Upgrade time!

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noventix
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Upgrade time!

Post by noventix »

Hi all

I have been happily printing with my Rostock Max V2 for a few months now, and I love it! Sadly, in a moment of stupidity I thought I fried my Rambo. I tried to clean off some gunk from the hot-end without disabling the steppers and moved the arms a little too vigorously. Oops. Anyway, turns out it was a fuse. Phew! But I had already started disassembling before I realized this. Perfect time to upgrade!

I have a few things that I want to address now that I have been printing for a while. The first is power. I picked up a Maxwell 24 power supply from eBay for a good price. I also snagged a Crydom SSR and a DC 24-12 converter. Photos to follow once my bench gets cleaned up a bit. I print ABS most of the time and am looking forward to faster bed warming times.

In addition, I purchased the metal stepper mounts to take the noise down. It didn't bother me at first but after a while this seems like a good option. The included cooling fan is pretty loud, so I am planning to replace it with 2 Cool Master 80MM fans. They should be nearly silent and push more air. Fingers crossed.

I have been using the aluminum heat spreader from Trick Laser and I have enjoyed it. But I found this cool setup from GeckoTek. They have a magnetic base plate for the Max V2 that looks intriguing. The main plate is a lot thicker than the Trick Laser, but I figure the 24V PS will ensure there are no issues.

Finally, I pulled the trigger on the E3D-V6 and the Titan extruder. Exciting! I will post build photos along the way and am hoping my fellow printer will steer me away from problems. Can't wait for the rebuild to finish!
Rostock Max V2. E3D V6 Hotend. E3D Titan Extruder. TrickLaser Carbon Fiber 300mm Arms. TrickLaser MaxMetal Platform. TrickLaser Trick Trucks. TrickLaser Heat Spreader. TrickLaser LED Light Ring. MeanWell SP-500-24. Simplify3D.
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Eaglezsoar
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Re: Upgrade time!

Post by Eaglezsoar »

This sounds interesting and I will be patiently waiting for your follow up posts!
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bob64
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Re: Upgrade time!

Post by bob64 »

Oh boy. If you purchased a Meanwell power supply, (not sure if you typo'd maxwell or not) then you're in for a bit of a surprise. It's fucking loud. The fan is killer loud.
Rostock Max V2 with mods:
E3d v6 with 713maker mount & e3d titan extruder
Tricklaser CF arms, heat spreader, tricktrucks, fly-n-strude, metal carriage & effector
Duet v.8.5.0
24v MeanWell 750w PS & Cydom D1D40 SSR in parallel with stock 12v PS
noventix
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Re: Upgrade time!

Post by noventix »

bob64 wrote:Oh boy. If you purchased a Meanwell power supply, (not sure if you typo'd maxwell or not) then you're in for a bit of a surprise. It's fucking loud. The fan is killer loud.
Yes, I mispelled. Loud huh? Dang. :shock:
Rostock Max V2. E3D V6 Hotend. E3D Titan Extruder. TrickLaser Carbon Fiber 300mm Arms. TrickLaser MaxMetal Platform. TrickLaser Trick Trucks. TrickLaser Heat Spreader. TrickLaser LED Light Ring. MeanWell SP-500-24. Simplify3D.
noventix
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Re: Upgrade time!

Post by noventix »

I pulled apart the Meanwell power supply and found a Sunon 80mm fan inside. Review on Amazon says "great but loud". I found a Cooler Master fan that was a perfect fit. It is the Cooler Master Blade Master 80, and is rated at between 13 and 28 dBA. It also came with foam mounting pads which I hope help keep the noise down. Almost wired up and will report back on noise levels.
Rostock Max V2. E3D V6 Hotend. E3D Titan Extruder. TrickLaser Carbon Fiber 300mm Arms. TrickLaser MaxMetal Platform. TrickLaser Trick Trucks. TrickLaser Heat Spreader. TrickLaser LED Light Ring. MeanWell SP-500-24. Simplify3D.
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Eaglezsoar
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Re: Upgrade time!

Post by Eaglezsoar »

noventix wrote:I pulled apart the Meanwell power supply and found a Sunon 80mm fan inside. Review on Amazon says "great but loud". I found a Cooler Master fan that was a perfect fit. It is the Cooler Master Blade Master 80, and is rated at between 13 and 28 dBA. It also came with foam mounting pads which I hope help keep the noise down. Almost wired up and will report back on noise levels.
Please let us know what a difference in noise levels that new fan makes. This will benefit a lot of us that have those power supplies.
“ Do Not Regret Growing Older. It is a Privilege Denied to Many. ”
noishi
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Re: Upgrade time!

