The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Welcome to the 2nd Edition Assembly Guide for the Rostock Max 3D printer.
Version 1.30, December 4th, 2013
Copyright 2013 by Gene Buckle
Licensed as Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0
Questions or corrections should be emailed to geneb@deltasoft.com
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Table of Contents
Welcome to the 2nd Edition Assembly Guide for the Rostock Max 3D printer
– Introduction and
Acknowledgments
– Required
and Optional Tools And Materials, Part Checks
– Building the Base
Assembly
– Installing and Aligning the Towers
– Assembling and Installing the Idler Mounts
– Installing the Top Support Plate
– Installing the End Stop Wiring, Switches and Idler Bearings
– Assembling and Installing the Cheapskate Bearings
– Installing the Belts
– Assembling the Effector Platform
– Attaching the Delta Arms
– Assembling the Side Extruder Mount and Spool Holder
– Assembling the Top Mounted Extruder and Spool Holder
– Assembling and Installing the Side Mount Extruder
– Preparing and Installing the Power Supply & RAMBo
– Installing the Onyx Heated Bed
– Assembling and Installing the Hot End
– Wiring the Effector Platform, Side Mounted Extruder
– Wiring the Effector Platform, Top Mounted Extruder
– Completing the Wiring
– Software Installation and Configuration
– Calibrating your Rostock MAX
– Your First Print with the Rostock MAX
– Maintenance & Troubleshooting
Appendix A – Wire Management
Appendix B – Accessories
I’d like to welcome you to the second edition of the
Rostock MAX assembly guide! This manual is very nearly a complete re-write
of the original guide I first published in December of 2012. All the
photographs have been re-shot in order to make sure that the parts I show in
this guide match what you’ve got in your hands. The original guide was
written using the kit I received as part of the original Rostock MAX
Indiegogo campaign, and so it differs in a number of areas from the current
production model.
Most of the construction steps have been re-ordered. This
was done based on direct feedback from builders as well as the fine
collection of people at the SeeMeCNC forums. The biggest change that
previous Rostock MAX builders will notice is that the mechanical assembly is
completed first and then the electronics are installed. This was done for a
number of reasons, but primarily to make the Rostock MAX assembly experience
a lot less difficult. Please read this entire guide before you begin
assembly of your new Rostock MAX! It will help you avoid any unpleasant
surprises and will ensure that you’ve got everything you need BEFORE you
need it!
A quick note on the RAMBo, the controller for your
Rostock MAX. The RAMBo is static sensitive, so please don't take it out of
the static bag it ships in until you're ready to use it. The box containing
the RAMBo and its wiring should also contain a printed, black & white
sheet that looks like this:
http://www.reprap.org/wiki/File:Rambo-conn-all.jpg
Please refer to this sheet when you reach Section 16. This is a valuable
guide to wiring the RAMBo up to your Rostock MAX. Note that the connector
polarity is clearly marked on the board for the “MOSFET Outputs”.
Acknowledgments
I'd like to thank LulzBot for the use of their images in
the Troubleshooting Section as well as the gentleman that runs
http://minow.blogspot.com.au/ for his excellent guide on calibrating delta
configuration 3D printers.
I'd also like to thank the whole gang over at the
SeeMeCNC forums for providing excellent feedback and tips on how they built
their machines using the original manual (and sometimes without!). This
would be a much lesser creation without their contributions.
Before you begin assembly of your Rostock MAX, please make sure you’ve got
everything on the following list of tools and additional materials.
• P1 & P2 sized Phillips screwdrivers
• Standard flat head screwdriver
• 3/32” Allen (hex) wrench. A ball-end, T-handled version is a good choice
for this and the other sizes of Allen wrenches used
• 5/32” Allen (hex) wrench.
• 7/64” Allen (hex) wrench.
• Needle nose pliers
• Forceps – these will come in handy when routing the belts and reaching for
small, hard to reach parts. They can be purchased from Amazon for as little
as $3.50 for a set of two.
• Wire strippers
• Wire cutters
• Metric tape measure
• A small file. Some of the injection molded parts need to be filed/sanded
to fit. A fine “grain” file would be sufficient.
