Astrosyn Dampers on Orion?

[RocketMagnet]

Is it possible to fit the Astrosyn dampers on an Orion..... It looks very tight to me in there.

Anyway Asytrosn in the UK have stock in again so would like to know if anyone has ever fitted them to an Orion.
I've skimmed through the site but not found anyone specifically discussing fitting them to an Orion, presumably there are no space issues in a Max.

Very cheap upgrade and I would normally just buy and try at the price per unit but you have to order a batch of 10 (£33 inc VAT) from Astrosyn.

[Holy1]

Yes, I did the my Orion in June. They dampers went in fine. Don't forget to move the hobbled gear and you will need 6 shorter M3 bolts.

[RocketMagnet]

Thanks Holy1.. appreciate the tip RE: the 6xM3 shorter bolts.
I've ordered a pack of 10 from Astrosyn so at some point I'll have to order a Max to use up some of the others or sell some on at cost in the UK.

[RocketMagnet]

Dampers came today and although I planned on waiting until Xmas hols to fit them a quick look to scope out the job turned into doing one of them.
Took me about an hour without any instructions with a machine I didn't build.. but yeah it's a 20 min job per corner I think if you know what your doing.

Issue I had was realising that 2X on the Astrosyn damper bolt holes were threaded and 2X were not.. this had me scratching my head until I noticed this
then the comment about 2X shorter screws made sense.. use them to attach the damper to the Motor and 2X of the other screws to attach "normally" to the case.
So is this correct the other option would be 2X longer screws to go all the way through to the motor

Good thing is you can use Standard PC PSU/GFX card etc mounting bolts as the short bolts.

This bit took me 30 mins or so sort and be selective in which 2 corners were easiest access.. still ended up taping the screw to the driver to get it in as its blind working but not as hard as it looked.

I measured the thickness of the damper and used a depth gauge to set the hobbled gear (5.95mm offset) and the belt lined up fine. I also loosened off the bolts at the top of the towers to give me more belt to get it back on the motor. Not sure if I got the tension right as you need 3 hands... some form of wedge tool methinks for the next 2...

Main issue I do have is the one i've replaced (Front RHS facing the machine) it doesn't fit in the case and as I suspected contacts the back cold end panel....so that needs routing out a bit as it contacting the panel and is noisy as a result.

Really appreciate the 2X shorter screws tip.. that would have had me stumped I think.. cheers

[RegB]

I hate to "harsh anyone's buzz", but I put Astrosysns in my max a week or two ago and it is now LOUDER than it was with the foam gaskets, 1/8 inch grommets & longer motor screws - which had the advantage of barely needing a mm of hob gear out-shift.
It isn't worth my time and trouble to take them OUT again, I'm just saying if I build another machine it will be how I first built this one, not with Astrosysns.

BTW, standing the whole printer on a block of foam will probably be my next attempt to quieten it.

[bot]

Um, Reg, how did you install them? Do you have pictures? I have a hard time believing it could possibly be louder.

[RegB]

I'll try to make a picture of the parts I had used.
Quite simple, I used foam gaskets between the motor faces and the melamine, then 1/8 inch grommets and washers under the screw heads.
I'll try to dig out a link to the gaskets, I think they were $2 for 4.

The Astrosyn rubber layer is a lot harder than the foam or the grommets, which is why I think it transmits more sound/vibration, which the melamine picks up.

EDIT:
About like these, but in a foam rubber.
http://www.makergeeks.com/ne17stga4pa.html

[RocketMagnet]

Put mine on a stock Orion and it's a significantly quieter but not as dramatic as the videos I've seen on Youtube.
Mine are direct from Astrosyn and I've got the Kysan Stepper motors

Overall on the Orion it's fiddly due to the cramped working space but it's easily doable. I used the Depth tool on a pair of digital callipers to set the hobbled gear really easily and a bit of electrical tape to secure the screw to the screwdriver.. feed it into position then when the screw bites pull off the driver and peel off the tape then finish it off.

Two of the Axis were easy, especially the rear axis with no fitting or contact issues (So Left hand side front and Rear). The Front Right hand side required the Rambo Board out and in the end the Motor doesn't fit properly as it contacts the cold end base plate. I printed off a couple of washes to stand off the cold and plate a few mm to fix this issue however.

