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New Build

Discussion in 'General Phlatprinter 3 Chat' started by DLS, Jan 2, 2012.

  1. DLS

    DLS New Member

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    I'm starting my Phlatprinter 3 build tomorrow and I thought it might be a good idea to ask the forum in general if there are any modifications or changes from the stock build that you would have done from the beginning if you had the chance to start over from scratch. I figure it's probably better to look at making some changes/enhancements as I build rather than later.

    Thanks and Happy New Year!

    DLS
     
  2. nitro

    nitro Member

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    I just finished mine last month,you are really going to enjoy tHis build. They do a fantastic job on the build DVD and I had a great time. The only thing I look into would be how you mount your stepper motors.they do tend to work themselves loose.
    Enjoy,Larry
     
  3. foamlvr

    foamlvr Member

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    Drill and tap the steppers for 1/4-20.

    Sand all the little fuzzies off every part, Mark and Trish do a much better job than thier old supplier, but going this extra mile really makes a difference.
     
  4. rcav8r

    rcav8r Moderator Staff Member

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    Yep, this is a good tip.

    Also I painted mine before I assembled. Just be sure and not get any paint where the parts interlock. A tip I picked up here was to use tape to cover the tabs. I only had a problem fitting a few pieces because I wasn't as neat as I should have been on a few parts. Watch the video before had so you will know where not to put paint. I live in an environment that can sometime get rather humid. I just felt better about sealing the MDF.

    I also did away with the wiring blocks, and used cut off .1" headers in their place. A lot of folks had some weird issues that appeared to be caused by loose wires in the blocks. I'm not a fan of those types of connections on something that moves and shakes.

    . I had one of the first kits (#5 or 8, I forget) and it's been a while since I built mine, but other than that, that's about it that I can remember.
     
  5. DLS

    DLS New Member

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    Thanks guys that's exactly the kind of info I'm looking for. I've been reading about calibration and backlash adjustment tonight...I'm going to get some digital calipers before I calibrate.

    I'm not too sure how to judge the tightness of the belts...I guess you'd want them pretty tight but from reading here it seems that too tight can cause problems too.
     
  6. rcav8r

    rcav8r Moderator Staff Member

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    I know this sounds silly, but you'll know... AS it is toothed, it does not rely on friction so some slack is OK, and even desirable. Now I'm sure there is some formula from the vendor on how much slack per given belt,pulley, time of day ratio, but I made mine so there is some give, not just so much that the belt can slip off. This has served me well on this PP (PP ///) , my PP 1.5, and back when I used to run belt drives for larger electrics.
     
  7. DLS

    DLS New Member

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    I wound up trying this route for the stepper mounts:

    viewtopic.php?f=267&t=3359

    I'm on step 12 of 14. I hope to get it to the point of trying to calibrate tomorrow. So far so good. I'm happy with the quality of the kit.

    One thing I did notice though was that the pulleys on the drive rollers weren't completely true all the way around.In other words there is a little "wiggle" on the pulleys when you install the rollers in their slots and spin them, like they're not seated perfectly straight. They're not loose at all, it's just that they're on a very slight angle and not flush with the end of roller all the way around.There is no way to even see it until you put them in and spin them. It looks like there is some sort of adhesive holding them in so I don't want to try to reseat them. Is this normal? If so I wonder if this contributes to the x-axis issues some people have had. The bearings are perfectly centered and the roller itself is balanced and centered...It's just the pulleys. Could be that it's no problem but I guess I won't be able to tell until I get up and running.

    Anyone have any thoughts about it?
     
  8. DLS

    DLS New Member

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    I went ahead and finished my build with the rollers as is. If I have trouble with the x axis I'll know where to start...

    Anyway I finished up, calibrated with digital calipers and cut the support table. All went well so I guess I'm off to a pretty good start!

    Thanks for all the suggestions!
     
  9. rcav8r

    rcav8r Moderator Staff Member

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    When you check the X-Axis for Skew, try different materials and lengths. When i first set my PP/// up I didn't think I had the problem. I used a sheet of FFF, and set the travel for 32", and let it go back and forth a few times. It appeared to be dead on. Then I put a sheet of balsa in, and they thing darn near ended up 3 inches off to one side. I then did smaller travel for the FFF, and found it was skewed a little. Cutting circles (even large ones) ended up ovals. Squares were slanted rectangles that the ends didn't match. Pink foam ( slightly thicker) showed similar, but different results.
    The new rollers cured those issues. I would imagine you have the new ones, but checking different materials, and distances can't hurt.
     
  10. DLS

    DLS New Member

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    I'm not seeing any skew yet-knock on wood- despite looking for it like crazy. Circles and squares/rectangles are good. I have the newest rollers and I'm using the micro-step setup.I haven't had a chance to use anything but blue fanfold and tonight a little epp but I tried something just for fun that turned out interesting after measuring and adjusting for backlash.

    I cut some small shapes: a 1 in circle, a 2 in circle and a rectangle out of epp using a ff carrier sheet. What's interesting is that I used a 1/32 inch dremel bit and no tabs. Feed rate 35. The cuts were impressive. Really clean. Much cleaner than I could get on epp with the stock 1/8 bit. The tiny bit doesn't leave much room for the parts to move around either. Granted they're small shapes so we'll see how it works out for larger cuts, but I was pleasantly surprised by how they came out.

    I have a pic to post, but I don't know how to do it here.
     
  11. foamlvr

    foamlvr Member

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    Man that was fast. Very cool. How did you fasten the epp to the carrier? and what thickness epp?
     
  12. DLS

    DLS New Member

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    It was 6mm 1.3# epp tacked with a couple pieces of double sided tape. I didn't go crazy with that because I was only cutting from a small area.I made the rectangle like a picture frame to see what the inside corner cuts would look like. They look like you would expect: a lot less rounded than a bigger bit would.
     

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