zumfab

Direct drive is certainly on the list, but I consider it prudent to go one (or two) steps at the time. That way I don't have to go on a wild goose chase after that one variable of the many I changed that is causing trouble. I hope. I have been thinking about some sort of way to eliminate the couplers, as I don't like them very much. It must be possible to link the shaft to the drivers directly without loading them too much at the first slight misalignment.

I think I will go with as much as needed and a little more. That way the strain should not be unreasonable and I have peace of mind that things are tight enough. Maybe it will result in a little extra wear, but it should not be much. It's actually an UMO. One of the short belts kept working itself slightly loose, so I finally tried to fix that permanently rather than retightning every so many prints. I am using a reworked version of this tensioner with a long screw and spring. http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:40041

I have finally slapped a belt tensioner on the printer. Yes, singular, as I grossly overestimated how far the screws actually go into the stepper motor. The design had been slightly adjusted to allow for a greater range, but that begs the question: how tight do the short belts actually need to be? I can pretty much go crazy, but I am a bit scared to stretch the belt and load the stepper motor unnecessarily. Good to know, that will be useful.

Do I understand correctly that the out-of-roundness is not strictly a manufacturing problem, but something that happens when you tighten the pulley and force it out of whack?

Just so I understand correctly - I imagine that with two set screws, you still push the axle to one side. Am I wrong and how so? I would imagine you need four screws to eliminate that, but I might be missing something.

What parts were printed? All the hard bits? I would not have said that

I am on the fence about what pulleys to get. I like foehnsturm's, but the one thing that bothers me is that the supply is extremely limited. Ordering extras or replacements a little later is not really an option. Quality seems really high though. So, if I were to go for GT2 pulleys and belts, what do I need to look out for? Material? Attachment screws/method? I do not really have a clue what makes a good pulley and how to differentiate bad from good

What software is used to generate the complex support structures I sometimes see here?

What are the requirements for a fan? I think someone from Ultimaker once said you need good static pressure, but I am not all too sure about that. They definitely experimented with it, though. Is there anyone from Ultimaker that can fill us in?

I must admit I don't have a memory card handy, so I cannot say anything useful about that or test it.

I have neither of these problems with this software. Turning the knob clockwise increases feedrate or advances menus. The refresh rate is not that of a desktop computer, but is quick enough to work well in all but the most unrealistic scenarios. If you trash the knob left and right like no tomorrow you see the selection jump all over the place, but when you pace yourself you see the selection tracks pretty neatly.

Downloaded and uploaded, testing pending. Again, thanks!

The technical state of affairs does not really seem to be the problem. The company culture and work ethics sometimes often leave room for improvement though.

Weren't you worried it might break in the lock?

Ah, the page I found suggested it meant a problem in any case, but this sounds a bit better. I think the electronics are 1.5.4. so reworking them would be an option. The phone charger solution is a good idea too, though. It seems I have found the appropriate page here.

I just realised something. My Arduino and thus my Smart Controller does not seem to have power without being connected to the computer via USB. That rather defeats the purpose Some quick research indicates this is not supposed to happen. Onto the next problem!

Today I recieved my Full Graphic Smart Controller, a little ahead of schedule. I could not resist fiddling with it, and sure enough, I had exactly the same problems as in the first post. Successive beeps or a buzz, depending on exact cable placement, and nothing else. I used a small file to remove the nubs and reversed the plugs on the controller. It seemed to power up, but showed no information, but everything as expected as the firmware had not been loaded yet. The very helpful post from Amadee and his custom firmware made loading the firmware a breeze. It was almost too easy I tend to get suspicious when that happens, and I am certainly going to struggle more when I update the Ultimaker belts or heatbed. A quick firmware flash via Cura and hey presto, a neat working controller with a lovely Ultimaker bot for a splash screen. Thanks everyone, for making life so easy! Oh, and a little tip for people doing the same thing: if you dislike scratches or dings, tape up the corners and edges of the controller before you go to work. It gets easily scratched. Now, onto making a neat enclosure!

I read it They are careful not to be too conclusive yet, and of course, it comes from a party that has a huge interest in selling the product. If it turns out to be what they say, it seems to be not a huge issue.

How is that Filastruder working out? I feel the idea and technology could be very interesting, but I do not have a clue whether it is mostly an intriguing idea or actually a really functional option.

It might mean you can magnetize it afterwards, though I am curious how all this metal filled material is affecting the hot-end. Especially steel and similar metals are a bit harder than the hot-end itself, typically causing a lot of abrasion and wear. I asked Colorfabb about this and they said they did not really test this/had a chance to test this due to time constraints. We will see, but I would expect a significantly increasing wear with ever harder fill materials.

That looks awfully nice and robust! I am very curious to see where this is going

We can do that too, we just need an ISS

Happy hollidays!

That is kind of hard to do before you buy and recieve them :mrgreen:

I understand the confusion, but I was referring to the quality of whatever pulleys you buy, not the benefits of good pulleys in general I find it hard to judge quality.