Max V2.ORNG!

[VF_]

Well, since I've been lurking around these forums for a while now and learned a great deal from you guys, I though my first post might as well be my build log.

I received my kit back in January. Although I had fiddled with things ever since I can remember, this is the biggest and most complex project I ever did by far. The biggest problem was sourcing all the parts that I wanted for my custom build. All in all, there were around 12 packages from 4 different countries. Some of the items and the tools are highly specialized and quite hard or even impossible to find in Romania but in the end they all got here.

For the most part I went by the manual (which was very clear and well written) so I will only show what I did differently.

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_001.jpg[/img]
"Hooman, this smells funneh..."

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_002.jpg[/img]
All the parts and a few extras: Corsair PSU, TrickLaser LED ring, Astrosyn dampers, cable sleeving, connectors with pins, custom switches, carbon fiber tubing etc.

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_003.jpg[/img]
Parts prepped for the paint job.

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_004.jpg[/img]
Paint job done, ready to drill the hole for the extra switch for the LED ring.

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_005.jpg[/img]
The drill I had was only 18mm and the switch needed a 19mm hole.

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_006.jpg[/img]
I wanted to cover the base with carbon fiber textured vinyl so I filled the etched logo with PVA glue in order to prevent the vinyl from sagging. Once dried I just shaved off the excess.

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_007.jpg[/img]
Time to mount the Astrosyn dampers...

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_008.jpg[/img]
... and done.

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_009.jpg[/img]
Motors mounted, cables sleeved.

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_010.jpg[/img]
The contrast between black and orange looks really nice.

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_011.jpg[/img]
Drilled and tapped the hot end with a M3 tap.

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_012.jpg[/img]
The thermistor was cemented into a motherboard riser using tailpipe repair cement that can withstand temperatures up to 1000 degress Celsius. Should be enough, I think

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_013.jpg[/img]
Completed, looking nice and clean.

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_014.jpg[/img]
Finished hot end mounted on the platform. The resistors were replaced by a 40W ceramic heating cartridge held in place by a M3 grub screw. A little bit of Kapton tape wrapped on the end of the heating cartridge kept the silicone lead insulation from sliding back due to the 90 degree bend.

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_015.jpg[/img]
All wires were insulated with heat resistant fiberglass tubing.

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_016.jpg[/img]
Crimped pins on the hot end wires. I used an 8pin EPS connector in order to allow for quick removal of the hot end if needed.

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_017.jpg[/img]
Since Corsair is using proprietary connectors on the PSU end (14+10 instead of 24 pin ATX), I had to extract all the pins in order to reuse the original connectors. My ultra high-tech pin extractor is just a pair of flat tweezers I modified

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_018.jpg[/img]
Sleeving the heat bed cable.

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_019.jpg[/img]
All the custom cables finished. The wire that I have used throughout this project is 1mm square (17 AWG equivalent) FLRy type used in the automotive industry. It has a thinner insulation with high wear resistance and it's very flexible.

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_020.jpg[/img]
Wires coming from the towers were also sleeved.

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_021.jpg[/img]
Custom decals.

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_022.jpg[/img]
Custom decals applied. The carbon fiber textured vinyl can also be seen here.

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_023.jpg[/img]
Wiring the custom switches. These are vandal resistant latching switches with an orange (well, more like amber) LED illuminated ring.

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_024.jpg[/img]
Switches mounted. Custom decal for the top plate can also be seen here.

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_025.jpg[/img]
Cable management and sleeving of the wires in the top part.

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_026.jpg[/img]
Looking nice and clean!

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_027.jpg[/img]
The extruder motor wires were also sleeved and everything was run through a molded stress (and chafing) relief.

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_028.jpg[/img]
One of the melamine plates was damaged during shipping, but it wasn't anything serious.

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_029.jpg[/img]
Like new!

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_030.jpg[/img]
Custom decal plate mounted. Couldn't leave out the Corsair sticker as I have nothing but praise for their PSUs.

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_031.jpg[/img]
Wiring the RAMBo board. The sleeving looks really nice and keeps everything untangled.

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_032.jpg[/img]
Time to close everything up.

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_033.jpg[/img]
"Wrestle the feet away from the cat" the manual says. Check.

