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Suggested Maintenance and accessories (not mods)

Discussion in 'Mods and Upgrades' started by Rigmarol, Jul 18, 2016.

  1. Rigmarol

    Rigmarol Well-Known Member

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    My Robo 3d R1 Plus is only a couple of months old now but getting lots of use. I'm interested in what kind of maintenance I should be doing regularly or periodically to help keep it mechanically sound.

    Also, what are some good useful accessories. Such as tips with different size orifices or suggested build bed prep products. I'm using hairspray with good results so far but I'm open to other options.

    A tube of lube came with my machine but I have idea how often or even which parts should get lubed.

    I'm getting quite an accumulation of filament "crumbs" under the build bed and on my desk and on the floor. I've practically dedicated an old dust buster to the tool collection by the printer but am interested in what others are using to clean up with. Oh, the wife left a "Swifter" near to hand and I've used it a few times with good results, sweeps "crumbs" off onto the floor quite nicely. LOL,

    I'm planning to upgrade my hot end after my warranty expires but would love to know which upgrade is most populare; the E3DV6 seems well represented but I am reading now about the Volcano. I'm open for suggestions on these and others as well.

    Basically, I want my printer to last and print well and I'm open to suggestion on how to keep it doing that.

    Thanks.
     
  2. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    Hello.

    I use 3 in 1 oil on everything at minimun once a week (threads and smooth rods)

    Most use white lithium grease or super lube on the threaded rod.

    I suggest whenever your doing repairs to tweaks to clean a little.

    I still use aqua net hairspray and have great results...glue stick for nylon.

    Ive ran an e3d and a promethius v2 hotend and had great results with both. The promethius is working very well for me but i havnt ran a ton of hours on it. The volcano is an e3d but meant for larger nozzles and faster printing at a loss of fine details :)
     
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  3. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Ditto.
     
  4. Rigmarol

    Rigmarol Well-Known Member

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    Thanks guys, I'm surprised with the short list of maintenance tips. I was expecting some laborious procedures that would require a weekend of down time and much aggravation... just kidding. I'm getting a lot of enjoyment with my printer and just want to keep it working. Thanks.
     
  5. Chuck Erwin

    Chuck Erwin Active Member

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    I've ran mine for almost a year with surprisingly little maintenance except when I did my lead screw upgrade.
    I bought :
    Mercurry GT2 Timing Belt Tensioner Torsion Spring For 3D Printer RepRa 6mm Width Belt Pack of 10

    This helps keep the belts tight.
     
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  6. Rigmarol

    Rigmarol Well-Known Member

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    How often to I need to replace belts? What are the signs of a worn out belt?
     
  7. Geof

    Geof Volunteer Moderator
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    I replaced mine around a year or so.they didnt really need it but i had belts so i did it :)
     
  8. Rigmarol

    Rigmarol Well-Known Member

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    Now that's a Tinkerer for you; doesn't need changing but since you had the part you changed it. I love it. Thanks.
     
  9. danzca6

    danzca6 Well-Known Member

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    yeah I just use some 3 in 1 machine oil on the threaded rods and run the z up and down to work it into the threads. I don't use the tube of lube they sent. Also wipe on the smooth rods with a rag to keep things clean and lubed. You may want to add to your list check and make sure all fasteners are tight. I used some blue Loctite to keep vibrations from loosening the fasteners. If you're using hairspray, make sure to clean off the glass occasionally to keep from having too much buildup. When you spray use a sheet of paper to keep overspray off of the moving parts. Wiping the rods and such down with the oil hopefully will keep any overspray buildup from gumming things up.

    If you want more nozzle sizes, then you could get the e3d fun pack that comes with several sizes and the e3d tips work on the hex as well. If you're not having any issues with the hex with quality and such, then IF it ever goes out on you it's only $40 from robo for a new one. Otherwise it's about $80 for a V6. And then you have to change your fan setups and such.
     
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  10. Rigmarol

    Rigmarol Well-Known Member

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    danzca6, thanks. I'm planning to upgrade to the V6 or similar after my 6 month warranty is over. If I get new nozzles they would either need to be compatible or I'd wait until after upgrading. Nice to know they should be compatible.
     
  11. danzca6

    danzca6 Well-Known Member

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    When that time comes and you don't already have an LCD controller, I would suggest getting a bundle deal from Printed Solid. Saves you a bit of money between the two.

    https://printedsolid.com/collections/bundles/products/robo3d-upgrade-bundle?variant=23979754758
     
  12. Rigmarol

    Rigmarol Well-Known Member

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    I'm currently using MatterControl's T10 tablet so I've not looked at the LCD screen upgrade until recently. I'll more than likely go with it though and doing it with a bundled buy makes a lot of sense. Thanks.
     
  13. jim3Dbot

    jim3Dbot Active Member

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    Mr. Rig........every month or so.....lay the printer carefully on its side.........remove the bottom..........using air pressure, blow off them fans......make 'em spin fast...........then direct the air stream onto the ramps & into the power supply......careful on placing the short fan cable to the correct place.......it may pop off when you remove the bottom.......it has Polarity.........note first position before you unplug..............
     
  14. Rigmarol

    Rigmarol Well-Known Member

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    Thanks, I appreciate the info.

    Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk
     
  15. Ryan TeGantvoort

    Ryan TeGantvoort Active Member

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    I would not suggest this. But be very careful if you choose to do this, as compressed air can damage the fans (speaking from experience, computer fans anyways but they are the same). It is best to hold the fan stationary and then blow the air, so the fan does not ever actually spin.
     
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  16. jim3Dbot

    jim3Dbot Active Member

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    Thanks Ryan, One would think that revin' the fans with air may damage them, never seen it..in the many times I zapped'em. However, keep the revs down, use common sense, and you will be fine. Dust is the big enemy underneath.......dust on heat-sinks, will greatly reduce the convection of heat transfer to the ambient, blow off those drivers on the ramp board. Fans with dust are not efficient, Ryans' correct, use common sense on revin'
     
  17. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Depending on the type of fan spinning it with air can cause it to generate power :) Which can back feed into other electronics.
    Not usually an issue since most electronics with a fan account for this possibility, BUT with RAMPS I would not make that assumption. Still, as @jim3Dbot says some common sense will sort it.
     
  18. jim3Dbot

    jim3Dbot Active Member

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    Yep! All DC motors are generators & all generators are DC motors..........the drivers "usually' contain a diode to protect the circuit from motor field collapse when the motor stops. However, go ahead and secure the blade, to be on the safe side..........I'll continue to spin off that dust......been doing that for decades, literally...............

    In addition, while the bottom cover is removed, check your cables connectors.....with all the vibrations going on, some may become loose.........takes a few seconds........Thanks fellows
     
  19. Rigmarol

    Rigmarol Well-Known Member

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    All good info.
    Also, when using air, be mindful of static electricity build up. Moving air will create static.
     
  20. daniel871

    daniel871 Well-Known Member

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    I honestly wouldn't go for the Volcano unless I was planning to stick to filaments that didn't care about spending a long time in the heated zone of the hot end (because of how huge the melt zone on the Volcano is).

    Basically PETG variants and Nylons, forget PLA and filled PLA types--they create the mother of all clogs if they get a chance to dry out in the melt zone (and this is really easy to do in the Volcano depending on how aggressive your retraction settings are).

    ABS is always ABS so the standard caveats for ABS apply regardless of whether you use the regular v6 or the Volcano.
     
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