• 100-150 grit sandpaper. Like the file above, this will be used to adjust
the fit of some of the injection molded parts.
• 5/16” open-ended wrench (Used if you have a Steve's Extruder)
• 2 7/16” open end wrenches. (used to adjust Cheapskate Bearings)
• 11/16” open-ended wrench (used for hot-end mount)
• PermaTex Ultra Copper High Temp RTV
• 1/2” wide roll of Kapton tape
• Aluminum foil
• High temperature insulating material for the resistor wires. I recommend
PTFE tubing from McMaster-Carr, P/N: 5335K13.
• Uninsulated crimp on connectors, sized for 22-18ga wire.
Radio Shack P/N 640-3036 is an excellent choice.
• A digital caliper. These can be purchased from Harbor Freight tools for
around $10.
• A small squeeze clamp that can open at least 2”
• A wooden yardstick. This can be purchased at your local home center for
less than $1 (typically). This will be cut down in order to be used as a
height gauge for the Idler Mounts.
• Thread locking glue. (Loctite, etc – it’s used on the stepper motors)
• Crimping tool (Jameco P/N 159266 is a good choice)
• A Framing or a tall machinists square. (Required for installing the tower
extrusions.)
• Battery powered screwdriver.
• Pencil.
• Fishing line (10# is fine).
• Heat shrink tubing suitable for 18-22ga wire.
• 3/16” diameter heat shrink (for the extruder stepper splice)
• Slip-joint pliers
• Drill.
• 1/16” drill bit.
• Countersink. (3/8” diameter is sufficient)
• 300mm diameter Borosilicate glass disc. (Available from the SeeMeCNC
Online Store). This is the heated build plate that goes on top of the Onyx
heated bed. [Included in kits produced after August 2013]
• 18-24” of 14ga wire for the Onyx heated bed power.
• 40W Soldering Iron.
• 25ft of 24ga, 4 conductor wire (Jameco P/N: 644383) This is “accessory”
wiring and is used to bring power to the PEEK fan, an optional layer fan or
an effector-mounted light.
The following is a list of optional things
that can make your life easier in the long run.
• Superglue (used instead of scotch tape to hold some T-Nuts in place)
• 25MM, 12V PEEK Fan (if you're going to print PLA). Jameco P/N 2131881 is a
good choice, but any 12 volt 25x25x10mm fan will work. [Included in kits
produced after August 2013]
Note that if you're going to usee the SeeMeCNC fan shroud (recommended!) and
your kit does NOT include a fan, you'll want to find a 25x25x10 fan
elsewhere. The units that Jameco sells are only 6mm thick and will be a very
loose fit in the fan shroud.
• #6-32 Tap. Useful for threading the hole in the plastic component that the
end stop adjustment screw fits into.
• Electrician's tape.
• Six small nails to help line up the Onyx heated bed during installation.
• Waxed lacing cord. You can use this in place of wire ties in pretty much
any application. You can find it here:
http://www.skygeek.com/wht-string.html. While expensive, you'll never really
need to buy a wire tie again and it'll likely last you the rest of your
life. :)
• .100” (2.54mm) Latching Polarized Male Housing (1x4) and matching crimp
pins. This is used to add a connector to the end of the EZStruder extension
cable and makes life a lot easier. You can purchase 2 of these connectors
and their associated crimp pins from Hansen Hobbies
(http://www.hansenhobbies.com/products/connectors/pt1inlpconnectors/pt1in_lp_1x4/)
very inexpensively. The link for the pins is shown in the description for
the male housing. I'm going to diverge a bit to discuss connector choices.
When doing the wiring for the various things attached to the effector
platform (fans, hot end, etc) I like to use quick disconnects. This allows
more flexibility for things like light rings, more hot ends, etc.
There's been some discussion on the SeeMeCNC Rostock MAX
Forum (http://forum.seemecnc.com) about the kinds of connectors that can be
used for these purposes. I personally like using big connectors for the hot
end and heated bed, and smaller connectors for the thermistor, fans and
other accessories. The hot end itself doesn't really draw that much power so
as long as you've got 3” of wire from the hot end resistors to the
connector, you should be fine. Below is a list of connectors that you can
use for the hot end, heated bed, fans and other accessories. I would
recommend that you stick to the XT60 connector for the heated bed as it's
rated for much higher amperage than the JST types and it's a LOT easier to
disconnect than the large Deans style. Remember, you'll need one pair per
connection you're going to make.
