Jump to content

Throw away your short belts - direct drive.


Recommended Posts

Posted · Throw away your short belts - direct drive.

So, i got everyhing, and my ultimaker is preatty butchered right now, should be able to get it running in a few hours though.

ive used the wooden part with the loop and a washer, with the m3x16mm bolts.

I have one request, the "wave" that connects the stepper side, to the frame side is interfering with the bolts, making me screw them in at an ange, almost breaking the printed part. if you where to invert the wave, or just make it straight would allow easy insertion of the bolts, and screwing them tightly without stripping the bolthead..

I am looking forward to get it running now, hopefully il hold untill i can make me a abs version of it.

 

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    • Replies 219
    • Created
    • Last Reply

    Top Posters In This Topic

    Posted · Throw away your short belts - direct drive.

    Hi,

    Yes I think the problem was that for a couple of weeks I had the wrong STL model uploaded to my

    website.

    I fixed this a few days ago. So go to my website, download the STL file and compare it to what you have,

    probably you need to get the printer going well enough to print again then print out 2 new proper brackets.

    Apologies for that.

    C.

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Throw away your short belts - direct drive.

    No worries, i got it assembled, and i did print the UM handle, just to test it.

    Printing ABS, using acetone to wipe the first layer of raft, on a hot bed at 85*c measured, 100*c temp set in ulticontroller, covered with kapton tape, and 260*c printing temperature.

     

    And it came out as a masterpiece. perfectly level, straight as a ruler and no artifacts from belt tension.

    Il download and print them sometime this week, i did damage the ones that is assembled, but its mostly rotary tension, so i think it should be ok. But il print new ones, before this one fails :D

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    • 4 weeks later...
    Posted · Throw away your short belts - direct drive.

    I actually found that my machine got louder when I converted. Or maybe not louder, but it changed the pitch of the noise to a really annoying high pitch sound. I'm waiting for parts to change my brackets though and I hope that will help a bit. I'm also thinking of replacing the belts (they've stretched a lot over the year or so I've had the machine), I've ordered new pulleys and I'm thinking of changing to the banana bushings since mine are starting to crack. It'll be a bit of an upgrade I hope :)

    I also put the motors on the left and next to the feeder, seemed more logical and it's easy to just switch around the wires of the motors.

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Throw away your short belts - direct drive.

    The loss in XY drive friction is because the motor and XY shaft no longer have

    any vertical load on the bearings. So yes, a good thing.

    Those new XY blocks look like a pretty good idea. I might try those in a few weeks, I already snapped

    one of the little wooden arms. The wood for the machine is (mostly) a great idea, but I wish UMaker

    had just done the case from wood and left the smaller parts to something a bit more viable for

    small parts. Annywayy

    Regarding the noise:

    You can get AV mounts for steppers, (I bought some of these actually), but they remain untested and so I cannot say how much positioning degredation will occur after fitting them. Since the only damping method is to allow the motor to move relative to the case....could be its negligable.

    http://www.astrosyn.com/section.php?xSec=44&xPage=1

    They were pretty cheap, I think something like 8 Euros each.

    C.

     

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Throw away your short belts - direct drive.

    This is what I'm planning at the moment. I'm thinking it should be possible to add some thin rubber between the front part of the assembly and the case to at least reduce vibration a little. The mounting holes are bigger than needed to allow for adjustment (my current bracket is off centre a fair bit) and it should help "decouple" the bracket a bit more from the wood. Might even add tiny rubber washers on the inside of the case as well. No idea what to use though, old latex gloves? :p edit: I actually have a ton of rubber o-rings, those should work nicely. I should make a groove for a big one on the front.

    2qZQ1db.jpg

    The yellow bits are brass standoffs that I'm currently waiting for.

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Throw away your short belts - direct drive.

    The original ebay link for the couplers has expired. Would these be a good option, or is there a better retention mechanism?

    http://www.adafruit.com/products/1176

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Throw away your short belts - direct drive.

    The original ebay link for the couplers has expired. Would these be a good option, or is there a better retention mechanism?

    http://www.adafruit.com/products/1176

     

    I'd say they would be OK.

    I got some that have a single screw onto each shaft that look like that and it seems to work fine.

    Only done the Y motor so far (for a month or 2 now)

    I've just finished my X motor bracket so I think I'll put it on today.

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Throw away your short belts - direct drive.

    Im sure it probably "works", but I would still suggest its well worth doing another couple of hours

    of "googleing" to find a pinchclamp design. The grub will put alot of eccentricity into the coupling

    and its not designed to accomodate that - only angular misalignment.

    Im just being a typical moaning engineer, so take that into account as well. But since the whole point

    of this modification is to get the best possible performance from the drive system it seems

    a shame to compromise one of the most important parts of it....

    Im sorry I dont have good info on USA sources for this kind of stuff....