Overall it's a simple task but high on the Swear Factor due to working room, though I didn't have as much difficulty as is possible .. I seemed to get the screws in first go so maybe luck?. I would see this being much easier on a Max as an after build addition, well if you've built your own Max this is a doddle id say so pre or post build is pretty much irrelevant IMO. Much tougher on an Orion and only the post build option so would be a nice optional addon for Orions at purchace IMO. Also the back cold end plate modified to allow room to fit the front RHS damper would be nice so something for the Orion V2

Things I should have done is looked up fitting instructions prior.. it would have saved me some time realising that you only use two screws to attach the motor to the Orion frame.. makes perfect sense now as your isolating each side of the damper from each other.

So yes on stock Orions it's a very nice upgrade and worth the effort, the cost is tiny for the benefit.

[astroboy907]

I hate to "harsh anyone's buzz", but I put Astrosysns in my max a week or two ago and it is now LOUDER than it was with the foam gaskets, 1/8 inch grommets & longer motor screws - which had the advantage of barely needing a mm of hob gear out-shift.
It isn't worth my time and trouble to take them OUT again, I'm just saying if I build another machine it will be how I first built this one, not with Astrosysns.

BTW, standing the whole printer on a block of foam will probably be my next attempt to quieten it.

Been away from the forums for a while so I didn't see this until now. Sorry to hear they aren't working out for you! If you want to, you can PM and we can work out a return. Haha, I might need to look into foam gaskets
I've heard good things about putting the printer on sorbothane pads.

[jdurand]

On another thread I pointed out a version of the sorbothane dampers that are $2 each, so one under each foot or just replace the feet with them.

[RegB]

I hate to "harsh anyone's buzz", but I put Astrosysns in my max a week or two ago and it is now LOUDER than it was with the foam gaskets, 1/8 inch grommets & longer motor screws - which had the advantage of barely needing a mm of hob gear out-shift.
It isn't worth my time and trouble to take them OUT again, I'm just saying if I build another machine it will be how I first built this one, not with Astrosysns.

BTW, standing the whole printer on a block of foam will probably be my next attempt to quieten it.

Been away from the forums for a while so I didn't see this until now. Sorry to hear they aren't working out for you! If you want to, you can PM and we can work out a return. Haha, I might need to look into foam gaskets
I've heard good things about putting the printer on sorbothane pads.

No need to work out a return, although the offer is MUCH appreciated.
What I think I would like to do is to take out ONE stepping motor and play around with mounting it (at least 3) different ways;
a) Hard mounted as in the basic build.
b) With an astrosyn damper.
c) With foam gaskets and the rubber grommets, longer screws, washers, etc.
d) With an astrosyn and rubber grommets, longer screws, washers, etc.

Given the time for such experimentation I don't think I would want to do this IN the printer, so it is likely to be on a scrap of melamine.
In any case, not until after the new year.
I will need to develop a meaningful way of measuring the results too.

As I write this I am wondering how valid such an experiment would be, i.e. would any results predict results "as used" in the printer ?

Hmmm, maybe I could use the extruder motor, at least I can step that without any of the others having to move.

[Vic]

I am in the process of doing some upgrades on my Orion. It has been working great until a couple joints on the towers started to freeze up. So I decided to upgrade the arms and carriages and while I was at it add astrosyn dampers to keep the family happy. I have done some searching here in the forum and on Google. Most information is about the Rostock and not the Orion. So, before starting to tear everything down I noticed that the the stepper motor gears are at the edge of the motor axle. I know I have to slide the gear about 6 mm to accommodate the new position of the motor relative to the belt. Is the lack of any more axle going to be a problem? Is this going to be worth the effort? Thanks

[joe]

I am in the process of doing some upgrades on my Orion. It has been working great until a couple joints on the towers started to freeze up. So I decided to upgrade the arms and carriages and while I was at it add astrosyn dampers to keep the family happy. I have done some searching here in the forum and on Google. Most information is about the Rostock and not the Orion. So, before starting to tear everything down I noticed that the the stepper motor gears are at the edge of the motor axle. I know I have to slide the gear about 6 mm to accommodate the new position of the motor relative to the belt. Is the lack of any more axle going to be a problem? Is this going to be worth the effort? Thanks

Yes, the pulley will still fit on the shaft fine. I have an Orion and have done this mod awhile back. It certainly does make a difference and is most certainly worth the effort. You will need 6 shorter M3 bolts.

[Vic]

Got it. Thanks for the reply!