• Deans or XT60 connectors for the hot-end. Tower Hobbies Deans:
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXKX39&P=ML
Hobby King XT60:
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__9572__Nylon_XT60_Connectors_Male_Female_5_pairs_GENUINE.html
• JST connectors for the hot end thermistor and PEEK fan (if
you're installing one)
Female:
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__9631__JST_Female_2_pin_connector_set_10pcs_set_.html
Male:
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__9630__JST_Male_2_pin_connector_set_10pcs_set_.html
• Four pin Deans connectors – useful to place the hot end and thermistor on
a single connector.
http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_info.php/cPath/1389_226/products_id/3595/n/Deans-Micro-Plug-4R-Red-Polarized-Connector
• Four pin JST connectors, with leads. Again, this would be a fine choice
for a combination hot end and thermistor connection.
http://www.adafruit.com/products/578
The small four pin Deans connectors can also be useful as a quick disconnect
for the extruder stepper motor. This would come in handy when transporting
the machine – you wouldn't have to unplug the wiring from the RAMBo and
remove it from the base. Hansen Hobbies has produced an excellent wire
crimping tutorial here:
http://www.hansenhobbies.com/products/connectors/Connectors.pdf
I strongly recommend it!
It's been brought to my attention that some builders have
routed the three end stop wires down the center of a single tower. This is
perfectly acceptable as long as you keep track of which wire pair goes
where.
The problem comes when the builder routes the EZStruder
stepper motor wires in the same tower as one or more pairs of end stop
wires. While the wires may fit, the routing will cause you no end of
headaches.
The end stop inputs on the RAMBo controller are very
sensitive to “noise”. By running the stepper motor power lines in the same
narrow channel that the end stop wires are in, you're going to cause
interference with the signal in the end stop wires. This happens because the
voltage in the stepper motor wires will induce a voltage in the end stop
wires and make the RAMBo think that an end stop switch has been closed when
it really hasn't. If you don't know what's going on, it'll make you
madder than an epileptic building a Jenga tower. :)
My recommended solution to this issue is to wire the end
stop wires as I show in this guide and then add a wire support bar after
your assembly is complete.
I've developed an easy to print clip that will allow you to add a 3/8”
diameter, 26-1/2” length of dowel as a wiring support structure to the
Rostock MAX. The mount requires two of these clips and will support the
EZStruder stepper wiring, the hot end wiring and the effector platform
accessory wiring.
I recommend that you download the wiring clip from
http://www.repables.com/r/131/
When your printer is calibrated, you'll print two of them. As the comment
for the part notes, cut off the single layer thick tabs after printing –
they're only there to help hold the small clip tips to the build plate.
I'll cover this in a bit more detail in Section 16B.
There will be a parts inventory included with your kit. Please check the
parts you have in the box against this packing list before you begin
construction. This will make sure you’re not missing any parts that could
delay the assembly of the kit. In the unlikely event that you find you’re
missing a part (or more!), please contact SeeMeCNC immediately! They can be
reached quickly at support@seemecnc.com. I've included a parts list of the
melamine components below. This list of materials is current as of 03Jul13.
If you get something made from melamine NOT on this list, please let me
know!
