New to 3d printing with smartrap need some help

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duranza
Hey RegPye, do you have the small extruder gear in freecad or another editable format? I need to make the ID to 4mm for my stepper shaft. I was using a makeshift sleeve and it just broke.

I will check to see what I have.
How many teeth do you use, is it a straight tooth or herringbone? What diameter gear is it and you need a 4mm shaft hole? No flat, a plain round hole? (unusual size, most steppers we use have a 5mm shaft.

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[regpye.com.au]
"Experience is the mother of all knowledge." --Leonardo da Vinci

I'm using your extruder. I think it is 11 teeth straight. Yes the steppers I have came with a 5mm shaft turned down to 4mm for some reason. A straight hole is what I was going to use.

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duranza
I'm using your extruder. I think it is 11 teeth straight. Yes the steppers I have came with a 5mm shaft turned down to 4mm for some reason. A straight hole is what I was going to use.

I will send you a PM before I leave for the city in a few minutes. I will be away for a couple of days.

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[regpye.com.au]
"Experience is the mother of all knowledge." --Leonardo da Vinci

Last time i calibrated the X-Y axis i set a caliper at 50MM and then kept finetuning until 5x 10 steps where 100% spot on
This way you can manually move the X anY axis from pronterface (and also if you have the smartcontroller display)

I have some oddities now since my X and Y axis have different diameter fishing lines (I had to fix one after is snapped) and it looks like the firmware acts up a bit if the values for X and Y are different. The other day someone suggested Perlon thread to me (it's nylon thread but thicker then fishing line and less stretch), i will post my results once i got hold of a roll of this perlon stuff... This might take a few days, i'm now trying to focus on FreeCAD

I'm still trying out the auto leveling and almost got it going, but when I set the z height between probing it doesn't change anything and the nozzle scrapes when going from one location to the other.

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duranza
I'm still trying out the auto leveling and almost got it going, but when I set the z height between probing it doesn't change anything and the nozzle scrapes when going from one location to the other.

What have your already tried?
Note that there are 2 settings to change for the probing.

  #define Z_RAISE_BEFORE_PROBING 5    //How much the extruder will be raised before traveling to the first probing point.
  #define Z_RAISE_BETWEEN_PROBINGS 5  //How much the extruder will be raised when traveling from between next probing points

I have but nothing changes. I just ran M119 and the z max shows as triggered. could this be the cause?

Ah. If it always says triggered, that could be it.
And please check that you have placed the wires to the RAMPS board correctly or that you have wired the right terminals on the micro switch. It should be in the NC (normaly closed) pin.

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MelT
Ah. If it always says triggered, that could be it.
And please check that you have placed the wires to the RAMPS board correctly or that you have wired the right terminals on the micro switch. It should be in the NC (normaly closed) pin.

And also check if a wire is broken or something is forcing the switch to open due to weight of the wiring or something like that. I had one machine that was triggering by itself due to too much weight from the way I wired the loom, and it made the switch open.

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[regpye.com.au]
"Experience is the mother of all knowledge." --Leonardo da Vinci

I tested with a multimeter and the switch works at the plug good. It is NC and I have it plugged to the ramps Z min (-) I also have a rubber band that keeps down pressure to release the arm from the switch

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/02/2014 08:54PM by duranza.

In any case, M119 should not aways be triggered. Have you been playing around with your firmware lately? Might be worth reuploading.

It has always been like this. I could never get the auto level to work, but the regular 28 works fine. The Z min shows open, but the z max is triggered.

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duranza
It has always been like this. I could never get the auto level to work, but the regular 28 works fine. The Z min shows open, but the z max is triggered.

I had a faulty RAMPS board once, it was triggered when not even connected. Worth to take the plug off and check the actual board, you may have one like that too.

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[regpye.com.au]
"Experience is the mother of all knowledge." --Leonardo da Vinci

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regpye

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duranza
It has always been like this. I could never get the auto level to work, but the regular 28 works fine. The Z min shows open, but the z max is triggered.

I had a faulty RAMPS board once, it was triggered when not even connected. Worth to take the plug off and check the actual board, you may have one like that too.

Funny you say this, because it shows triggered even with the plug disconnected. The only way I can get it to change is to flip it in the firmware. I'll take a look at the 4.7k pull up on the ramp board.

