Oiling z axis?

[Bassna]

Same grease I posted works great. Just smear a thin coat on the rods and move the carriage and print head back and forth a little.

Sorry I meant to say if there was anything else I could use to just clean those rod's up, look's like they might have built up a bit of material on the ends. Have not got to pick up grease yet, but hopefully sometime today I can find some nearby.

[AmericanSamuel]

Hi! I'm new to 3D printing, and just set up my FlashForge even though I bought it in August. I set it up finally, and it's printing beautifully, but it sounds SO PAINFUL.
I'm wondering if I'm having the same issue? It seems like the sound is coming from the motor on the inside of the system, so any suggestions would be super helpful!

Even when it's idling it sounds MISERABLE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufsIUsjQDV0

And here's when it prints:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z8MJk7ZH10

I've emailed the company, but based on how wacky their instruction manual is, I feel like I'll get better help for y'all. THANK YOU!!!

Maybe 5-10 minutes this is bearable, but I can't imagine a huge project and hearing this for HOURS on end.

[Bobbler]

That sounds like the fan under the printer cooling the board - sounds like it is rubbing the cables or similar to me - I would get that looked at as soon as, you don't want a shredded power cable coming into contact with anything!

Not sure how the creator pro comes apart - but I expect there is access via the bottom if you flip it over and take a look.
Inside will be a board, power supply and a bunch of cables:

Look at this not sure if yours is the same:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DTXoZlb5_0

The little fan towards the bottom of the picture - check for wires coming into contact with it, the only other fan underneath on the Creator Dual is in the PSU. Could be that bundle of wires has come out of its cable tie

[AmericanSamuel]

Thanks for that advice. That makes some sense also, since the sound changed after VERY carefully moving the printer. It was on a not-sturdy table before, and my plastic wasn't sticking to the plate as the printer was wobbling itself around. Moved it to a more stationary table, on a carpet, and it printed like a charm, but the sound was just TERRIBLE. Thanks for the advice. I bought some of that grease mentioned above anyway for maintenance--I do plan to use it a lot now that I finally got it running.

But yeah, I don't need my wires cut up by my fan, lol.

I wondered if this had something to do with having assembled the printer 3 months ago, but never actually using it until now. And before that, it sat in the box for almost 3 months. I figured this was negligence on my part--just not performing any maintenance--but I'll open up the bottom and see what I can find. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!

[Bobbler]

Yeah could just be a bolt has come loose that holds a cable clip or similar which has caused the cables to move into the path of the fan - they tend to work lose after some time I am finding - I will be doing some locktite on the threads as I tighten them next time - got to be worth a go.

[AmericanSamuel]

wow! you were right. There was a broken piece of plastic (from the fan) inside the printer. So, the sound was probably the fan rubbing against that, because there doesn't seem to be any wear on the wires.

Does anyone know how I would go about replacing this part? I've never purchased electronic parts before, I'm sure I could find something comparable for fairly cheap, otherwise I may just superglue this back together if no one thinks that's a bad idea.

pix:
http://i.imgur.com/6mopcUi.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/qKM5WiB.jpg

[Bobbler]

Its a 24 Volt, 40x10 mm fan - not sure of places USA people shop for electronics (I am in the UK myself), but something like this on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Vktech-40x10mm...rds=40+24v+fan
http://www.amazon.com/TOOGOO-10mm-Bl...ref=pd_cp_pc_2


Before attempting glue, double check all the fan blades haven't lost anything of their edges or damaged in anyway - a tiny bit of missing plastic off a blade will make the fan more noisy than it needs to be and can make it "unbalanced" when it spins - meaning it may rub against the outside edge, and the stock fans are not exactly quiet to begin with even unbroken

Unplug from the mains, trace back the red and black wire to their source - I can't remember off hand if it plugs into the mainboard or straight to the PSU on mine, its one or the other.
Check the connection, if its soldered and you haven't done electronics soldering work before then I would go with snipping the original wire closer to the fan end and attaching the new fan to those wires using crimps or a screw terminal. You "could" use tape and twisting the wires together, but it would always be the last option in my experience it is never the most reliable connection method.
If it goes back to the powersupply unit then they are simple screw down terminals which should be a piece of cake to do with just a screwdriver.

[AmericanSamuel]

Thanks for the tips!
I'm fairly capable of this kinda technical work, I've just never taken that first confident step to buy parts myself, and the 12v/24v differences are probably something I'd have absentmindedly overlooked! So thank you, thank you for the assistance!
I am certainly glad to know it was only the fan! It's probably time for me to learn a little bit more about electricity :P I have a bunch of minor household electrical mods I've wanted to mess with, but never even know where to buy parts.
Best to you, I can't express my appreciation enough!

Its a 24 Volt, 40x10 mm fan - not sure of places USA people shop for electronics (I am in the UK myself), but something like this on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Vktech-40x10mm...rds=40+24v+fan
http://www.amazon.com/TOOGOO-10mm-Bl...ref=pd_cp_pc_2


Before attempting glue, double check all the fan blades haven't lost anything of their edges or damaged in anyway - a tiny bit of missing plastic off a blade will make the fan more noisy than it needs to be and can make it "unbalanced" when it spins - meaning it may rub against the outside edge, and the stock fans are not exactly quiet to begin with even unbroken

Unplug from the mains, trace back the red and black wire to their source - I can't remember off hand if it plugs into the mainboard or straight to the PSU on mine, its one or the other.
Check the connection, if its soldered and you haven't done electronics soldering work before then I would go with snipping the original wire closer to the fan end and attaching the new fan to those wires using crimps or a screw terminal. You "could" use tape and twisting the wires together, but it would always be the last option in my experience it is never the most reliable connection method.
If it goes back to the powersupply unit then they are simple screw down terminals which should be a piece of cake to do with just a screwdriver.

[RolBer]

I recommend changing the board fan with a less noisy one. 40mm 24v silent fan will do the trick. Easy fix.