Part # - Qty - Description
68324 - 1 Hot End Spacer
68328 - 1 Hot End Adapter
68343 - 3 Carriage Plate
68344 - 3 Arm Plate
68345 - 2 Spool Axle
68351 - 1 Table
68352 - 3
68355 - 1 Base
68356 - 1 Power Supply Retainer
68357 - 1 Support Panel
68358 - 1 Door
68361 - 7 Cover Bracket
68364 - 3 Motor Mount
68368 - 1 Top Support Plate
68369 - 6 Idler Mount
68370 - 3 Top Clamp
68377 - 3 T Slot Support
68381 - 6 Axle Support
68387 - 2
68388 - 3
68389 - 1
68392 - 2 Bracket For Filament Spool
68410 - 1 LCD Face
68411 - 2 Stand Off LCD
70769 - 3
70770 - 1
70771 - 1 Part A (Spool holder)
70772 - 1 Part B (Spool holder)
70773 - 2 Arm (Spool holder)
70774 - 1 Part C (Spool holder)
70777 - 1
70778 - 1
70779 - 1
N/A 2Door Keeper
Total 72
Tri Support
Extruder Bracket
Spacer Extruder Support
Extruder Clamp
Spacer (top mounted extruder)
Brace (top mounted extruder)
Motor Support (top mounted extruder)
EZStruder Adapter Hanger
EZStruder Adapter
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Here is a list of the hardware included in your kit. It's current as of
15Aug13
Parts Bag #1:
Parts Bag #2:
8
Part # Qty Description
Parts Bag #1
30650 6 2-56 Pan head screws
30642 6 2-56 Hex nuts
30006 6 6-32x5/8” Socket Head Cap Screw
30037 22 6-32x2” Pan head screws
30034 10 6-32x1.75” Pan head screw
32005 25¼-20 T-Slot Nut
30419 25¼-20 Button Head Cap Screw
29998 6 10x32x5/8” Nylon Pan Head Screw
30170 6Nylon Hex Nut
44010 6Rubber Foot
17505 6 Leg for #44010 Rubber Foot
30449 26 #4 Flat Washer
30251 12 #4x1/4” Pan Head Sheet Metal Screw
30250 12 #4x3/8” Pan Head Sheet Metal Screw
30222 27 4-40 T-Nut
30238 4 4-40x1-1/4” Pan Head Screw
30236 16 4-40x3/4” Flat Head Screw
30232 12 4-40x1/2” Socket Head Cap Screw
30318 12M3x.5 Pan Head Screw
30121 4 6-32x1/2” Nylon Pan Head Screw
30450 50 #6 Flat Washer
35065 24 608ZZ Ball Bearing
30164 114 6-32 Nylon Lock Nut
30132 78 6-32x1” Flat Head Screw
Part # Qty Description
Parts Bag #2
68309 12Universal Joint
68326 18Cheapskate Carriage Bearing Spacer
68340 18Cheapskate Idler Bearing Spacer
68334 3Hot End Platform Spacer (Aluminum)
63825 6U-Joint Axles
68315 12Cheapskate Eccentric Carriage Tensioner
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Parts Bag #3:
9
Part # Qty Description
Parts Bag #3
71505 20 Plastic Spacers
71622 6 Belt Clamps
68332 3Carriage Base
68304 2 Platform Halves
58761 6 Binder Clips
26159 1 Toggle Switch
26164 15Wire Ties
39835 1 20 Tooth GT2 Timing Pulley Kit
3 Pulleys, 6 Set Screws, 1 Allen Wrench
68303 6Rostock MAX Molded Arms
Other Parts:
Part # Qty Description
Onyx Bed Pack
70505 6Plastic Spacers
30236 6 4-40x3/4” Flat Head Screw
30222 6 4-40 T-Nut
1 100K Thermistor
1Red LED
1 4.7K Resistor
58742 1 300MM Onyx Round Heated Bed
1Onyx Laser Cut Insulator
Electronics
1RAMBo Electronics Package
(Incl. Board, end stop wiring and thermistor wires)
26720 1RRD LCD Controller with SD card and RAMBo
LCD Adapter
1USB Cable
26501 4NEMA 17 Stepper Motor
26309 1 25MMx25MMx10MM 12v Fan
1ATX Power Supply
Miscellaneous
26602 1 300MM Borosilicate Glass Build Plate
Included in kits purchased after 8/11/2013
3 32” Aluminum Extrusions
Belt Pack
3 75” GT2 2MM Pitch Belts
68336 30 Bearing Covers
Hot End Pack
2 6.8 Ohm Heating Resistors
1 100k Thermistor
1 24”x2MM ID x 4MM OD PTFE Tubing
2 4MM PTC Fitting
1Assembled Hot End
1 2” PTFE sleeve for thermistor wires
The laser cut parts in the Rostock MAX kit are held in
place with masking tape. This tape is in place to make sure that the parts
are not damaged in shipping. The simplest way of removing the parts is to
cut the tape along the laser cut seam. All the laser cut parts have a
protective film on them that must be removed before you can
begin assembly. This film prevents the “flash-over” from the laser cutting
process from marring the finish on the Melamine parts. The protective film
is easy to remove, but the bits inside the small lettering can be
problematic. This material can be easily removed by using a small plastic
scraping tool (a credit card or driver’s license works well).
