Follow up:

So I got a very good Benchy at 120mm/s with the airstruder, but I've been unable to test faster speeds due to inadequate cooling. I have to print at 210C or higher at that speed, and my fan can't keep up.. I also noticed that the springs tend to pull the arms toward the center of the plate, so I'm thinking that may be why I'm not seeing much in the way of ill effects. When I have time I'm going to set up a counterbalance system to see what effect that has.

Hi.
I just finished the mechanical build. So far I am very happy with it, but I need to wire it and print with it. I will advise when that is complete.There were a few minor issues with missing hardware, but nothing major. I had to buy some M3 hex nuts and jumpers for the brain board. I am 78 years old. I live in a remote mountain area. Everything comes to me via UPS or the US Postal Service. My fingers have become thumbs, my hands shake a bit sometimes and I don't see as well as I used to. Building this printer was the most fun I have had in many years. I think I know the details of how it works.That will be super helpful if I ever need to trouble shoot or repair this printer. I am looking forward to using it.

Any suggestions about the best way to terminate the thermocouple wires to the pin strips on the controller board would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Quote
fredw
Any suggestions about the best way to terminate the thermocouple wires to the pin strips on the controller board would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

They should have supplied you with a couple of two pin female connectors with wire leads on them. They call it the "Red and Black Pigtail (Extruder Thermistor Connector)". You're supposed to solder one of them to the ends of the thermocouple wires.

Here's their picture of it:



And their picture of the connection:



And their picture of it plugged in:



They did a pretty lousy job of documenting the electrical specifics in the current documentation.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/08/2016 06:06AM by Legrand.

Thank you, Legrand. That is very helpful. I only received one two wire pigtail and one three wire. I thought the three wire was for the probe. I will buy another two wire and go from there. Again.I thank you so very much. I lack the confidence to proceed on my own.

I found the second pigtail.I had attached it to the fan for later. Now, I see the fan connects to the terminal block.All is well. Connecting the display board is way too easy. I found a three wire cable and I do not know what it is for. I attached a picture.

Quote
fredw
I found the second pigtail.I had attached it to the fan for later. Now, I see the fan connects to the terminal block.All is well. Connecting the display board is way too easy. I found a three wire cable and I do not know what it is for. I attached a picture.

I used that 3 wire connector to connect my Z-probe. All I did was remove one of the wires, and cut off one end so I could solder the probe wires to it.

---

Owner of a QUBD Two Up
And
Folger Kossel 2020
And
Tevo Tarantula

Has anyone done a watercooled mod on this yet? I'm setting out to try it soon and was wondering if anyone had any advice?

I completed the wiring, almost. The RAMPS board connector for the two, grey flat cable are labelled EXP1 and EXP2. The destination for these cables, Smart Adapter, is not labelled. I have no clue which cable goes to which connector. Any help would be greatly appreciated. A picture is attached.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/23/2016 09:59AM by fredw.

The one on right is EXP1 I believe. If that doesn't work, it doesn't matter if the connection is backwards or not, so just swap the plugs from either end. Should work then.

---

Owner of a QUBD Two Up
And
Folger Kossel 2020
And
Tevo Tarantula

Hi, I've haven't used my printer in about 6 months and tried to get it working again this week. I had upgraded to windows 10 since I last used it so I updated the Arduino softare and printrun. Now I can not get the printer to work. When I try to load the firmware with Arduino I'm getting the following error message:

avrdude: stk500v2_ReceiveMessage(): timeout
avrdude: stk500v2_ReceiveMessage(): timeout
avrdude: stk500v2_ReceiveMessage(): timeout
avrdude: stk500v2_ReceiveMessage(): timeout
avrdude: stk500v2_ReceiveMessage(): timeout
avrdude: stk500v2_ReceiveMessage(): timeout
avrdude: stk500v2_getsync(): timeout communicating with programmer

I thought maybe it was an issue with the updated Arduino software but I also can not get printrun to connect to the board either. Anyone encountered this error or have any ideas? Thanks!

Nope. But sounds to me as if the COM port you are using is not correct. Check in the device manager, which COM port is activated when you plug in the printer. It might have changed while updating to Win10.