Post by noishi »

Are you planning to monitor your temperature with the cooler master fans?
noventix
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Re: Upgrade time!

Post by noventix »

If you mean the one I replaced in the power supply, the Meanwell already does that. The old fan was a simple 12V one, so I simply swapped it out. I was not planning on monitoring heat for the enclosure fans.
Rostock Max V2. E3D V6 Hotend. E3D Titan Extruder. TrickLaser Carbon Fiber 300mm Arms. TrickLaser MaxMetal Platform. TrickLaser Trick Trucks. TrickLaser Heat Spreader. TrickLaser LED Light Ring. MeanWell SP-500-24. Simplify3D.
noventix
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Re: Upgrade time!

Post by noventix »

Making progress. The new power supply is in, and is feeding 24V and 12V where I need it to. Not much is hooked up yet so a report on noise is yet to come. But everything fits and the upgrade is coming along. I figured it was time for some pictures of progress.

The new Meanwell PS, SSR and 12V Converter:
[img]http://i.imgur.com/xo24JzE.jpg[/img]

I decided to put wire braiding almost everywhere. Total overkill for something that is not normally visible, but felt like spaghetti before:
[img]http://i.imgur.com/8NRLTlb.jpg[/img]

And since I added new Cooler Master fans and a new PS outlet and switch, I needed a new mounting plate. Thought this design was cool:
[img]http://i.imgur.com/KtHXMLR.jpg[/img]

Overhead 12V LED lighting:
[img]http://i.imgur.com/bnfvuDI.jpg[/img]

You might have noticed on the previous image that there is no extruder mount up top. Going to try a fly-n-strude, with a Titan:
[img]http://i.imgur.com/FbckBMR.jpg[/img]

And of course, can't forget about the E3D V6!
[img]http://i.imgur.com/qLyPiYE.jpg[/img]

Yes, those were carbon fiber arms (from TrickLaser):
[img]http://i.imgur.com/MtQEf5K.jpg[/img]

And the TrickLaser Trick Trucks, which I am thoroughly impressed with. And for those with a keen eye, they are only loosely mounted as I need to make sure the width is right first. :)
[img]http://i.imgur.com/eZiXf9w.jpg[/img]
Rostock Max V2. E3D V6 Hotend. E3D Titan Extruder. TrickLaser Carbon Fiber 300mm Arms. TrickLaser MaxMetal Platform. TrickLaser Trick Trucks. TrickLaser Heat Spreader. TrickLaser LED Light Ring. MeanWell SP-500-24. Simplify3D.
noventix
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Re: Upgrade time!

Post by noventix »

Well GeckoTek... so far, I am not terribly impressed. Another post here has talked about how "raw" the machining of your product has been. I have to agree with this.

The top plates are clearly hand cut and a bit rough. Not that big a deal, but noteworthy. But, the base plate was not cleanly finished at all. I had to punch out two of the screw holes because they were not open all the way through. And lastly, the heating LED is totally hidden. Annoying.

Don't know yet how well it works - hoping to have the build complete next weekend and will report back. Concept is cool - but slow down and get a quality product out the door.
Rostock Max V2. E3D V6 Hotend. E3D Titan Extruder. TrickLaser Carbon Fiber 300mm Arms. TrickLaser MaxMetal Platform. TrickLaser Trick Trucks. TrickLaser Heat Spreader. TrickLaser LED Light Ring. MeanWell SP-500-24. Simplify3D.
noishi
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Re: Upgrade time!

Post by noishi »

neat mounting plate for the fan and switch, is that design online?
noventix
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Re: Upgrade time!

Post by noventix »

I just posted it on Thingiverse. Link here....

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1589401
Rostock Max V2. E3D V6 Hotend. E3D Titan Extruder. TrickLaser Carbon Fiber 300mm Arms. TrickLaser MaxMetal Platform. TrickLaser Trick Trucks. TrickLaser Heat Spreader. TrickLaser LED Light Ring. MeanWell SP-500-24. Simplify3D.
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Eaglezsoar
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Re: Upgrade time!

Post by Eaglezsoar »

noventix, thanks for all the detailed pictures. I appreciated them!
Where would be a good source for the led lights that you used, they are awesome!
“ Do Not Regret Growing Older. It is a Privilege Denied to Many. ”
noventix
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Re: Upgrade time!