After you’ve got all the laser cut parts removed and the
film removed, you’ll want to wipe down the edges of each part with a dry
washcloth or shop towel. This will remove the last of the “ash” left over
from the laser cutting process.
You’ll note that all the parts shown in this guide are a rather painful
shade of orange. We’ll skip how I ended up at that color and just note that
if you’ve ordered the white melamine kit, painting all the parts to
personalize your build is a great idea! [Steve wants me to remind you that
you can have any color you want, just as long as it's black or white. Other
colors are up to you after you receive the kit.]
Before beginning the assembly process, you’ll want to
check some of the parts for consistency and in some cases, symmetry. This is
needed because sometimes the laser decides to go off and do its own thing,
resulting in parts that pass cursory inspection, but will leave you with a
machine that’s impossible to square.
Fig 1-1: Kit components
The first parts you should check are the machine table (P/N: 63851) and the
top support (P/N: 68368). These two parts have three notches in them that
the tower extrusions fit into. Make sure that the three notches match as
show in Fig 1-2 on the right. All three notches need to match. If they
don’t, your build will be slightly twisted and you’ll never be able to align
the error out. You can see what the top support (on the bottom) and the
Table base (top) look like aligned.
(Fig. 1-3)
As with all the illustrations in this guide, you can examine large
photographs that are stored
in the github repository for this document
https://github.com/seemecnc/RostockMAX/tree/master/ASSEMBLY_MANUAL/figures
(Fig 1-4)
shows the other parts that need to be checked. The height of each of the
parts shown
should be exactly the same when measured from the edges below the locking
tabs. The exception to
this is the two doors. They can be a bit undersized, but cannot be
oversized!
Fig 1-2: Symmetry of the base top and machine top.
Fig 1-3: Table & Top Support aligned.
If any of these parts don’t meet the uniformity of the
others, you’ll need to contact SeeMeCNC support in order to obtain
replacements. It’s extremely important that these parts are uniform. If
they’re not, you’ll end up with an out of square or warped base. This will
make it impossible to align the machine for use. Note that the Tri-Supports
have some small variation in the notches – this is ok. The important part is
that they're all the same height.
Fig 1-4: Vertically oriented parts
Fig 1-5: Ready to build!
– Building the Base Assembly
The first thing you’ll need to do is remove the countersink rings from all
the base assembly
components. (There’s no reason you can’t pop the countersink rings from all
the parts right now, not
just the base parts).
The countersink rings are small circles that have been laser cut around the
mounting holes.
When removed, they provide a “soft” space for the beveled head of a flat
head screw. When you
tighten the screw down, it will be flush with the surface.
I would recommend that you go ahead
and remove the countersink rings from all the
Rostock MAX components at this time. It’ll
save you some work later on.
Locate the bag of parts that contain the feet for the bottom of the Rostock
MAX. They’ll look
something like what is shown below in Fig. 2-3.
14
Fig 2-1: Countersink rings
Fig 2-2: Countersink rings on the Arm Plate
Fig. 2-3: Bag of parts for the base feet.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The base is supported by six feet. Each foot is made up of a nylon nut &
bolt, a black plastic
“foot” and a soft rubber “shoe”.
In Fig. 2-4 above, you’ll see the six mounting holes for the base feet. The
photo below shows a
pair of feet correctly installed, without the rubber “shoes”.
When you’ve got all six feet installed, you should have a bottom base plate
that looks like the
photo on the next page.
15
Fig. 2-4: Mounting locations for the six feet.
Fig. 2-5: Feet installed.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
You don’t want to install the “shoes” until the base assembly is complete.
The rubber “shoes”
are large enough that they’ll block access to the countersunk hole next to
three of the feet.