[img]https://2ad26a8995338c9ed824900cebdfeb5 ... MG_034.jpg[/img]
...aaaand done!


I haven't yet used the carbon fiber tubing, I plan to do a magnetic ball arms mod in the future. An enclosure for the build area is also on the list, not only because it will help with the printing, but also because the cats are looking at it funny.

I also want to replace the default blue LCD screen with a negative orange one. I don't know that much about electronics, so if anybody could point me in the right direction (model, maybe even a place to get it, any other modifications it would require) it would be much appreciated!

Last but not least, massive thanks to both JJ from SeeMeCNC who made sure I have all the parts I needed and then some, and Brian from TrickLaser!

[teoman]

That is 3d printer porn!

Congratulations on the fine build! Hope it prints as nice as it looks!

[KAS]

Absolutely gorgeous build! Very well done!

[bot]

Excuse me, I need to change my pants...

[Nylocke]

Toeman stole the words out of my mouth..

[barry99705]

Toeman stole the words out of my mouth..

Good thing it wasn't Bot....

[drunkenmugsy]

Very nice.

[BenTheRighteous]

I'm with bot, that machine is sexy.

[VF_]

Thanks, guys!

It does indeed print very nicely. The only issues I'm having at the moment are due to moisture in the filament (lesson learned).

I still have to mount the side panels which I postponed until I get a chance to buy some clear acrylic as I think it would be a shame to hide the insides behind the opaque acrylic.

[3D-Print]

Awesome build!! Love all the attention to little details.

[RocketMagnet]

Tidy wiring job, I'd not have the patience but I've never found any good quality sleeving in the UK and all the stuff I've sourced so far has been poor.
I need to redo my entire wiring loom for my Orion so I'm looking for some good quality sleeve and heat resistant covers like you've used on your hot end..

Like the way you've actually been restrained in your use of Orange.. very easy to overdo it and IMO you've got it spot one.. nice.

http://proto-pic.co.uk/rgb-backlight-negative-lcd-20x4/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

RGB 20X4 LCD. Difference is it's got 18 pins instead of the normal 16 to change the colour. yes you can do Orange
Presumably you'll have to use some spare pins on the Rambo to drive those colour pins, doubt it will be that hard .. lots of LCD tutorials for Arduino
and with some minor coding skill it's pretty easy.

[teoman]

One thing you could do is, laser print small labels for your wires, and then attach them to the wires with transparent heatshrink.

PS: how did you get M3 thermistor all the way in?

Mine is sticking out about 2mm. Did you further drill the hole?

[teoman]

Or if you had used orange heatshrink the you could have written on the heatshrink.

Check out the 2nd page of this thread:
http://forum.seemecnc.com/viewtopic.php ... C&start=25" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[VF_]

Tidy wiring job, I'd not have the patience but I've never found any good quality sleeving in the UK and all the stuff I've sourced so far has been poor.
I need to redo my entire wiring loom for my Orion so I'm looking for some good quality sleeve and heat resistant covers like you've used on your hot end.

Thank you! Actually, the orange sleeving that I used came from http://www.watercoolinguk.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (UV Orange) although I am not entirely sure I would recommend them. They only shipped part of my order, then, when they finally shipped the rest three weeks later it was 1m and 3m of sleeving instead of 1x5m and 3x5m that I had ordered and already paid for. The sleeving itself seemed good, although this was my first time sleeving wires so I can't really tell the difference between good and poor quality sleeving. I used 4mm, 6mm and 8mm sleeving for the wires in the base and 10mm sleeving for the wires going to the hot end.

The silicone/fiberglass sleeving on the hot end came from FrozenCPU.

how did you get M3 thermistor all the way in?

Mine is sticking out about 2mm. Did you further drill the hole?

I just used a rotary tool with a cutting disk to shorten the screw which still left me with a good 3-3.5mm of thread (you can actually see the difference in the images above). Anybody attempting this should be very careful when screwing in the thermistor as that brass is very soft. Finger tight is good enough. Don't ask how I know this

I did order orange heatshrink but it turned out to be a very pale shade, nowhere near what the sleeving looks like so I decided to use black instead. I wanted to do labels but I ended up using a multimeter to test for continuity to know what goes where and kept everything cleaner looking by doing so.