Thanks RegPye for pointing out a probability of a faulty ramps board. This whole time that was the problem. I decided to move the endstop to the not used z max header and changed the pins in the firmware. That did the trick. Now I'm wondering how in the world was it homing before? Also looking at the ramps board, it looks to me as if the pins go straight through to the ardunino, so maybe that pin went bad on the arduino board instead.

isn't the Z inverted or set with a pullup in your firmware?

http://airtripper.com/1145/marlin-firmware-v1-basic-configuration-set-up-guide/
that post explains a bit about pullups and inverting

Fine End Stop Pull Up Resistor – line 196

#define ENDSTOPPULLUP_ZMAX
//#define ENDSTOPPULLUP_ZMIN

const bool Z_ENDSTOPS_INVERTING = false;

but first make sure the wiring is correct and without shorts or breaks

Hi,

New to Smartrap and plan to build one.
I have a Printrbot Simple V2 and built a Mini Kossel that I upgraded to 350mm horizontals.
I build a 3DR Simple as designed by JohnSL but took it apart to upgrade my Kossel and just this weekend finished taking other parts off to use on the Smartrap build.

Questions
1. I downloaded the Github Smartrap Master folder. There is blender and openscad and lots of other files and folders. I am confused about what version is the current release, what version is still in development. I can't tell which STL files I should print.

2. I have a Printrboard and plan on using that on the Smartrap...I have experience uploading firmware to it from using it with the 3DR Simple. Anyone have problems with using Printrboard?

3. I have a Ubis hot end. Can I use that on the Smartrap?

4. Where is the latest parts list with sources? I have a parts list for Smartrap but it is the original list with fishing line and I have GT2 belts and pulleys to use.

Well, I have more questions....that's enough for now.
Looking forward to sharing and hearing what others have done.
Take Care
Richard

I believe 4.9 is the most recent released version

I looked what ubis hot end looks like and it seems a little too long. You probably need to customize your mount so as not to lose too much Z movement because of the extra length.

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RTurnock
Hi,

New to Smartrap and plan to build one.
I have a Printrbot Simple V2 and built a Mini Kossel that I upgraded to 350mm horizontals.
I build a 3DR Simple as designed by JohnSL but took it apart to upgrade my Kossel and just this weekend finished taking other parts off to use on the Smartrap build.

Questions
1. I downloaded the Github Smartrap Master folder. There is blender and openscad and lots of other files and folders. I am confused about what version is the current release, what version is still in development. I can't tell which STL files I should print.

2. I have a Printrboard and plan on using that on the Smartrap...I have experience uploading firmware to it from using it with the 3DR Simple. Anyone have problems with using Printrboard?

3. I have a Ubis hot end. Can I use that on the Smartrap?

4. Where is the latest parts list with sources? I have a parts list for Smartrap but it is the original list with fishing line and I have GT2 belts and pulleys to use.

Well, I have more questions....that's enough for now.
Looking forward to sharing and hearing what others have done.
Take Care
Richard

All of my releases are unique, they do not fit into any of the listed builds as I am developing new and better ideas (hopefully)
So far I have been successful in my efforts and have designed some rather different machines,
The latest version uses my hotend, my geared extruder and also the total design has been changed, The STL part files are being put up on my website for others to copy and use as I prove that they are working the best they can be, found under Free Stuff.
I have some other files that I will be adding soon after doing the final tests (I don't want to waste peoples time with un-proven designs)

Several of my builds have used a Printrboard rather than a RAMPS board (I happened to have them at the time) so I can provide you with the firmware ready to go if needed using the Printrboard
I changed over to GT2 belts and found them to work very well. Fishing line worked too, but was a bit "hit and miss"

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[regpye.com.au]
"Experience is the mother of all knowledge." --Leonardo da Vinci

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MelT
I believe 4.9 is the most recent released version

I looked what ubis hot end looks like and it seems a little too long. You probably need to customize your mount so as not to lose too much Z movement because of the extra length.

Yes, they list it as 0.4.9
but the same thing as you posted.

In the "dev" folder they have 0.4.7, 0.4.8, 0.4.9, 0.4.9.8, 0.5 and 0.6
Weird.

I can not tell which version is in the "release" folder. must be 0.4.9?
The files I have are dated June 30, in the "release" folder.

Thanks

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/07/2014 10:33PM by RTurnock.