The base of the Rostock MAX is built upon three “tri-support” assemblies.
Each tri-support
contains a stepper motor, two idler bearings and the hardware required to
hold the aluminum tower
extrusions in place. The tri-supports consist of a Tri-Support (P/N:68352),
a T-Slot Support
(P/N:68377) and a Motor Mount (P/N:68364).
In order to make assembly easier, we’re going to treat each of those three
parts (four for the trisupport
that has the power supply attached) as sub-assemblies. This means that we’ll
be not only
assembling the components mentioned above, but the stepper motor and idler
pulleys as well. This
makes assembly a lot easier, especially considering how tight things are
once the tri-supports are
mounted to the base plate.
The stepper motors don’t ship with connectors attached, so the first thing
you’re going need to
do is attach the four pin connectors that are included in the RAMBo box. The
RAMBo box also has a
little packet of crimp on connectors. You’ll need 12 of them to wire up the
connectors for the three
stepper motors.
DO NOT INSTALL (or remove) A CONNECTOR ON THE FOURTH
STEPPER MOTOR! THE WIRING NEEDS TO BE EXTENDED FIRST
– THIS IS SHOWN IN SECTION 12.
16
Fig. 2-6: Feet Installed
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
If you’ve got the “old” model stepper motors, the wires will be colored Red,
Black, Green and
Blue. If you’ve got the “new” model stepper motors, they’ll be colored
Green, Red, Blue and Yellow.
The figures below show the wiring sequence for both models of stepper motor.
Fig. 2-7 covers
the old style while Fig. 2-8 covers the new.
Note that if you've got a newer edition of the kit, the motors come with the
connectors installed
on them already, so you can skip the following wiring task.
The white arrow points to pin #1 on the connectors.
17
Fig. 2-7: Old model stepper motor wiring pin out.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Insert each connector such that the little “tab” the top of the connector
will face up when
inserted into the socket. It will engage in the locking holes in the
connector. (These holes are right
above each pin # in Figs. 2-7 and 2-8.)
Fig. 2-8A shows what a proper crimp looks like when you use a standard
crimping tool. The
focus isn’t so hot, but you get the idea.
I would strongly recommend that you “bundle” the wires for each stepper
motor by twisting
them together and then adding a few small wire ties or use waxed lacing cord
to make them more
wiring harness-like. They'll be easier to route and their installed
appearance will be much neater. My
preference is waxed lacing cord as there's no “head” to catch on things like
there is with wire ties.
Using it is very easy – cut a 7” or so length of it, tie a granny knot
tightly around the wire bundle, tie
another tight granny knot on top of the first, clip the ends and you're
done.
18
Fig. 2-8: Current connector pin out.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Once you’ve installed the connectors, locate the parts bag with the three 20
tooth drive gears
and their mounting hardware. Newer kits ship with an all-aluminum gear that
has the same shape &
configuration as those shown below in Fig. 2-9.
In order to make sure that the tiny grub screws don’t loosen over time,
you’ll want to apply a
small amount of thread locking compound to each one before you install it.
When you slide the gear on
to the stepper shaft, stop when the outside face of the inner gear collar is
flush with the end of the
stepper motor drive shaft as shown below. The blue material around the grub
screw is thread locker.
19
Fig. 2-9: 20 tooth drive gears.
Fig. 2-8a: A properly crimped connector.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Once you’ve got all three stepper motors done, set them aside. We’ll get
back to them in a bit.
Now you want to start assembling the first of the three tri-supports.
20
Fig. 2-10: Drive gear installed.
Fig. 2-11: Tri-Support and T-Slot Support
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Go ahead and test-fit the Tri-Support and T-Slot Support to get an idea of
how they go together:
In order to assemble these two components, you’ll need two #6-32 nylon lock
nuts and two 1”
#6-32 flat head machine screws. (All the tab & slot part joins are done
with this nut & flat head screw
combination.)
21
Fig. 2-12: Test fitting the Tri-Support and T-Slot Support
Fig. 2-13:Tri-Support & T-Slot mounting hardware.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The nylon lock nuts need to be inserted in the square nut pockets as shown
below. Inserting the
nuts is easier if you use a pair of needle nose pliers to insert the nut
(flat sides parallel with the nut
pocket!) from the face that has the laser engraved lettering on it. This
allows you to leverage the draft
angle that results from laser cutting process in order to make inserting the
nylon lock nut much easier.
