Techzone Plan-B Upgrade - Feedback Please
Posted by jcabrer
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Techzone Plan-B Upgrade - Feedback Please May 15, 2011 02:39PM |
Registered: 16 years ago Posts: 824 |
(I want to get an idea of how much demand there would be for a TechZone "Plan-B" kit. Please leave your comments.)
Ever since I began building my RepRap Mendel Prusa, I've been helping others to follow in my footsteps with advice in the forums, and one-on-one help, but I've limited myself to dealing mainly with topics related to my Prusa.
I recently saw a request for help in the Southern California User Group. He had a TechZone Laser Cut Mendel with Gen3 electronics, and it was a no-go all over the place. I invited him over to the house, to see if there was anything I could help with. The result is that I now have a plan-b solution for anyone who has one of these machines gathering dust in the attic.
The issues were many:
1. At least one bad end-stop.
2. X-Axis carriage very loose on the three bearing side.
3. Hot end slipping out
4. Extruder controller not functioning properly.
5. Motors only going in one direction (presumably from the bad end-stop deal).
6. Faulty wiring on some connector ends.
7. X-axis gear slipping
8. Hot end smoking. JB Weld, probably.
If there is enough interest in a TechZone Plan-B kit, I'll consider putting something together. Of course, feel free to replicate.
Here is what Plan-B looks like:
RAMPS 1.2 - Flashed with Sprinter Firmware, Software End-stops
Greg's Accessible-Hinged Wade's Extruder
Stepper motor connectors (4) with crimp on pins (for RAMPS)
Wildseyed (That's me!) Simple Hot End with extended PTFE barrel (includes power resistor, 100k thermistor, alligator clips)
12" Emergency Tape (for the hot end)
X-Carriage stabilizer (two plastic tie wraps :^)
Replacement X-axis gear (need suggestions for this one)
Ever since I began building my RepRap Mendel Prusa, I've been helping others to follow in my footsteps with advice in the forums, and one-on-one help, but I've limited myself to dealing mainly with topics related to my Prusa.
I recently saw a request for help in the Southern California User Group. He had a TechZone Laser Cut Mendel with Gen3 electronics, and it was a no-go all over the place. I invited him over to the house, to see if there was anything I could help with. The result is that I now have a plan-b solution for anyone who has one of these machines gathering dust in the attic.
The issues were many:
1. At least one bad end-stop.
2. X-Axis carriage very loose on the three bearing side.
3. Hot end slipping out
4. Extruder controller not functioning properly.
5. Motors only going in one direction (presumably from the bad end-stop deal).
6. Faulty wiring on some connector ends.
7. X-axis gear slipping
8. Hot end smoking. JB Weld, probably.
If there is enough interest in a TechZone Plan-B kit, I'll consider putting something together. Of course, feel free to replicate.
Here is what Plan-B looks like:
RAMPS 1.2 - Flashed with Sprinter Firmware, Software End-stops
Greg's Accessible-Hinged Wade's Extruder
Stepper motor connectors (4) with crimp on pins (for RAMPS)
Wildseyed (That's me!) Simple Hot End with extended PTFE barrel (includes power resistor, 100k thermistor, alligator clips)
12" Emergency Tape (for the hot end)
X-Carriage stabilizer (two plastic tie wraps :^)
Replacement X-axis gear (need suggestions for this one)
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Re: Techzone Plan-B Upgrade - Feedback Please May 16, 2011 11:23AM |
Registered: 16 years ago Posts: 169 |
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Re: Techzone Plan-B Upgrade - Feedback Please May 16, 2011 02:42PM |
Registered: 16 years ago Posts: 824 |
I don't know if pricing is the main driver here, or if I want to sell upgrade kits. My interest is in developing the documentation of the procedure, and making that available on the wiki. Arguably, it should go up there anyway, but I don't really know if it is worth the effort, not knowing how many people have broken setups in need of this.
RAMPS cost what they cost. The hot end components run $10-$20, and anybody with a working machine can make the extruder, or buy one on-line. I estimate that total cost would be about $175-$300, depending on whether the RAMPS is purchased as a DIY kit, or fully built. I would think most folks that have not been able to solve their TechZone problems are lacking in the electronics knowledge, so they would need RAMPS pre-assembled.
RAMPS cost what they cost. The hot end components run $10-$20, and anybody with a working machine can make the extruder, or buy one on-line. I estimate that total cost would be about $175-$300, depending on whether the RAMPS is purchased as a DIY kit, or fully built. I would think most folks that have not been able to solve their TechZone problems are lacking in the electronics knowledge, so they would need RAMPS pre-assembled.
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