Z Axis - precision and accuracy

Ziggy,
Did you notice any Z step skipping with the stock driver setting?

Did you look for any nylon Z nuts like they have in the new Robo setup video? I don't know if a metric version of this exists though. I wonder if nylon along with some compatible lubrication would help reduce the torque or make it worse?

 

Found these on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Metric-Nylon-M8-1-25-Thread-Across/dp/B00DGB9SWG/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1396289040&sr=8-12&keywords=m8+hex+nut+nylon

Look like they might be a perfect fit.

 

Yeah both of the nylon nuts I was able to find won't ship for awhile. One has a 2-5 week leadtime and the other is just "Temorarily Out of Stock", so maybe I will just try with my zinc plated nuts I have on hand.

 

Main reason I am interested in this is I printed my first tall (over 1") item over the weekend and have some serious ribbing: http://www.thingiverse.com/make:71414.

 

Damn you! Post it under "Robo3D..." not "Robo 3D..."!! That's why I am surprised to find all these cool things I couldn't find. Thanks man! Haha.

I did find your fan design and didn't even realize it was on an R1 haha. My radial fan just came in today! So I'll be installing both of your mods in the next few days haha.

EDIT - The wire I have on hand is 1.5mm thick, you think that will still work in your fan design?

 

So I picked up most the parts I need last night from a local company, Ababa Bolt. Thank God I have someone local who stocks metric stuff. Anyways, they're selection of lubricants wasn't very robust at all so I picked up some ViperLube. Will this stuff work to lubricate the threaded rods?

 

If anyone is interested in simple Z stabilizers with a built wire harness holder on the right side here are the STLs.

Ziggy - I looked at and like your design a lot but I was afraid that I couldn't get in there to tighten up the bolts properly.

Mine mount with regular 1.3mm thick 3M double sided sticky tape. The smooth rod holder might need a very light sanding to get a tight but not too tight fit. Just put them on the rods with the base extending up and mark the corners on the Robo housing. Take off the housing and stick them to it. Just be slow when putting the housing on and they should slide right over the rods. Now these assume your Robo's housing to rod spacing is the same as mine.

I had problems with the right support warping in ABS so I put mouse ears on it that can be cut off with an Exacto knife. also that side in non-manifold coming out of Sketchup for some reason but the newest Slic3r version "1.0 Stable" does a good job of fixing it by default.

It is amazing how sturdy and stiff this simple change makes the entire carriage assembly. Just make sure you remember to unhook the wire harness before lifting the housing off .

 

Just printed your design yesterday Ziggy; once I get the hardware I'll post a picture of it mounted. Anyone have any input on the grease I mentioned above?

 

Yeah I went ahead and asked him via email yesterday, and had him send me suggested steps for most of the process as well. When I get a reply I am going to put together an illustrated how-to thread for anyone else who wants to make this upgrade but is a bit intimidated by it. Also have an order in with one of my suppliers at work for nylon nuts and I will have quite a few extras, so if anyone needs any all they have to do is pay postage and I'll send them out.

 

These stabilizers are not intended to grab the threaded rods. I am in the process of created some now that will. Basis of Design: Similar to the above link but will have an additional arm that will confine the threaded rod. To minimize wear on the arm. you will need to print a threaded bushing that will thread on the top of the rod so you are only ever getting plastic on plastic contact.

 

I think it is universally accepted that the threaded rods don't have much (if any) effect on the print quality. I've had this discussion with a few people who all mentioned that if the smooth rods are stable, the z axis is stable.

 

Going slightly off topic would there be any advantage / disadvantage of using threaded rods to move the X and Y axis as well to eliminate any belt tension issues ?