The original design was for fishing line.
Now people are using belts and pulleys.
Does the present release support belts and pulleys? v 0.4.9?
OK, I will find out.

Augh, he just updated the STL files on Github 19 hours ago.
This design is moving very fast.
OK, thanks

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/07/2014 10:45PM by RTurnock.

The latest release allows for all 3 axis drive trains. The end plates come fitted with GT2 slits, rack and pinion/ fishing line hole. Serge wants the smartrap to be flexible letting people choose what to use.

You can just choose your own path now, first figure out if you want yo drive with fishing line, rack & pinion or GT2.
But i thing it wouldn't hurt you to just print all parts of the 4.9, this way you have spare parts and options to do some experiments.

What alternatives are there to the Z axis M5 threaded rod?
I can order one from McMaster Carr or ?
What are people doing to drive the Z axis?
Thank you.

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RTurnock
What alternatives are there to the Z axis M5 threaded rod?
I can order one from McMaster Carr or ?
What are people doing to drive the Z axis?
Thank you.

Threaded rod comes in lengths of all thread and usually is 1 metre long (in Australia) M5 is usually not as good a quality as M6, unless you choose to buy stainless rod which is made to a higher quality.
Keep in mind the files available so far are for using M5 nuts, so unless you are able to design your own files you should stick to a size that is easier for you to use.
Most people are using just zinc plated steel threaded rod, which is pretty cheap and easy to get.
The Z axis can be driven by a M5 thread or an M6 thread without any problems. The distance that one turn from a M5 rod is 0.8mm while from a M6 rod is 1mm.
I am also trying out using GT2 belt for the Z axis as well. As far as I know,no-one has done that yet.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/15/2014 12:12AM by regpye.

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[regpye.com.au]
"Experience is the mother of all knowledge." --Leonardo da Vinci

RTurnock, your right, keeping up with what version is what is pretty frustrating... Serge, Regpye, Mark, and some others keep coming up with improvements that get added into the design, so it rarely is stable for very long. I've got pieces printed from several different design versions as is, so I took a pause to see if something stabilized... It hasn't lol... I might try Regpye's version next as it seems well thought out, and pretty stable... I really need to get about 7 printed for a project I'm working on. Anyways, from what I can tell, there really is no wrong or bad version. Mine is a 4.6 and works good. So, just pick one and what drive train you want and go with it.

BTW, I think Serge, Regpye, and Mark have a Tinkerers Heart, and a 3D printer is both a blessing and a curse for them... Too many things ready to jump from their minds into reality... I don't think they can even sleep with all the possibilities and improvements... And from me to you... Thanks Guys...

You're quiet right Madmike thx for the compliments .

On my side. I make really a little pause in design from this 0.4.9 version , which is release on thingiverse now. I'm quiet happy with the result and my 4 smartraps in production are really going well now ( not something breaking every two days now ).
I will on next months improve the actual design to make it more easy to assemble and fit better out of the box. This is a lot of little changes you never see, but it changes the builder's life. But, no big changes for now , even we would always want to start all over with a better solution !

That will be another version in fact, like smartrap2.0 . As i produce kits , it was time to pause the design , it cost me too much to change too fast and cannot assume the production . It was necessary until now, but i'm happy now

to test things, i'm sure regpye, mike and all other silly designers here are going to give us to eat for months. haha . And that's awesome of course . It makes the all project a reality : interactive printed design !

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Ordered plastic parts from MakerCoast.
Will order threaded rod and then I already have all the other parts, motors, etc.
I hope to make one before September to show at the local high school.

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RTurnock
Ordered plastic parts from MakerCoast.
Will order threaded rod and then I already have all the other parts, motors, etc.
I hope to make one before September to show at the local high school.

Shouldn't be too hard to do Richard, only takes a day to build one if you have all the parts. Someone new to building will take a little longer of course, and has to learn several things on the way, but that is the good part about it, learning new things. While you are learning, you are sure to discover a better way to do something, so that is how it all comes about, a new design appears.
Welcome to the excitement.

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[regpye.com.au]
"Experience is the mother of all knowledge." --Leonardo da Vinci

Where do people in USA buy M5 or M6 threaded rod?
I have been looking at McMaster Carr and they have only inches in that small a size.
I could buy a 1/4inch - 16 TPI or larger, and make changes in firmware to get the right steps per unit.
I am interested in a specific hyperlink to a specific product that people have already purchased and that works for you.