I thought it looked like it was not communicating as well. Device manager has it as com 3 and all of the programs are detecting it as com 3 as well. Should it be something else? Is there some other issue that would keep it from communicating? It's frustrating because as far as Windows is concern it's connected properly but both arduino and pronterface are unable to connect. Could something have gone bad while it sat for a few months? Last night I tried it on two more computers and got the exact same results. It

Ok, that IS weird. If the same occurs on other PC's, then it's the board itself. You could try to disconnect RAMPS and program the Arduino board stand-alone (with any software, not neccesarily Repetirer/Marlin). If Arduino still does not recognize the board, it could be a faulty Arduino board. Folger Tech. uses the least expensive Arduino clones, so you can expect some mishaps. For me, the Arduino on-board 5V regulator got blown after like 3 months or so. I can only get it to start up reliably with 5V attached via USB only. In your case, the USB-serial IC still works, but your AVR IC got some issue (perhaps no programming anymore? "Forgot" bootloader? Or something else). You got a spare Arduino lying around? Would be worth trying another Arduino board.

Based on my internet research it looks like missing boot loader is the most common cause. Since I can get a new board for $10 I'll probably just order a new one instead of trying to figure out how to reprogram this one.

Hi all,

My kit should be in in a few days and I've been spending the waiting time reading through this thread. Apologies if any of these are re-asks, but I have a few questions:

1. For safety reasons I've been thinking of replacing the standard power supply with one that gets AC through an IEC plug and has a built in fuse. Anyone else do this?
2. I had a couple of jig mounts (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:37306) made which I plan to screw to some wood to make the rods. Any pointers on how to make sure the jig is true?
3. Is any lube recommended for the rev B printed sliders, like maybe a silicone spray on the rails?

Thanks all. This thread has already been invaluable.

My 2¢
1) Not a terrible idea but not one I have implemented. The issues I have personally seen around "power" is that one of the units I have (I'm in contact with 3. 2 at work and one at home) the green 4 prong connector has "failed". I had one melt, which I replaced, and then a few weeks later I was having intermittent power issues. I looked at this connector again and it was starting to show scorch marks. I've replaced the entire adruino/ramps board now and we'll see where this goes. I put a SSR on one of the units, which I may do with the other two, if I see this issue again. The SSR will keep the high amperage off the adruino/ramps setup.

2) True? all you need with this is a flat board and to make sure that the center to center distance of those pegs is the correct distance. The most important thing is that all rods are the same length. If they're too long, then you will have to scale your prints up, if they're too short, then you have to scale them down. That's the price you pay when using a delta printer.

3) Personally I don't see the need for lube when you have those delrin wheels running in bearings.

Quote
sharkicicles
Hi all,

My kit should be in in a few days and I've been spending the waiting time reading through this thread. Apologies if any of these are re-asks, but I have a few questions:

1. For safety reasons I've been thinking of replacing the standard power supply with one that gets AC through an IEC plug and has a built in fuse. Anyone else do this?
2. I had a couple of jig mounts (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:37306) made which I plan to screw to some wood to make the rods. Any pointers on how to make sure the jig is true?
3. Is any lube recommended for the rev B printed sliders, like maybe a silicone spray on the rails?

Thanks all. This thread has already been invaluable.

Legrand-

Thanks for the reply! The power supply issues you had sound a bit scary... I'll definitely keep an eye on it at first and replace if necessary.

I'll leave the rails alone for now, and I'm probably overthinking how to make the rods- a flat board and a square are probably all I need.

Hey!

In addition to Legrand:
- ATX PSUs are pretty good bets when it comes to exchanging the power supply. They come with all bells and whistles (short protection, built-in fan, power switch, overload protection etc.) and are rather cheap when bought used. I got one for 30 bucks.
- Jig: If you take your time and use the jig to glue *one rod after the other* and not all at once, your results are not so dependant on the screws sticking out of the wood dead-on perpendicular. I still wish I had done so. But in the meantime, this doesn't matter anymore (see below ).
- No lube necessary. Delrin is really slippy on its own.


I finished magnet-rodding my Kossel: [www.thingiverse.com]
Results are, to say the least, GREAT. Print quality went up quite a bit (mainly due to zero backlash). And the best part: Whereas I could only use a radius of 60 mm ... 70 mm before, I can now easily use the full radius of 100 mm without any issues. Bed correction is still necessary, but has to do way less work than before (~ +/- 120 µm). I can fully recommend doing this mod. Costs are reasonable (~ 35 bucks) and results are reeeally nice.
My rod length is ~ 280 mm, which results in my printing height to be reduced to usable 195 mm ("usable": I can still print the full 200 mm diameter at 195 mm height). Maybe I will get a second set of rods (~ 250 mm) for smaller footprint but higher prints. Changing the rods is eeeeasy.

Quote
docpayce
Hey!

In addition to Legrand:
- ATX PSUs are pretty good bets when it comes to exchanging the power supply. They come with all bells and whistles (short protection, built-in fan, power switch, overload protection etc.) and are rather cheap when bought used. I got one for 30 bucks.
- Jig: If you take your time and use the jig to glue *one rod after the other* and not all at once, your results are not so dependant on the screws sticking out of the wood dead-on perpendicular. I still wish I had done so. But in the meantime, this doesn't matter anymore (see below ).
- No lube necessary. Delrin is really slippy on its own.


