Hello!
I received my i3 PRO yesterday- thanks for fast shipping service.
I started assembly yesterday and continued today after work. Now ~5 hours later I do the testruns, calibrations and so on (this is my 2nd 3d printer - 1st one is a PrintrBot - so I'm quite familiar with the works)
The bad news is that some parts are useless. The threaded rods for Z are so badly bent that I cannot even mount the top plates "Acrylic A8" without locking Z axis up totally. I would have to drill a 15mm big hole to allow it to wobble about...In my case the leftmost is worse, the rightmost wobbles about 10mm vs the leftmost wobbles 15mm.
1 of the belt tensioer wingnuts is useless, the hole is too big for the screws to work - I replaced it with a regular nut for the time being so I could continue assembly.
The "screw locking ring" #20 - all of them are missing the set-screws so I had to find something to replace them with, luckily I found some screws in the shed.
Calibration issues - for some reason the X axis wants to go to right to find the endstop instead of to the left...a reverse in firmware is an option, is there another?
Some final thoughts..
The fans are noisy as hell. I have never been a big fan of small diameter fans. They usually lack the CFM you get from a bigger diameter fan so they are #1 to remove from this rig.
The build itself is smooth thanks to acrylic parts that fits nice together. The instructions are not clear enough, missing lots of stuff.
i3 PRO B missing, broken useless parts
Re: i3 PRO B missing, broken useless parts
The threaded rods, you can send some pictures to the seller to talk about this.
"for some reason the X axis wants to go to right to find the endstop instead of to the left..."
you need to change it in the firmware, check out this link:
http://www.geeetech.com/forum/viewtopic ... 17&t=17037
"for some reason the X axis wants to go to right to find the endstop instead of to the left..."
you need to change it in the firmware, check out this link:
http://www.geeetech.com/forum/viewtopic ... 17&t=17037
Re: i3 PRO B missing, broken useless parts
Hi!
I got it working, printed a test cube with good results. The printer is barely adjusted, not fully calibrated.
Turned out I had to download the 1.0.1 version of Arduino IDE as my current one was incompatible.
Once sorted I changed the direction of the axis and it now homes to the endstop.
I tried to print the FIX and they will do the trick although they are not pretty.
I purchased 1m stainless threaded rod and nuts. Will install today.
I need to enlarge the holes in top mount to allow for some free play as they are a tight fit on the threads.
I got it working, printed a test cube with good results. The printer is barely adjusted, not fully calibrated.
Turned out I had to download the 1.0.1 version of Arduino IDE as my current one was incompatible.
Once sorted I changed the direction of the axis and it now homes to the endstop.
I tried to print the FIX and they will do the trick although they are not pretty.
I purchased 1m stainless threaded rod and nuts. Will install today.
I need to enlarge the holes in top mount to allow for some free play as they are a tight fit on the threads.
Re: i3 PRO B missing, broken useless parts
Progress update.
I replaced the brass nuts and added the printed parts instead. I also drilled the hole to 8mm in the top plate where the threaded rods were binding. This allows for some play at the top. Now when the threaded rod can wobble a bit without binding the prints gets much better. A quick print of a 3mm calibration cube shows a much better result. Now it is more down to fine tuning.
I replaced the brass nuts and added the printed parts instead. I also drilled the hole to 8mm in the top plate where the threaded rods were binding. This allows for some play at the top. Now when the threaded rod can wobble a bit without binding the prints gets much better. A quick print of a 3mm calibration cube shows a much better result. Now it is more down to fine tuning.
Re: i3 PRO B missing, broken useless parts
I ran into a problem
Started a 2 hour print and all of the sudden (28 mins left) the extruder stops working (sounds like it is skipping steps/not feeding filament)
And the printer got way off printing in mid air in the totally wrong locations compared to the rest of the items.
Almost 10mm are more or less perfect in alignment (fan brackets for 2560) but then lost in space...
Do I have to turn up voltage on the stepper controller?
Now when I cancelled the prints and heat up the extruder it also skips/jerks...temp is 200 so it melts the filament just fine (if it gets there)
Started a 2 hour print and all of the sudden (28 mins left) the extruder stops working (sounds like it is skipping steps/not feeding filament)
And the printer got way off printing in mid air in the totally wrong locations compared to the rest of the items.
Almost 10mm are more or less perfect in alignment (fan brackets for 2560) but then lost in space...
Do I have to turn up voltage on the stepper controller?
Now when I cancelled the prints and heat up the extruder it also skips/jerks...temp is 200 so it melts the filament just fine (if it gets there)
Re: i3 PRO B missing, broken useless parts
LINK to Pic
Here is a dial-mount I designed today. 5 minutes of Sketchup and a print later I got a result that I'm happy with.
2 screws from bag #25 is perfect to mount it on the extruder (that is hex m3*10mm if you do not know)
I also replaced the wingnuts to adjust the bed, I glued regular hex-nuts to the acrylic frame instead so I can adjust from the top with a hex-wrench instead of fiddle below the printbed. Besides if you didnt turn them sideways they interefer with printbed homing Y axis.
If you want the STL-file I can upload to Thingiverse later.
Here is a dial-mount I designed today. 5 minutes of Sketchup and a print later I got a result that I'm happy with.
2 screws from bag #25 is perfect to mount it on the extruder (that is hex m3*10mm if you do not know)
I also replaced the wingnuts to adjust the bed, I glued regular hex-nuts to the acrylic frame instead so I can adjust from the top with a hex-wrench instead of fiddle below the printbed. Besides if you didnt turn them sideways they interefer with printbed homing Y axis.
If you want the STL-file I can upload to Thingiverse later.
Re: i3 PRO B missing, broken useless parts
Hello!!
My printer has been sounding kinda funky lately - it turns out 1 of the bearings in the Y-belt pulley gave up.
When I dismantled a few of the tiny balls fell out from it!
how can I get this repaired?
I also suspect 1 of the LM8UU bearings is bad as it sometimes jams.
I need 1 new pulley....
My printer has been sounding kinda funky lately - it turns out 1 of the bearings in the Y-belt pulley gave up.
When I dismantled a few of the tiny balls fell out from it!
how can I get this repaired?
I also suspect 1 of the LM8UU bearings is bad as it sometimes jams.
I need 1 new pulley....
Re: i3 PRO B missing, broken useless parts
I guess I'm lucky...
I went out into my garage and started searching for something suitable to mount a 608zz bearing to (skate-bearing) to replace the broken ones that are tiny and flimsy.
Turns out I was lucky - the bearing is the same size as the main bearings in a Lama V4 helicopter from Esky - lucky for me I had some extra stuff lying in the RC-box.
I replaced the bearings and now the belt is attached again...and I ordered 8pcs spare LM8UU from Ebay as well...
At least the printer isn't dead
I went out into my garage and started searching for something suitable to mount a 608zz bearing to (skate-bearing) to replace the broken ones that are tiny and flimsy.
Turns out I was lucky - the bearing is the same size as the main bearings in a Lama V4 helicopter from Esky - lucky for me I had some extra stuff lying in the RC-box.
I replaced the bearings and now the belt is attached again...and I ordered 8pcs spare LM8UU from Ebay as well...
At least the printer isn't dead