1. Got a question or need help troubleshooting? Post to the troubleshooting forum or Search the forums!

Y Axis Bearing Alternative

Discussion in 'Mods and Upgrades' started by WheresWaldo, Nov 28, 2015.

  1. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2015
    Messages:
    5,905
    Likes Received:
    3,593
    @KTMDirtFace if you ovalize the bolt holes or expand them a bit you can get it to line up better. But if you don't have both bearing faces parallel it could also contribute to the vibration. The self-aligning bearings are supposed to be able to handle up to 5° skew and still work. If the holes the bearings push into are too tight it also might limit this 5° amount.
     
  2. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2013
    Messages:
    23,912
    Likes Received:
    7,338
    You can get them dirt cheap from China. However, your mileage may vary on how well they last and how smooth they run.
    I experimented with a few different batches from Amazon (and Banggood) and generally speaking, you get what you pay for,
     
  3. KTMDirtFace

    KTMDirtFace Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 18, 2015
    Messages:
    1,247
    Likes Received:
    461
    I will check all of that this weekend. I'm sure its something dumb it always is lol.

    I'm gonna re-check that my belt is not going crazy up and down or something weird as well.
     
  4. jediknight0

    jediknight0 Active Member

    Joined:
    May 22, 2015
    Messages:
    110
    Likes Received:
    25
    I don't know if it's your problem, but I had a weird click almost every time the bed changed direction. It seemed worse when the printer was warm but it was hard to tell. I thought it was on my Y-belt plastic tighteners since I discovered they were cracked (both of them!). Turns out it was the one of the two Y bearing holders (the ones in the center near the Y motor). One was loose.

    I'd try tightening those.
     
    Geof likes this.
  5. KTMDirtFace

    KTMDirtFace Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 18, 2015
    Messages:
    1,247
    Likes Received:
    461
    Yea it turned out to be multiple stupid issues.

    The Y Motor was super loose for one. lol.
    Also one of the bearing holders for the y belt had also come loose quite a bit.

    I buttoned it back up haven't tested it yet but i'm pretty sure that was the problem.

    EDIT: Still doing it.. weird. when the belt is off it slides freely. the belt does move around a little up and down, but never seems to catch and bind. Not sure what the problem is now. Other weird thing is it only does it as the Y axis is moving in one direction, it doesn't vibe going the other direction.

    EDIT 2: its definitly better it seems to mostly do it when the bed is sticking way to the back.
     
    #45 KTMDirtFace, May 22, 2016
    Last edited: May 22, 2016
  6. jediknight0

    jediknight0 Active Member

    Joined:
    May 22, 2015
    Messages:
    110
    Likes Received:
    25
    Is one of the bearings on the bearing holders going bad?
     
  7. KTMDirtFace

    KTMDirtFace Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 18, 2015
    Messages:
    1,247
    Likes Received:
    461
    No they are the brass bushing things waldo posted, not sure how they would go bad.

    Anyway it seems to only do it now at one extreme end of the Y axis. for normal prints the vibration seems to be ok now.

    I printed some new Y axis bearing blocks and will be installing the same deal on my other robo3d.. will see if it has the same issue or not, im guessing not something odd is going on that I just havn't been able to track down. but its working pretty well now exept at one extreme end of the Y axis.
     
  8. danzca6

    danzca6 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2015
    Messages:
    2,161
    Likes Received:
    1,077
    He might have been referring to the two bearings by the Y stepper motor the belt ride on and not the pillow block bearings. Not sure when I first read that.
     
    #48 danzca6, May 23, 2016
    Last edited: May 25, 2016
  9. KTMDirtFace

    KTMDirtFace Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 18, 2015
    Messages:
    1,247
    Likes Received:
    461
    Yea as far as I can tell those are ok too. But I can double check them next time its apart. Its currently printing a Y block now.. then after that a carriage for my other robo. I think those might be standard skateboard bearings like the stock extruder uses which I bought a bunch of for my "Flexystruder mod fail" so I should have some spares if that is the case.


