Poll: Print quality with Astrosyn dampers

[EL Cuajinais]

I have my first ever printer on the way (Rostock Max V2) and the only upgrade I ordered was the Astrosyn dampers. But now I'm hearing that they can reduce the print quality, which is of utmost importance to me. So I created this poll to see how many of you have experienced loss of quality. This will help me decide whether or not to install them in my build. Thanks.

[Nylocke]

Most likely you ordered the new dampers Astroboy is selling. These ones are much stiffer than the old ones, they use a harder rubber. I used some similar to the old style and had issues, but I haven't done anything with the newer style. You should probably specify which version so only people with that version respond.

[jdurand]

I got the newer ones and they seem plenty solid to me.

[EL Cuajinais]

I did not know there were two versions. I ordered mine from matterhackers.com along with the printer. Is there any way to tell if they are the good ones? As for the poll please tell me what should the poll say. Or create a new poll yourself and I will delte this one if that is possible.

[add1ct3dd]

They 100% reduce quality.

Whether people will admit that or not, is up to them.

I've noticed slight wavyness on flat faces, and I accept that because I like it being quieter.

You can see it on the face here:

[img]http://i.imgur.com/CLZjCa1m.jpg[/img]

I did not suffer these lines without the dampers in. Am I that bothered to take them out though? Nope.

Mine were ordered direct from Manufacturer in December, as we had enough of us to buy the MOQ. .

[Jimustanguitar]

So I've got a set on the machine that I'm thinking about taking off because it bugs me how I can grab the motor and wiggle it... I'll have to print existing GCode for a few items as a test.

Has anyone already done this and noticed a difference?

[KAS]

I had mine on from the start, during some re-wiring I decided to take them off for a comparison. I will run without dampers from now on.

My corners are sharper and the vertical banding issues is less noticeable now. The proper way to attach the dampers only allows two mounting screws per stepper, that creates a lot of stress on the wood frame when torquing the screws down. The rubber allows for the stepper to move with very little force, the inertia from stop/go movements or jerk setting cause the damper to move in predictable ways that slack/flex the belt.
It is quieter although I would say it's more of a tone difference for me. Without the dampers, It has a higher pitch sound.

I purchased the dampers through a member on this forum. I wasn't aware of the difference, although I noticed mine are more round with mounting tabs vs oval with drilled holes for mounting I've seen online.

[jevs]

Removing mine as I type this response. I found they let the motors cock to one side under belt tension. I notice this while looking for the cause of my shifted layers. So far I have found no other mechanical issue. This has to cause more wear on the belts. Also if your motor can move and twist, how can this do anything but reduce print quality? Yeah it is quieter, but it seems to add mechanical deficiencies.

I first noticed it when I moved the cheap skate car up and down and the belt would go from one side to the other on the pulley.

I do notice the very minor ripple on my prints like the person above mentions, but I thought that was just the nature of the delta and the limits of the mechanical/electrical components used. Now I am curious if the print quality will go up.

I wonder how much the rapid direction changes let the motor twist with these? Either way, they make my pulleys crooked with the belts on so I have to remove them.

I should add that I bought the printer used and did not initially build it. I am not sure where he got the dampers, but it is the two holes per plate type. They appear to be in perfect condition. I would not recommend them myself. Any movement of the motor can only make prints worse. I would rather have the noise than mechanical misalignments.

[ytumer]

I might have to remove mine too...let me know how your print quality goes jevs.

[jevs]

I did not really notice a big difference in print quality, but I really didn't analyze it much. You still get that pattern on the side of the prints that i don't think you will ever get rid of with the Rambo and the steppers being used.
I actually got a new Artemis, so I have not been messing with the RMV3 much. Once you see how much smoother the Artemis is with the Duet, its gonna be hard to use the RMV3 anymore
I am just trying to get the Artemis squared away.
With that said, it is obviously better mechanical alignment without the dampers, but it is louder. Someone would have to do a better examination of before and after print quality tests to better answer your question. I just didn't do it. I would rather have better mechanical alignment and live with the noise knowing that it is a better alignment. The print quality did not get worse for sure. It may have got a tiny bit better or stayed about the same. It was not a big enough difference for me to say wow or anything.

[geneb]

FYI, the sound is 95% the stepper drivers on the RAMBo.

I've got a v1 with a Duet 0.8.5 that has the same driver as the RAMBo and a v1 with a DuetWifi on it with the Trinamic drivers. The sound difference is astonishing. If you've ever heard a v1 running, you know it can be kind of loud because of how the base tends to amplify the stepper noise. With the DuetWifi driving it, it's damn near as silent as the Artemis is. (and the Artemis can sneak up on a cat...)

g.

[ytumer]

Thanks for the insight guys. I put my dampers in when I was initially building my RMv2 as I had seen them recommended. I decided it would be easier to do it from the beginning rather than after the fact. If the difference in quality isn't that great I won't go to the trouble of removing them as I am happy enough with the quality of my prints.

[geneb]

At the end if the day, if YOU'RE happy with how your printer works, it doesn't matter at all what those of us in the cheap seats are hooting about.

g.