[Tincho85]

Very nice build VF_!
I really like all the attencion to detail. Good job.

[RocketMagnet]

Yeah I've had poor experience with water cooling UK also, same thing didn't send what I ordered and when they did they sent me less than I paid for.
As for quality are they plastic and fray easily or do they have a dense material feel to them... my recent purchases fray so easily its a very frustrating process.
I do melt the ends with a flame to try and help but it still difficult to work with.

I may try their kit of braded sleeving as perhaps this means you'll get everything you order if the quality is ok..?

Did you check out the RGB display that will allow you an Orange display, the site I linked is just the one from Adafruit

They are very cheap but it really depends how easy it is to upgrade as it got 2 additional pins to control the colour... will be doable though imo.

[Nylocke]

I think you could find a version without the RGB backlighting, as in one that is orange and only orange.

[RocketMagnet]

Yeah you could get a 20X4 Amber.. but selectable colour is way cooler

[VF_]

Very nice build VF_!
I really like all the attencion to detail. Good job.

Thanks, I appreciate it!

As for quality are they plastic and fray easily or do they have a dense material feel to them...

They seemed pretty good and dense to me, but don't take my word for it as I have nothing to compare them to. I would probably order the smallest pack they have before ordering the full kit ... and keep my fingers crossed that they actually send it. The sleeving's brand is Cable Modders. Maybe you can find a different source for it.

Did you check out the RGB display that will allow you an Orange display, the site I linked is just the one from Adafruit

Thanks for the link, it's much appreciated! I did check it but I got lost at 18 pins. I wouldn't even know where to begin adapting it I was hoping for a simple mod that only implies desoldering the original LCD and soldering another one in its place. Selectable color is indeed cool but if I would get one, I would set it to orange and ever touch it again.

I think you could find a version without the RGB backlighting, as in one that is orange and only orange.

That is exactly what I had in mind. I only managed to find a single source for a 20x4 negative orange LCD but I wasn't sure if it's compatible and now it's listed as sold out.

On the same note, I've seen LCDs that run on either 3V or 5V. Does anyone know what's the voltage on the Smart Controller's LCD Vdd pin? Any other things I should look for to know whether it's compatible?

[Nylocke]

The one you found there looks compatible enough, not entirely sure though

[RocketMagnet]

Yeah I found a different supplier, essentially it looks like the place that watercoolinguk source them from in the first place (Cable Modders.. they sell on ebay
and looking at the packaging on watercooling that's where they get their kits from).

I've built a couple of Arduino projects using LCD displays and the standard as far as I can tell is the LCDs have 16 pin connections.
There are numerous guides on how to connect and Arduino to a 16 Pin LCD and it's all pretty easy with some modest code skills.
You only need to use about 8 of the LCD pins however but still its a large number of cables and it takes up pins on your Arduino so there is
an advancement that reduces the number of pins you need to use on the Arduino (you Rambo board in this case) IC2 it's called
and it looks like this is how the Rambo connects to the controller/LCD. Presumably it's part of that little daughter board
that sits on top of the Rambo that your two ribbon cables connect to.

So I'd stick to the standard 16 Pin and not the one I've linked above. I can't see if the LCD unplugs from a connector or it's soldered onto the controller...
probably the latter...

To be totally sure I'd check the specs and see if the pin layout is identical.. should be but it's possible they aren't.

[geneb]

The LCD is soldered on to the PCB. You CAN change them out. Jasper(?) did that with his Yellow Jacket Rostock MAX. It now sports an LCD that's a very crisp yellow on a black background. Looks very bad ass.

g.

[JackFoz]

It's, it's.. Beautiful :')

[Eaglezsoar]

VF_ thanks for the great pictures! Nicely focused, a very good job!

[Jassper]

The LCD is soldered on to the PCB. You CAN change them out. Jasper(?) did that with his Yellow Jacket Rostock MAX. It now sports an LCD that's a very crisp yellow on a black background. Looks very bad ass.

g.

[img]http://www.themakerhive.com/FTP/jassper/LCD.jpg[/img]