Prusa I3X DIYtechshop

Alright I started my build yesterday and am just now getting around to posting this. Once I get started I tend to spend a lot of energy on things without stopping so here is where I got with 10 hours of time. I have also run into a problem with the Z threaded rod, it just seems too simple for me to use a platic tube and some zip ties to run this thing but if that is all it takes, wow. I would prefer printing out a plastic piece that secures it to the motor. Im hoping to get into the electronics today and do some testing this evening but we shall see how everything goes.

Wow Kithrax, at this point you may have yours working before me \

Good Progress. I think from what I have read on the forums the tubing is better at eliminating Z wobble, rather than couplers.

Yes. The tubing is used since it allows some flex whereas a printed coupler would not.

Thank you for the response guys! I've gotten a little farther and I am ready to put together the electronics today. This is a huge plus because Diytechshop sent them practically ready to plug and play, so most of my work is stripping down a pc power supply and making it safe to use. I'm hoping I can find a better set of instructions on how to do the electronics correctly, at least I don't have to do hours of soldering work! The far right plastic piece on the X carriage was a BEAR, I had to pull out my diamond cutting bits to smooth out the nut slot for the z threaded rod and the bearing sleeves just to get everything to fit properly, took an hour and a half because I didn't want to go too far.

Wish me luck!

Damn! That's looking good. Please keep posting progress. I'd love to see this thing in action!

No offense to your supplier but those printed parts don't look very good. I would say that they're below current Reprap standard. I hope that's not a reflection of how well your printer will perform.

Y axis endstop is set to work when bed hits it. It is suppose to work when bearing housing underneath hits it.

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n9jcv
I think from what I have read on the forums the tubing is better at eliminating Z wobble, rather than couplers.

Did I hear right that a small ball bearing inside the tubing between the motor shaft and the threaded rod would help, too? And to cover the tubing with heatshrink to help keep it in place?

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MakerFarm 8" Prusa i3v
RAMPS 1.4
0.4mm E3D v6 for 1.75mm

My build is finally done and I have moved on to calibration but for the life of me I can't get these motors to work. I've tried messing with the pots but most of the instructions say to turn all the way counter clockwise until it stops... well my pots don't stop and my motors either make a loud sound (with vibrations) or a low sound with no movement at all. Any help on this one?

If those stepper controllers are Pololu or equivalent, then this wiki should explain how to adjust the trimpots. Othe.rs are similar but the convertion ffactor rom Vref to current might be different.

Kithrax,

Perhaps I am incorrect, but I believe your X endstop is on the wrong side. You have it on the right side. I thought it was supposed to be on the left side (ie the x=0 position)?

Good Luck
b

Kithrax,

Glad to see another DIYTechShop-per on here. I recently finished my i3x build and have it working (fairly) well. There is light at the end of the tunnel!

In terms of your motors not working -- same thing happened to me. Be sure you've wired them according to the diagram they sent! This seems silly, but with you doing 10+ hours of work on that bad boy, you can miss things here and there. If I'm remembering correctly, the wiring from Motor to MB is Green > Red, Yellow > Black, Grey > Blue, Red > Purple -- DOUBLE CHECK THIS! I'm pulling this off the top of my head.

Also, the wiring to the RAMPS board is Purple down, Red up -- if it's switched, your motors will work, they'll just be going in the opposite direction they should be.

Lastly, I don't recommend the zip-ties for the end stops, homing is an essential part to the calibration process and the zip-ties just don't hold strong enough. I went to the hardware store and found some electrical clips (http://www.homedepot.com/p/Gardner-Bender-3-8-x-1-4-in-One-Hole-Plastic-Cable-Clamp-18-Pack-PPC-1525/100158293). These 3/8" clips were about 1.5mm too big for the M8 rod, so I solved for that by adding a bit of friction tape to increase the thickness of the clip and viola. I'm sure there are more elegant solutions out there. I'll be printing out some "real" endstop holders soon.

Once you get those motors running, you'll be able to nail in the stepper current. Too much and it will be VERY noisy. Be generous with your Extruder current though, mine needs more than my axis motors to make it feed consistently and not slip.


@brnrd - I agree that the parts seem a little below standards, there was a lot of reaming and cutting I had to do to my parts to ensure a proper fit.

@Kithrax - Good luck with the rest of your build, calibration has been a pain in the a$$ for me. Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions.


Polymathiae

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/03/2014 05:25PM by Polymathiae.

Thanks for the advice, I double checked all of the wiring and have it wired to the diytech wiring diagram, any other ideas? I will be troubleshooting more tomorrow when I get off work :/

edit... Ill upload a video if I have to, a picture is worth a thousand words so a video should be priceless!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/03/2014 10:11PM by kithrax.

How long did it take to receive your kit? I'm thinking about buying from them.

It took 31 days due to some shipping errors, I chose them for the pricepoint, I've gotten more communication out of this forum than from them though. Just don't make the mistake of taking time off of work to do the build until it actually gets to you O.o

OMG the wiring diagram was completely wrong, so it was the wiring to the stepper motors poly, thank you for that info. I used google translate to locate the hong kong manufacturer specs to see the coil information... So the pinout on my motors was 1 skip 3 4 skip 6. Thanks for helping me break that barrier!

would you please share your motor wiring schematic. thanks

Hi all,

@kithrax -- great to hear you got that fixed... I figured it was probably the wiring, but it sounds like some who ordered from DIY ended up getting different wiring than I did.

I've gotten a few PMs regarding the DIY i3x build, so I'll outline some of the questions here so that the community can (hopefully) benefit. PLEASE NOTE that this is provided for educational purposes only -- my build isn't perfect and I recommend you only use what I've provided as a reference for your own build/config.

Readings from my Stepper Drivers are as follows (funny enough, my extruder is lower in current than my axis):

All Axis + Extruder: 0.64 mV
Y Axis: 0.83 mA
X Axis: 0.99 mA
Z Axis: 0.99 mA
Extruder: 0.45 mA


I've also attached a few pics by request:

> Ramps Wiring (ramps-wiring.jpg)
> DIY Tech Motor Wiring Guide (wiring-guide.jpg)
> Extruder (extruder-lores.jpg)
> Extruder Motor Wiring (extruder-wiring.jpg)


Here is a link to my Config file for Marlin [www.polymathiae.com] -- right click and save as.


I hope this helps!

Polymathiae
Twitter: @Polymathiae

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/06/2014 02:36AM by Polymathiae.