Post by noventix »

Thanks! The lights are $9.99 on Amazon. Link below...

http://www.amazon.com/Brightest-Cabinet ... ge_o01_s00
Rostock Max V2. E3D V6 Hotend. E3D Titan Extruder. TrickLaser Carbon Fiber 300mm Arms. TrickLaser MaxMetal Platform. TrickLaser Trick Trucks. TrickLaser Heat Spreader. TrickLaser LED Light Ring. MeanWell SP-500-24. Simplify3D.
noventix
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Re: Upgrade time!

Post by noventix »

Well, after several months and a lot of trial and error, my upgraded machine is finally printing quality parts again. Phew! I am not an expert yet by any stretch, but love the building process. So while this took a long time, it was a fun journey.

That said, upgrades are hard work and require patience and some expertise. I have stated this before, but will caution those who are looking to try the coolest new additions. WAIT!

Any item you swap out is going to need troubleshooting. And the best tool here is experience. Candidly, I would not recommend anyone upgrade their printer until they have at least a few hundred hours of print time. You should be able to confidently troubleshoot a variety of issues before taking this on. I struggled with everything from basic calibration to layer shifting. It took me far longer to upgrade than it did to do the initial build.

I am very happy with my newly upgraded Rostock. But, if I were to go back in time - I would definitely wait on an upgrade. Get some hours under your belt first.

Happy printing!
Rostock Max V2. E3D V6 Hotend. E3D Titan Extruder. TrickLaser Carbon Fiber 300mm Arms. TrickLaser MaxMetal Platform. TrickLaser Trick Trucks. TrickLaser Heat Spreader. TrickLaser LED Light Ring. MeanWell SP-500-24. Simplify3D.
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Eaglezsoar
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Re: Upgrade time!

Post by Eaglezsoar »

Noventix, that is very wise advice!
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Mandrake Imaging
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Re: Upgrade time!

Post by Mandrake Imaging »

Wow you guys are hard core Im not confidant enough to tear down to my power supply yet but getting there. I have learned much in the time I have owned my Orion and have rebuilt my hot end multiple times due to resister failure and thermister issues. I even made some of my own modifications in multiple areas but recently I decided to upgrade my Orion. Yes its a ready to print machine so not a lot of upgrades available until now. I got the new HE280 hot end (fully assembled) and installed the new whip for the hot end.

The guides available through Seemecnc indicated that the new ball cup arms were optional but they are mandatory so I ordered that kit and the cheapskate upgrade kit as well. There is a warning that some orions were built with a power supply that may not provide enough power so I threw caution to the wind and decided to do it anyway. I then upgraded the firmware and am happy to report all works perfectly!
djarmag
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Re: Upgrade time!

Post by djarmag »

I've owned the v3 since Jan and this is my first experience with 3D printing and slicing, 3 months later I upgraded to Bondtech QR, E3D v6, CF arms, FSR and custom mount with heat spreader, and Berd Air v2. Spent 10+ hours a day troubleshooting and learning. If anyone rushed to upgrade I definitely qualify for being a glutton for punishment. But it is what got me to learn so much so fast and I wouldn't have it either way. Couldn't have done any of this without the help of this great community on these forums.
Xenocrates
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Re: Upgrade time!

Post by Xenocrates »

djarmag wrote:I've owned the v3 since Jan and this is my first experience with 3D printing and slicing, 3 months later I upgraded to Bondtech QR, E3D v6, CF arms, FSR and custom mount with heat spreader, and Berd Air v2. Spent 10+ hours a day troubleshooting and learning. If anyone rushed to upgrade I definitely qualify for being a glutton for punishment. But it is what got me to learn so much so fast and I wouldn't have it either way. Couldn't have done any of this without the help of this great community on these forums.
I'm going to totally agree with this. I owned my printer a short period of time before I was tearing it apart, changing parts, and trying to get the resulting pile working consistently. However, I'm getting pretty OK results from a .25 nozzle at this point, what with printing a probably 200mm long part at .1 layer heights, with the only issue that stopped the last one being the E3D sock coming apart at 250C (It is odd, but it seems the first 3 I ordered were all more temp sensitive than the later ones, as they all eroded severely above 230C, which means that the .15 nozzle needs to wait while I get it all figured out.)

If you want a reduced frustration experience, or to get good, working parts out of the printer for the first ~2-4 months reliably, Don't do what we do. Even if you think you're an expert, it's a pain in the ass, and I say this as someone who enjoys tracing faults in PLC's and Robotics workcells. In most cases, the no one understands quite everything you're doing, including you.
Machines:
Rostock Max V2, Duet .8.5, PT100 enabled E3D V6 and volcano, Raymond style enclosure
Automation Technology 60W laser cutter/engraver
1m X-carve router

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