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[clough42]

Clough42 - I noticed you had designed and used fan shrouds and fans for the x axis motor and extruder motor. I just got my i3V printer and have only printed 3mm pla via J Head, however none of the motors get hot. I do have some other experience with stepper motors that have gotten hot in operation but these seem fine. What types of print/materials lead to the extra cooling being needed?

It depends on your electronics and the current settings of your drivers. There's more information in this thread:

http://3dprintboard.com/showthread.p...Specifications

If that doesn't answer your questions, feel free to ask there.

[RaySuave]

Clough42 - I noticed you had designed and used fan shrouds and fans for the x axis motor and extruder motor. I just got my i3V printer and have only printed 3mm pla via J Head, however none of the motors get hot. I do have some other experience with stepper motors that have gotten hot in operation but these seem fine. What types of print/materials lead to the extra cooling being needed?

I have the 10" i3v kit. All of my motors get hot when printing PLA or ABS. All of the motors are also at the recommended voltage. I turned the voltage down on the extruder motor from 0.39 volts to about 0.32 and it still gets hot, hot enough to soften and warp the extruder block after about an hour. I now have fans on all the motors except the Z-axis ones. The fans helped a lot, I can actually touch the motors now without pain in my fingers throughout full prints. With all settings relatively the same, seems like some people have hot motors and some dont.....not sure why.

[clough42]

I initially had problems with the M5 screws that mount the wheels contacting the extruder gear and the underside of the heat bed. For the heat bed, I added an extra M5 washer to each of the four wheels. For the wheels with spacers, the washer goes between the spacer and the bed. For the wheels with eccentrics, the washer goes between the eccentric and the wheel, since it has to cam into the bed. The extra washer reduces the amount of screw that sticks out of the nut. I also placed one extra M3 washer under the spacer in the back-right corner. The springs on the other corners take up the slack, or you can use an extra washer on each corner if you're using auto-leveling.

The top screws on the X carriage also were hitting the extruder gear. An extra M5 washer on each wheel solved this problem, as well.

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[clough42]

Many people find it useful to add insulation between the Y carriage platform and the heat bed. This allows the bed to heat up a little faster and retain heat better. It also reduces the thermal gradient in the wooden bed and reduces the warping. Without the insulation, the bed starts to warp as the top surface heats up, tightening the wheels on the extrusions. Then, as the heat soaks through the bed, it relaxes, loosening the fit of the wheels against the extrusions. With insulation, the heat flow rate is lower, and the gradient (hence the warping) is reduced.

I looked around for thin ceramic wool fabric, but ended up just cutting a piece of corrugated cardboard, and it's been working fine. The sheet has small holes in it to clear the various screw heads.

You may wish to keep an eye on it or use a more heat-resistant material, depending on how hot you run your bed.

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[clough42]

When printing, my X belt would often vibrate like a guitar string, slapping the extrusion and making an annoying noise. Changing the belt tension didn't really solve the problem. It just changed the resonant frequency so it slapped at a different speed.

I solved the problem by sticking four small pieces of soft adhesive Velcro to the inside of the extrusions. It barely touches the belt in operation, so it doesn't really add any drag, but it completely absorbs any vibration, preventing the belt slapping noise.

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[gmay3]

I have been using adhesive backed LED strips to light up my print bed on my Makerfarm Prusa i3v 8" printer but the adhesive failed and the strips fell into my print.
I wanted to design a clip on, light weight tray to glue the LED strips down firmly, without having to glue them directly to my carriage frame.
Behold, the finished product!

Installation is easy, all you do is loosen one screw on your x carriage, press the screw slot of the tray mount on to the screw shaft and tighten the screw. Repeat on the other side and your done!

image__8__preview_featured.jpg

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:438960

[MiniMadRyan]

Not really a mod, but finally got the i3v 10" calibrated last night. Here's a little shot of the new printer along side it's little brother. Mods include my z-endstop mod, and flanged idlers.

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[dacb]

Not really a mod, but finally got the i3v 10" calibrated last night. Here's a little shot of the new printer along side it's little brother. Mods include my z-endstop mod, and flanged idlers.

10614234_10152684855047177_4507753370026618526_n.jpg

Nice! Love the two side by side. I hadn't thought about putting an idler on both axes. Did you notice the belt running on both?

[MiniMadRyan]

Just wanted to throw this out, that anyone looking for the Z end stop mount on Thingiverse, it has been removed. I have removed my files from Thingiverse and switched to YouMagine.com. You can download my new z bracket and new cooling fan from here: https://www.youmagine.com/users/minimadryan


Cheers

Ryan

[AbuMaia]

Also not really a mod, but perhaps a helpful idea for others. I got a pack of "Super Sticky" Post-its, and have mounted a pad to my power supply for an easily-accessible source of paper for whatever need, including Z-axis calibration.

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