MakerFarm 10" i3v build

[printbus]

Again, this is great information. I actually copied your approach for the LED strips under the X-carriage, but haven't wired them up yet. I'm thinking of putting them on D9 (IIRC) of the RAMPS board so they only run during the print process.

There's nothing wrong with wiring them to D9, but you'll have to remember to tell your slicer to enable cooling so that D9 gets turned on for the print. Personally, I'd save D9 for the option of adding a print cooling fan. You may find you want those LEDs on more than you think - when checking bed clearance, when manually extruding after a color change, when wiping off the hot end nozzle, etc. If you followed my LED scheme, note that clough42's revised hex hot end shroud system uses a different baseplate on the X-carriage that has a 25mm fan right where you probably have those undercarriage LEDs.

[printbus]

I don't recall which thread mentioned it, but 1stage has tweaked the extruder base a bit to provide more adjustment room in the NEMA17 holes - http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:409162. Even this was still tight on my extruder rebuild, and I used a needle file to lengthen the slots a bit more. I then also use longer bolts on the motor so the heads are on the rear side of the plate, ensuring I can use as much of the increased slot length as I can (otherwise the recessed bolt head will still be limiting this). I also believe the original Wades design had gears with straight teeth. I've wondered whether the tightness issue is with whoever adapted to the herribone gear design.

EDIT: Here's the post where 1stage mentioned the revised base - http://3dprintboard.com/showthread.p...ll=1#post15505

[dacb]

I note that the adjustable Z-end stop has moved from Thingiverse to Youmagine. Here is the new link: https://www.youmagine.com/designs/ma...top-bracket--2

[mikamiko]

"It is very easy to build" like it

[cliffgi]

Hello. Did you have any problems with the extruder gears being to close together? Started my i3V 10" a couple days ago and today put the extruder together. Very difficult to get motor bolted on because slots in extruder bracket did not line io well with the motor mount holes. Basically had to force gears hard against one another to get the top screw in place. Result is that gears do rotate freely, and are difficult/jerky to rotate by hand. There is no was to back the motor off and ease the presure between them,Tried filling gears with some success, but still not smooth. Colin says it is normal and they will break in but I'm concerned.

[dacb]

Lights. Much like OME and printbus...

WP_20140905_039.jpg

[printbus]

Ray has his firmware straightened out, but for future readers let me elaborate the firmware confusion. The Downloads page in the build guides has a statement that reads: "...if you choose to change the firmware you can watch the RAMPS Firmware Video - i3V Firmware Download". At least in my case, the confusion started in my thinking that is one link, but it is actually two separate links.

If you watch the RAMPS Firmware Video, ten seconds in the video tells you to go to the MakerFarm Build Instructions area, scroll to the RAMPS board and click on the RAMPS download link there to obtain software. That will provide you a ZIP file that has the Arduino IDE, Mega2560 files, and firmware source for multiple MakerFarm printers. At about 1:20 in the video, Colin says to pick the RAMPS folder that is the closest for your printer. If you have an i3v, this latter part is wrong. You're actually supposed to get the firmware source code from the i3V Firmware Download link in the build guide. Unfortunately, as of today the build guide for the 10-inch i3v appears to point to the same ZIP file as for the 8-inch.

So, the Arduino IDE and Mega2560 files come from the MakerFarm Build Instructions - RAMPS area. Source for the 8-inch i3v comes from the firmware download link in the build guide for the 8-inch printer. Firmware source for the 10-inch printer either comes from the link Ray provided or by using the source for the 8-inch except modified for the three #define statements mentioned earlier.

[dacb]

Congratulations on your new printer!

Yes, I had a lot of frustration with the printed parts of the extruder. I remember having to grind down the inside of the hinged idler to be able to seat the bearing without damaging it. The filament hole in the extruder body did not align with the hob in the bolt so we filed down one of the washers that go on the outside of the bearings. Lots of other bits of shaving and filing. There was a ton of cleanup to do on the pieces and some of the screw holes and nut traps had sagged and had to be drilled, shaved or otherwise reamed.

When assembled, the gears were ragged on their surface and very tight even with the stepper at the farthest spot on the extruder. The gears didn't rotate smoothly and the steps of the stepper motor were amplified by the tightness. I was concerned enough to put the stepper on a stepper motor tester to play with it. It ran smoothly so I installed it and it worked perfectly. Now the gears are worn down and mesh better. Unfortunately, the printer has a fine dust of ground plastic all over it from the extruder gears as they "burned in."

[cliffgi]

Thanks for the quick response. Nice to know it is not just me. No sense having slots in the extruder bracket if the only way to mount the motor is HARD against the outside limit. It is obvious that the either the top slot is misplaced or the quality of the gears provided in the MakerFarm kit is very low. Kind of ironic that they are gears made by 3d for 3d. Hope this is not a sign. Not willing to deal with feed issues until gears wear in... pulling apart to file and clean the gears. Job one after my first good test print will be to make and replace all kit parts. Not happy. MTF

[dacb]

I was disappointed also, but when my prints started coming out of the machine, that all melted away. My own prints of the extruder parts are beautiful (if I do say so myself). So, I was thinking for a while, why weren't the ones in my kit this nice? Then I realized that I spent 6 hours printing all my pieces for one extruder. That isn't going to work for MakerFarm which has to turn out a bunch of these a week. In a way, t doesn't make sense for MakerFarm to go crazy with making perfect pieces as the ones I received with my kit that I was so frustrated with worked great after I cleaned them up.