    C.

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/1PCS-5x8mm-Shaft-Coupling-5mm-to-8mm-Flexible-Shaft-Coupler-Connector-/220877879583

    https://www.tindie.com/products/diyourfaceoff/cnc-5x8mm-motor-shaft-coupler-5mm-to-8mm/

    http://www.fonder.com/shopping/itemDetail.html;jsessionid=5D813316EDD15EDF35CEA652BDCC09EF?itemId=353622472&lang=en&categoryType=1

    http://www.amazon.com/5x8mm-Coupler-Flexible-Couplings-26x26mm/dp/B00A2FVGVU

    GOOGLE> "5x8mm flexible shaft coupling"

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Throw away your short belts - direct drive.

    Just realized mine have 2 screws for each shaft

    Australian Supplier

    https://www.bilbycnc.com.au/DispProd.asp?CatID=9&SubCatID=89&ProdID=PtCoup5-8

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Throw away your short belts - direct drive.

    Im sure it probably "works", but I would still suggest its well worth doing another couple of hours

    of "googleing" to find a pinchclamp design. The grub will put alot of eccentricity into the coupling

    and its not designed to accomodate that - only angular misalignment.

    Im just being a typical moaning engineer, so take that into account as well. But since the whole point

    of this modification is to get the best possible performance from the drive system it seems

    a shame to compromise one of the most important parts of it....

    Im sorry I dont have good info on USA sources for this kind of stuff....

    C.

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/1PCS-5x8mm-Shaft-Coupling-5mm-to-8mm-Flexible-Shaft-Coupler-Connector-/220877879583

    https://www.tindie.com/products/diyourfaceoff/cnc-5x8mm-motor-shaft-coupler-5mm-to-8mm/

    http://www.fonder.com/shopping/itemDetail.html;jsessionid=5D813316EDD15EDF35CEA652BDCC09EF?itemId=353622472&lang=en&categoryType=1

    http://www.amazon.com/5x8mm-Coupler-Flexible-Couplings-26x26mm/dp/B00A2FVGVU

    GOOGLE> "5x8mm flexible shaft coupling"

     

    Thanks for the input Grouch. No deaf ears here... I'm an ME and CNC machinist. Eccentricity aggravates the hell out of me! hahaha. I'm pretty psyched to get X and Y direct driven, and sporting those upgraded pulleys!

    I think that I'll design an anti-backlash Z nut to keep the platform repeatability up. My experiments of attaching weights to the underside of the platform and using rubber bands to preload it to the side have gone really well. I think a third linear bearing at the front would do really well. I'd wager a lot of the "ringing" that people see, is in the bed, not the head.

    Between these two styles, do you have any input?

    http://www.amazon.com/5x8mm-Coupler-Flexible-Couplings-26x35mm/dp/B00A1YT1ZU

    http://www.amazon.com/Reprap-Couplers-printer-Mendel-Prusa/dp/B00BS58GDY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367849238&sr=8-1&keywords=5mm+8mm+shaft+coupler

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Throw away your short belts - direct drive.

    I have never tried the 2nd coupler style, and have no experince of it.

    Sorry, however it looks like is a bit better at giving vibration isolated coupling..perhaps it might

    reduce the noise a bit. But I cannot make out from the pics if its a real bona-fide "zero backlash" coupling

    or a not. The ones with the plastic rings and 4 little "bulbs" are really good for allowing for

    misalignemnt and play of all kinds, but also pretty skeptical about their angular timing prescision.

    I always liked the 1st style just because its always used on engine throttles, which have to maintain

    perfect angular alignment. But no idea...perhaps the 2nd one is also good....

    C.

     

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Throw away your short belts - direct drive.

    http://www.sdp-si.com/D795/79501184.pdf

    These look great, but unfortunatley not available in the shaft sizes we want.....

    Perhaps you can get something like this in a 5>8mm size.....

    http://www.automotioncomponents.co.uk/en/catalog/rotary/flexible-couplings/plastic-insert-couplings/r3048

    These also look perfect, they have a solid lump of silicon bonded to each end, so should be

    great for vibration damping, and probably stiff enough in rotation. However, again

    not available as standard in 5>8.

    I might phone them tomorrow to see if they will do some specials. I must admit

    my UMaker does sound like an angry Dalek.

     

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Throw away your short belts - direct drive.

    I have never tried the 2nd coupler style, and have no experince of it.

    Sorry, however it looks like is a bit better at giving vibration isolated coupling..perhaps it might

    reduce the noise a bit. But I cannot make out from the pics if its a real bona-fide "zero backlash" coupling

    or a not. The ones with the plastic rings and 4 little "bulbs" are really good for allowing for

    misalignemnt and play of all kinds, but also pretty skeptical about their angular timing prescision.

    I always liked the 1st style just because its always used on engine throttles, which have to maintain

    perfect angular alignment. But no idea...perhaps the 2nd one is also good....

