roll of filament, that's $14lb.
ABS pellets average $4lb.
Extrude yourself 10 rolls and you've paid for the machines!

But, again, I could save all the money in the world and it won't mean crap if the filament is full of bubbles and prints like sh_t.

[Capt Jack]

Got my shipping notification today....and it should be arriving tomorrow! Perfect timing so that I can work on it this weekend. Thanks for the fast shipping, and all the headaches I'm sure to encounter over the next few days!

[foshon]

I wonder when Steve will make a filament machine?

[Capt Jack]

I'm WELL underway with my build, and have learned many things along the way (I'm sure a number of them have been discussed here already!).

One issue that I'm having is with the squaring of the legs. I have 5 of the 6 directions square (3 legs to the bed are square and 2 to the top are square). One of the legs is a bit off to the top of the printer, and I'm not sure how 1 of 6 directions can be of in a circular build. Perhaps the aluminum shaft is off a bit?

I've continued forward with the build, as I'm sure all the screwing around on the legs with the cheapskates and other devices has moved stuff out of alignment anyway. Hopefully I'll see this thing moving by the end of the day.

[Capt Jack]

Finished the build and here's what I know:

LCD just shows two rows of white blocks. Tried Marlin, Reoitier max and polygonhell's firmware to no avail.
Under manual control I can perform most movements. Motors are very jerky.
Code G28 to mode the cheapskates to the top results in a horrific grinding sound and they jerk like mad. Too much or too little tension? Something else going on?

[kbob]

Finished the build and here's what I know:

LCD just shows two rows of white blocks. Tried Marlin, Reoitier max and polygonhell's firmware to no avail.
Under manual control I can perform most movements. Motors are very jerky.
Code G28 to mode the cheapskates to the top results in a horrific grinding sound and they jerk like mad. Too much or too little tension? Something else going on?

I've had horrible motor spasms when only one of the two coils is hooked up. Check for a broken wire or bad crimp.

[Eaglezsoar]

Finished the build and here's what I know:

LCD just shows two rows of white blocks. Tried Marlin, Reoitier max and polygonhell's firmware to no avail.
Under manual control I can perform most movements. Motors are very jerky.
Code G28 to mode the cheapskates to the top results in a horrific grinding sound and they jerk like mad. Too much or too little tension? Something else going on?

Did you get a long cable and a short cable with your LCD? The short cable is the one you should use. The long cable will not work.
Most of the jerky motor reports are caused by the connectors on the motors not making good contact on the Rambo. With the power off check your motor connectors for
pins that are not down all the way and are not locked into the plastic shell. Verify that the wires look as though they were crimped properly. See this link to a user having
similar problems and how he fixed them. http://forum.seemecnc.com/viewtopic.php ... 9&start=10
Good luck Capt.

[Capt Jack]

Eaglezsoar, it was the connections! Great thread to point out. I soldered all the wires to the little connectors and then made sure that they were seated and locked into the plastic housings. Motors are working great now!

Still can't get the LCD display to work properly. Its just white blocks. When I turn the knob it makes some chirping noises, but nothing changes. I have uploaded the Repetier MAX firmware (using Arduino). Is there something I have to do to tell it to use the LCD display?

[Capt Jack]

Here's a picture of my display:
[img]http://s16.postimg.org/54jznfbj5/Photo_Jul_03_3_54_48_PM_HDR.jpg[/img]

[geneb]

You might have one of the cables flipped - make sure the key on the connector is oriented the same way the silk screen shows on the smart lcd adapter board.

g.

[Capt Jack]

You might have one of the cables flipped - make sure the key on the connector is oriented the same way the silk screen shows on the smart lcd adapter board.

g.

Cables match the board. Also, red end of ribbon cable is the same on both sides. The top one controls the power. If I unplug and flip, I lose the display completely. I flipped the bottom one and the power stayed, but no change. Also, if I hit the reset button on the LCD while something is running, it stops the action.

[cambo3d]

If your positive all your wiring is right, it might be a bad lcd. I had the same problem.
you might have to send to seemecnc so they can check it, if its bad they'll send you a new one.


http://forum.seemecnc.com/viewtopic.php ... =160#p7856

[Capt Jack]

Thanks, Cambo3d. I'll have to reach out to them next week after the holiday.

Well, here's my first 2 calibration prints. Yes, ugly, I know. Having some leveling issues, and I'm guessing that it could all be fixed by adding a layer of glass on the hotbed. Guess I'm going to have to shell out a few more bucks to get this thing right!
[img]http://s9.postimg.org/u21lso5jv/Photo_Jul_03_9_17_43_PM.jpg[/img]

[Capt Jack]

First off: Thanks to everyone who has offered help during my build. You have given me great tips, and I'm starting to find even more great info throughout this board (even though the search feature kinda stinks).

So, I've been having one hell of a time getting this bad boy dialed in, so I'm taking several steps back. One thing I noticed was some black marks on the towers, which would indicate that we have some serious rubbing going on here. I'm in the middle of pulling all the arms off and checking all of the cheapskates. Next, I'll be checking all of the joints again to make sure that I don't have any side-slip and that they all pass the "flick test". I'm also going to tighten up the belts (how tight should they be??).

