Rough start with a Makerbot Replicator 5th Generation

[smorloc]

I am working with a school who purchased a MBR5G. Previously the school was using an old Ultimaker (which continues to be a reliable workhorse). After reading many of the topics in this forum, I wish more research was done before the purchase. Alas we are where we are...

When we unboxed and setup the MBR everything looked fine. Neither the box nor the MBR showed signs of trauma. There were a couple of small parts kicking around the box that gave us concern. One was a retaining clip and other was a conical spring. Given the way the box was taped, there also the possibility that additional small small parts (if any) could have fallen out of the box. The following photos shows the part next to a piece of filament for size comparison.Does anyone know what they are?:



When we tried to print one of the samples, the printer made awful noises when moving the Z axis. After researching the problem online, it sounded like it is not uncommon for the guide rails for the stage to become disconnect during shipping. That was the case for our printer. The following printer shows that the left rail is disconnected/not secured to the frame.



Even after snapping the rail into place the printer still made awful noise. In particular, when the stage is it it's lowest point point. The stage also has gotten stuck at the lowest point when performing a homing operation. Any suggestions on what to look at next would be appreciated.

I have another question related to the last photo. The motorized screwed is not connected to anything at the top. Both the end of the screw and the frame (as seen in the center of the image) have features that suggest they might be connected. The screw has a tapered end and the frame has a half circle protrusion. Is there something that is supposed to be connecting the screw to the frame?

Thanks for any assistance.

Steve

[RAMTechRob]

When a company doesn;t take the time to assemble the full product, I send it back.