I finished magnet-rodding my Kossel: [www.thingiverse.com]
Results are, to say the least, GREAT. Print quality went up quite a bit (mainly due to zero backlash). And the best part: Whereas I could only use a radius of 60 mm ... 70 mm before, I can now easily use the full radius of 100 mm without any issues. Bed correction is still necessary, but has to do way less work than before (~ +/- 120 µm). I can fully recommend doing this mod. Costs are reasonable (~ 35 bucks) and results are reeeally nice.
My rod length is ~ 280 mm, which results in my printing height to be reduced to usable 195 mm ("usable": I can still print the full 200 mm diameter at 195 mm height). Maybe I will get a second set of rods (~ 250 mm) for smaller footprint but higher prints. Changing the rods is eeeeasy.

Looks good! I don't see any files for the cups on the rods though..

Added. Suitable for 10 mm steel balls and 6 mm carbon rod.

Quote
docpayce
Added. Suitable for 10 mm steel balls and 6 mm carbon rod.

Nice!

@docpayce that is awesome! Once I get up and running that's definitely on the list.

I had heard about slow shipping times and damaged boxes. Fortunately in my case shipping was fast (ordered Friday, got it today) and the box was in perfect shape. Checked the packing list and all the bags and boxes are accounted for, although I haven't yet checked for complete hardware. But, so far, so good.

One more question for you folks- for the standard rods, I noticed the Folger traxxas ends already have the grommet installed, whereas my jig ends are designed for bare ends. Would it create too much play to try to pop the metal parts out and back in, or should I just get some new ends that haven't had them installed yet?

Again, thanks for all the great info here- without this thread I'd probably already feel over my head

I've wanted to add magnetic joints to my Kossel for a long time now. I'll be printing this out once I'm done printing some upgrades for my Tarantula, and once I'm done cleaning up the wiring and moving the RAMPS to an external housing, rather than having it right underneath the hotbed

---

Owner of a QUBD Two Up
And
Folger Kossel 2020
And
Tevo Tarantula

Quote
sharkicicles
One more question for you folks- for the standard rods, I noticed the Folger traxxas ends already have the grommet installed, whereas my jig ends are designed for bare ends. Would it create too much play to try to pop the metal parts out and back in, or should I just get some new ends that haven't had them installed yet?

Personally I wouldn't recommend it. You're going to open one side of that plastic joint up and I don't know how you can achieve a "factory" seal again with all the proper clearances. I'd try to modify the jig before I'd modify the rod ends.

Quote
Legrand
Personally I wouldn't recommend it. You're going to open one side of that plastic joint up and I don't know how you can achieve a "factory" seal again with all the proper clearances. I'd try to modify the jig before I'd modify the rod ends.

Thanks. I'll probably end up filing the pins down on the jig to fit.

Is the 2004 LCD only supposed to work when the printer is plugged in via a USB? I can't get my LCD to turn on when it's just the 12V, but it'll turn on if the USB is connected, whether or not the PSU is on or not.

---

Owner of a QUBD Two Up
And
Folger Kossel 2020
And
Tevo Tarantula

I have four FT printers here, two with the 2004 LCD and two with the full graphics controller. From what I've been experiencing, it seems like the voltage regulators (AMS1117) on these are either of really poor quality or they're easily overtasked. I have had some units that run with out the USB and others that required it but when I replace the adruino board (or the voltage regulator, as I bought like 20 from ebay for a couple bucks shipped) on the ones that required the USB to be plugged in, they all display fine without having the USB plugged in.

Quote
Captain_Tim
Is the 2004 LCD only supposed to work when the printer is plugged in via a USB? I can't get my LCD to turn on when it's just the 12V, but it'll turn on if the USB is connected, whether or not the PSU is on or not.

So just replacing the Arduino should fix that? Awesome, thanks. Luckily I have a spare around so I don't have to wait to get a new one. I'll give that a whirl and hopefully that'll solve my issue.

---

Owner of a QUBD Two Up
And
Folger Kossel 2020
And
Tevo Tarantula

So I swapped my Arduino Mega out, and the LCD displayed squares. I thought it was a contrast issue, tried turning the contrast pot on the back of the LCD, blew the voltage regulator on the arduino... back to the old one for now. I'll just leave my raspberry pi plugged into it for now I suppose.

---

Owner of a QUBD Two Up
And
Folger Kossel 2020
And
Tevo Tarantula