    C.

     

     

    Cool, thanks. I went with the spiral cut versions.

    I've got an MK7 drive gear on the way too for a full, over the top extruder drive redesign.

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Throw away your short belts - direct drive.

    Hi, I'm interested in doing this upgrade, I have got the coupler, and I ordered the shafts, but I have a quick question that might sound stupid: How to you cut the rods to the right length? Those are solid steel and I don't think I will be able to cut them with a simple iron saw.

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Throw away your short belts - direct drive.

    That's what I used to cut mine, a really dull blade to boot. Took a while but I got there eventually :p On the second one I got lazy and used my dremel though.

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Throw away your short belts - direct drive.

    Oh ok, I was afraid I would not be able to scratch it. Thanks for the tip.

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Throw away your short belts - direct drive.

    For cutting stuff like this, it's hard to beat a composite blade. Bang for your buck --> 4.5" angle grinder with a composite blade.

    I'm halfway through this conversion... one of the 2 shafts I ordered has too much runout. Luckily, I ordered through Amazon, so they are overnighting me a replacement. Between this and replacing all the pulleys with higher quality ones, this thing is gonna be smooth!

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Throw away your short belts - direct drive.

    Yeah I just sent the money for the pulleys too, I'm waiting to receive them to do the mod.

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Throw away your short belts - direct drive.

    Morning Calum. :-)

    Can I ask, is it possible for you to share with us a few good close up photos of your print surface quality ? I would be really interested in seeing what you have achived with your direct drive model ! :-)

    Thanks.

    Ian :-)

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Throw away your short belts - direct drive.

    Hi Ian,

    I only have a rubbish webcam, which makes useless pictures that do not show any useful level of detail.

    I think the potential of the direct drive setup will only be realised with good pulleys.

    For me the greatest benefit is just not having to adjust the short belts. The positioning is obviously

    better. But how much benefit depends how well setup your belts are.

    However there is also a very measureable reduction in moving friction because the load on the bearings

    is reduced alot. Replacing the shaft endcaps produced another similar jump in friction reduction.

    C.

     

     

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Throw away your short belts - direct drive.

    I see you've got yet another new motor mount design up (really at version 9 ?). Any tips on slicer/print settings for the best results ?

    I'll probably be pulling the first one off my printer before you get a chance to read this. Thanks for continuing to work on it :D

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Throw away your short belts - direct drive.

    If anyone is using larger couplers you can give my 'artistic type' motor bracket a try. Its designed to take couplers up to 34 mm in length and 25 mm in diameter.

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Throw away your short belts - direct drive.

    Calum, could you post up some of your previous motor mount designs ? I like the new springy mount in theory, but my printer is having a fit jumping from the support material to the thin side features. I'm not sure if it's just a retraction issue, bad filament, or a need for better fan ducting, but unless I can sneak a couple prints into the Stratasys, I'll have to go back to the old design.

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Posted · Throw away your short belts - direct drive.

    Kristen,

    You can print the brackets without support. It just means a little cleaning with a knife one one end afterwards

    but essentially its ok with no support. Print it so that the end that goes onto the motor face is downwards, and turn

    off support.

    Even if you decide to use support, I dont see why you should have any particular issue.

    Sorry but I dont have time to go and dig out old designs....

    C.

     

  • Link to post
    Share on other sites

    Create an account or sign in to comment

    You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

    Create an account

    Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

    Register a new account

    Sign in

    Already have an account? Sign in here.

    Sign In Now

    • Our picks

      • Introducing Universal Cura Projects in the UltiMaker Cura 5.7 beta
        Strap in for the first Cura release of 2024! This 5.7 beta release brings new material profiles as well as cloud printing for Method series printers, and introduces a powerful new way of sharing print settings using printer-agnostic project files! Also, if you want to download the cute dinosaur card holder featured below, it was specially designed for this release and can be found on Thingiverse! 
          • Like
        • 10 replies
      • S-Line Firmware 8.3.0 was released Nov. 20th on the "Latest" firmware branch.
        (Sorry, was out of office when this released)

        This update is for...
        All UltiMaker S series  
        New features
         
        Temperature status. During print preparation, the temperatures of the print cores and build plate will be shown on the display. This gives a better indication of the progress and remaining wait time. Save log files in paused state. It is now possible to save the printer's log files to USB if the currently active print job is paused. Previously, the Dump logs to USB option was only enabled if the printer was in idle state. Confirm print removal via Digital Factory. If the printer is connected to the Digital Factory, it is now possible to confirm the removal of a previous print job via the Digital Factory interface. This is useful in situations where the build plate is clear, but the operator forgot to select Confirm removal on the printer’s display. Visit this page for more information about this feature.
          • Like
        • 0 replies
    ×
    ×
    • Create New...