Stream of I3V 12" Build Consciousness

[ex-egll]

I held off trying to dis-assemble the delrin wheels..., so I take it the bearings can be removed w/o damaging the wheels?

No problem with removing and replacing the bearings.

[lakester]

Cool. Then the problem wheels are on my list of things to come back to. Thx.

So far things are assembled up to but not including the end-stops. Oh..., I did go ahead and bolt on the power supply and added some nylon spacers between the frame and supply, hopefully to give cooling a bit more of an edge. Also added washers to all the motor mount screws.

Most things went together requiring little or no adjustment afterwards (OK..., ignoring the wheels), and things seem "sound" enough for initial testing without immediately revisiting them.

I've decided that the build is going to move to my sorta working workshop. There, I'll have easy 360deg access to the machine w/o moving stuff around. Optimal wiring routing seems like it's gonna require a bit of creativity and stress-free access to everything will help.

Not sure if I'll be able to make any more progress this weekend, but early in the week things will proceed, including acquisition of the glass.

Also am faced with one of those trivial decisions I'm kinda bad at: which power switch to purchase/use. I'm almost tempted to make a Frankenstein-style scissor switch and bolt it on the side. OK..., just kidding. I think. Yes! OK! I'm kidding.

Have a great weekend!

[Hankus]

Cleaning up the wiring took most of my time and attention. I invested $14 in a Hobbyking JST-HS Crimping tool, and about 3 dozen female servo pins and shortened about 75% of all my wiring cables which helped a lot.

[ex-egll]

Cleaning up the wiring took most of my time and attention. I invested $14 in a Hobbyking JST-HS Crimping tool, and about 3 dozen female servo pins and shortened about 75% of all my wiring cables which helped a lot.

Likewise, the wiring cleanup seems the most "demanding" task of the whole build. Just waiting for the JST connectors and pins to arrive. Otherwise, like lakestar, the build went pretty good for me apart from a large percentage of the M3 nuts being sub-par.

[Hankus]

Likewise, the wiring cleanup seems the most "demanding" task of the whole build. Just waiting for the JST connectors and pins to arrive. Otherwise, like lakestar, the build went pretty good for me apart from a large percentage of the M3 nuts being sub-par.

I agree with the M3 nuts. Consistent quality out of China is a problem. I went to a local hardware store chain in my area and found M3 nuts that were FULL dimension and didn't spin in the wood "nut traps".

[lakester]

Things got kinda slowed down owing to what seemed to be discrepancies in the build guide(s). The information was more or less there, but in the wrong order. An email to Colin got the response that I was probably using the old build guide.

Sure enough, the new guide et al ordered the steps in a more sensible fashion for my particular H/W combo (RUMBA w/ Hex hot-end).

While reviewing the new docs...

Had cause to review things w/ my Z-motor install. Heh..., forgot to tighten the X-idler assy..., which led me to a better leveling of things. So +1 to the new docs for that one.

OTOH, all mention of wiring power for the RUMBA has gone missing, both in the main guide and in the RUMBA wiring guide. Sure..., the diagram was there..., but the words regarding which gauge of wire to use where are a nice reminder/checklist item. Sent word to Colin.

Lastly, and I'm not sure this was mentioned in any version of the docs that relate to the RUMBA..., I happened to be watching the old RAMPS install vid on youtube. THERE you will find mention of the heatsinks for the stepper drivers. NOW I know what that little packet of what looked like some kind of connector bodies are for. They're heatsinks! Not mentioned in any of the current docs it seems.

I don't know if they're genuinely necessary..., but they seem like a "not bad idea"..., so they will be installed tomorrow.

Since the last report..., at least made the following progress:

• End-stops installed.
• RUMBA firmware uploaded and verified to be talking to the LCD.
• Extruder assembled.

Hopefully will remember to swing by the glass shop tomorrow, and will get at least some of the power related wiring done.

That is all!

[TopJimmyCooks]

Not experienced with Rumba but on ramps those heat sinks are definitely needed with the stock stepper drivers. And, if you want to print for hours on end reliably you need some kind of fan blowing on them.

[lakester]

I think the drivers are the exact same part on the RAMPS and RUMBA, so I expect the requirement is the same.

Will be interesting to point the IR sensor at the drivers once things are up and running...

(Forgot to mention: Colin is updating the RUMBA wiring guide to include the power supply related instructions)

Not experienced with Rumba but on ramps those heat sinks are definitely needed with the stock stepper drivers. And, if you want to print for hours on end reliably you need some kind of fan blowing on them.

[Hankus]

I think the drivers are the exact same part on the RAMPS and RUMBA, so I expect the requirement is the same.

Will be interesting to point the IR sensor at the drivers once things are up and running...

(Forgot to mention: Colin is updating the RUMBA wiring guide to include the power supply related instructions)

Had the same issues with my RAMPS wiring guide and the exact same response from Colin. If at the beginning of the build guide you're specifically told you will need to purchase 3' of 12awg and 6' of 16awg speaker wire, and then never mention either item again in the build, leaves one hanging. Updating the wiring diagrams should at least help to a large degree.

[lakester]

I checked earlier today, and it looks like the 12" I3V build guide has been updated with the RUMBA and pwr supply info, and FWIW, the build order is now correct for the RUMBA/Hexagon combo.

Had the same issues with my RAMPS wiring guide and the exact same response from Colin. If at the beginning of the build guide you're specifically told you will need to purchase 3' of 12awg and 6' of 16awg speaker wire, and then never mention either item again in the build, leaves one hanging. Updating the wiring diagrams should at least help to a large degree.

More or less made expected progress today, Got the glass and the machine now runs on its own power (as opposed to running the RUMBA off of USB during firmware install). The HB thermistor says it's 19C..., and so it is. Apparently can't try heating the bed until the hot-end is installed as well, though the bed is fully wired.

I gotta say..., the wiring is very UNsatisfying. It looks like I'll be wiring it "the first time" to get things running, and then refining it over time. I had visions of just doing right the first time, but kept hitting little hiccups along the way..., so I decided to be more pragmatic.

One hiccup was especially frustrating. The X-motor stepper cable can't reach the controller. Not no way. Not no how.

Coincidentally, the kit was packaged with six servo cables (of color scheme differing from the stepper's), with female connectors at BOTH ends. So..., you're supposed to bleep'n splice a servo cable onto the stepper cable for the X-motor.

Umm..., sorry..., that just feels lame. It's a pity that producing pre-made wiring harnesses for I3Vs isn't a viable business, cuz it could sure benefit from it.

In theory, there's not much left to do, but I'm not sure when my next block of "quality time" will present itself.

We shall see.

That is all!