    EDIT: Currently printing another one of these on my titan. in PrintinZ ( made in usa ) PLA/PHA.. came out pretty good

    [​IMG]
     
    #49 KTMDirtFace, May 23, 2016
    Last edited: May 23, 2016
    WheresWaldo likes this.
  10. danzca6

    danzca6 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2015
    Messages:
    2,161
    Likes Received:
    1,077
    And it makes sense when you say that the noise is not there when the belt is off. The bearings seem bigger than skate bearings, but you might be right. I have 100 of them for my MPCNC project. If they are the same, I should try a couple speed washers on them to see if that helps with sound and smoothness.
     
  11. danzca6

    danzca6 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2015
    Messages:
    2,161
    Likes Received:
    1,077
    Yes they are skateboard bearings. Just measured them. Makes sense since the guy who designed the MPCNC also worked for Robo.

    Now did you also take into account any height difference with the new blocks and bearings in reference to the smooth rods? I remember someone making a spacer for the belt bearings to raise them up a bit.
     
    #51 danzca6, May 24, 2016
    Last edited: May 25, 2016
  12. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2015
    Messages:
    5,905
    Likes Received:
    3,593
    I put spacers under the 608 bearings to line them up better with the belt. Even without the mod there is a bit of skewing in the belt path and a spacer or two (printed spacer is fine here) can align the belt/bearing better.
     
    #52 WheresWaldo, May 24, 2016
    Last edited: May 25, 2016
  13. jediknight0

    jediknight0 Active Member

    Joined:
    May 22, 2015
    Messages:
    110
    Likes Received:
    25
    Yup. That's exactly what I meant, even if I didn't say it well. ;-)
     
  14. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2015
    Messages:
    5,905
    Likes Received:
    3,593
    Sorry, I meant to be clearer, the belt sealed bearings, not the pillow blocks for the rail bearings.
     
  15. danzca6

    danzca6 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2015
    Messages:
    2,161
    Likes Received:
    1,077
    Darn you autocorrect/swipe! Haha. I hate it when I read a quoted post and see how much my phone screwed up what I was trying to say. I fixed the original. Glad you could make sense of it.
     
  16. KTMDirtFace

    KTMDirtFace Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 18, 2015
    Messages:
    1,247
    Likes Received:
    461
    Yea if you go back a page I think I have a picture of some 3d printed spacers I made. I just changed them out for actual washers I found at ACE in different thickness's. Still have the same weird vibe at one extreme, not sure why. But I never print anything that large so it doesn't seem to be an issue now. The vibe only happens at one extreme during auto level now. I think my main problem was my Y motor got loose and a bunch of other things worked theirselves loose. It is still probably something with the belt, most likley I just havn't got to the bottom of it.
     
  17. KTMDirtFace

    KTMDirtFace Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 18, 2015
    Messages:
    1,247
    Likes Received:
    461
    I wont even use my phone for web stuff, I can't stand how shitty phones are for typing. lol.
     
  18. danzca6

    danzca6 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2015
    Messages:
    2,161
    Likes Received:
    1,077
    Are your Y belt tensioners cracked? My originals cracked and made some noise before i replaced them.
     
  19. WheresWaldo

    WheresWaldo Volunteer ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͡°)
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2015
    Messages:
    5,905
    Likes Received:
    3,593
    @danzca6 This is a secondary reason I did this. Both halves of both pillow blocks cracked and caused problems, so instead of just printing new ones or getting Robo to replace them (they cracked while the printer was still under warranty), I just decided I should upgrade at the same time.
     
  20. danzca6

    danzca6 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2015
    Messages:
    2,161
    Likes Received:
    1,077
    @Mike Glass and some others have had lots of issues with the stock plastic parts cracking and breaking over time. That's why I did a quick print of several stock parts to have on hand just in case. Until I get a second printer, it would be tough to make a replacement part. So yeah, I agree that if you need to replace, might as well make it better in the process. Thanks again for this design.
     

Share This Page