Any other thoughts/suggestions while I go through this process?

One other thing, even with the glass plate my table seems to be a bit low in the middle. I've changed the settings in the Repitier firmware, but that doesn't seem to change anything.

Thanks again!

[cpunches]

Yoho Capt. Jack. Let's palaver. I too had the same black marks on my Z tower. Took me a long time to figure out it was the nuts to the bolts that hold the belt clips on. They're the ones that bite into the melomine. Mine hadn't clamped all the way into the material and were rubbing against the tower as the cheapskate ran up and down. Once I tightened those up the black streaks went away.

[Capt Jack]

Yoho Capt. Jack. Let's palaver. I too had the same black marks on my Z tower. Took me a long time to figure out it was the nuts to the bolts that hold the belt clips on. They're the ones that bite into the melomine. Mine hadn't clamped all the way into the material and were rubbing against the tower as the cheapskate ran up and down. Once I tightened those up the black streaks went away.

Holy crap! Whaddya know...I pulled them off and there are some very shiny spots from rubbing on those washers! Now I know what part of the issue was! Going to make sure that those are hammered in all the way around. Now, how did you manage to get the "wiggle" out of your carriages without clamping them down too tight? Is it just a little bit at a time while adjusting?

[kbob]

Going to make sure that those are hammered in all the way around. Now, how did you manage to get the "wiggle" out of your carriages without clamping them down too tight? Is it just a little bit at a time while adjusting?

Don't hammer. I killed several of my T-nuts by trying to drive them in with a mallet. The teeth just collapse.

Instead, get a 4-40 socket-head machine screw (the ones that hold the belt clamps to the skates). Put the screw through at least three washers (#4, #4, #6), then through the fiberboard and into the T-nut. Tighten it with a hex-key wrench until the T-nut is so tight it's distorting the melamine surface a little. (Your washers on the other side will start to bend, too.) When you relieve the tension, the T-nut will come up a little, but it'll still be very close to flush.

Here's how I adjusted the skate wheels. Loosen the fifth wheel completely. (The one that's opposite the delta arms.) Push the non-eccentric wheels firmly into their slots with your palm. Then try to rotate each eccentric wheel with your finger or thumb. If it rotates, tighten the eccentric. If it doesn't, loosen the eccentric. Keep the pressure on the non-eccentric wheels while you do this. Get both wheels to the point where you can just barely turn them with your finger, and more importantly, they've got the same resistance. Then grasp the skate. Try to move it horizontally, both side to side and in and out. Try to rotate it in each of six directions (clockwise and counterclockwise around X, Y and Z axes). If you feel any play at all, tighten both eccentrics slightly and try again.

Put some tension on the fifth wheel. I don't think it contributes much if the other four are tensioned well, so I don't put much tension on it.

Finally, toss the skate up the tower and let gravity bring it back down. It should fall easily but a little slower than if it were free. Loosen or tighten as needed.

It's a fiddly thing. It cries out for a redesign, but Steve & Co. have brought us a large-format delta printer for $1,000, and that's no mean feat.

[Capt Jack]

Kbob, you nailed it! I hold a glass a rum high in your honor!!

After pulling off the carriages and getting the t-nuts settled in, I was able to take care of the wheels just like Kbob said. Everything is solid now!

While there is still some tweaking to do, I am able to print with really nice results. I'm not doing my final tweaking, since I'll be replacing my glass when the boro one comes in. I'm using a square piece at the moment, and I know that things will change when I put the round one on the bed.

At least I was smart enough to keep all my failed prints...so I can recycle them into new filament when I get an extruder! My recycle bin is a Leinenkugel's Berry Weiss box. Yeah, maybe had a few during the past week of this build.

[kbob]

Kbob, you nailed it! I hold a glass a rum high in your honor!!

Yarrr. If ye get your rigging right, yer sails'll hold, and ye'll be plunderin' the high seas afore the storms start.

Good luck castin' your own cannonshot.

[Capt Jack]

Good luck castin' your own cannonshot.

A man should never have to cast his own cannonshot. That's what the wenches be for! Savvy?

[Eaglezsoar]

Good luck castin' your own cannonshot.

A man should never have to cast his own cannonshot. That's what the wenches be for! Savvy?

That's not what I do with my wrenches. I use them to tweak things and to tighten things.
Oops, I misinterpreted what you meant, yea right.

[Capt Jack]

So, things are coming along quite nice!
Borosilicate glass on and leveled. Software functioning. Printer just finished a 13 hour print with AMAZING results!

Slowly learning that object placement can greatly change time of printing (supports), amount of material and finished product. Experimenting with different positions (face up vs face down, etc).

I've found that Kapton tape has worked the best for me (so far) in having ABS stick to the glass. I think I've also found that sweet spot for bed temp and nozzle temp for ABS.

Thanks again for everyone's help!