A solid rule to follow when installing the lock nuts is to always position
them with the “dome”
shape facing the short axis of the slot they’re sitting on. The face of the
nut always faces the surface
you’re joining to.
Drive the flat head screws in only far enough that the screw begins to
engage the nylon ring in
the lock nut. It’s important to leave these connections as loose as you can
– it be a big help when
you’re installing the Tri-Support assemblies into the base and when you
install the top plate. Make sure
that the countersink rings are facing outward, or toward the bottom of the
screw head.
22
Fig. 2-15: T-Slot mounting screw positions.
Fig. 2-14:Nylon lock nuts installed.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Now install the stepper motor mount as shown below in Fig. 2-16. It only
takes one fastener.
Now it’s time to install one of the stepper motors you were working with
earlier on to this Tri-Support
assembly.
Route the stepper motor’s wires through the wire pass-through as shown in
Fig. 2-17.
The stepper motor mounts to the motor mount using four M3x10mm pan head
screw. I would
recommend adding a #4 lock washer in addition to thread locker when you
perform the installation.
Vibration can cause these screws to loosen over time if you don’t take these
steps to avoid the problem.
A small amount of RTV on the threads will also work as a thread locker if
you don't have any.
Please label the stepper motor leads with the name of the axis you're
installing them in. It will
make final assembly a lot easier.
23
Fig. 2-16:Installing the stepper motor mount.
Fig. 2-17: Stepper motor wire routing.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The motor should be installed as shown below. The Tri-Support has over-sized
holes that align
with the stepper motor mounting screws, allowing you to reach them from the
side. As you can see, the
20 tooth gear is lined up with the center of the channel that’s formed by
the motor mount and the Tri-
Support.
With the stepper motor installed, it’s now time to move on to the installing
the two idler
assemblies that each Tri-Support needs. These guide the belt on their way to
the drive gear. Each idler
assembly is made from two injection molded spacers and a 608 sealed race
bearing.
24
Fig. 2-18: Installing the stepper motor.
Fig. 2-19: Idler bearing components.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The plastic spacers fit into the center bore of the bearing as shown in the
photo below.
Each Tri-Support assembly gets two of these idler bearings. They’re
installed using two #6-32,
1.75” long pan head Philips screws, four #6 washers and two #6-32 nylon lock
nuts.
Fig. 2-21 below shows the position of the first idler and the hardware
required to install it.
Fig. 2-22 on the next page shows the correct positioning for the two idler
bearing assemblies.
When installing them, only tighten the screws enough so they engage the
nylon lock nuts – as with the
flat head screws, having these loose will help installation into the base
and top. I also recommend that
you install the screws with the heads to the left. There’s more room to
reach them from that side after
everything is assembled and it’s time to tighten them down.
25
Fig. 2-20: Idler bearing assembly ready to install.
Fig. 2-21: Installing the Tri-Support idler bearing
assemblies
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
26
Fig. 2-22: Installation position for the two idler bearings.
Fig. 2-23: Additional view of the idler bearing installation.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The Tri-Support you just finished is going to be installed on the X Axis of
the Rostock MAX.
This means that this Tri-Support is where the RAMBo circuit board will be
installed. The RAMBo
board is mounted to the Tri-Support using four T-Nuts, four #4-40 socket
head screws, four #4 flat
washers and eight nylon spacers. For right now, all we’re going to do is
install the four T-Nuts into the
X-Axis Tri-Support assembly as shown in Figs. 2-24 and 2-25. You can use the
socket head screws and
the washers to “draw” the spines of the T-Nut into the melamine. I’d
recommend dabbing the outside
barrel of the T-Nut with a bit of Superglue before installing them. If they
pop out before or during the
RAMBo installation, you’re going to have a difficult time re-installing
them. A bit of Scotch tape
would work just as well. (Do both! Can't hurt!)
Now would be a good time to start
labeling your Tri-Support assemblies as
shown on the right.
I would also recommend labeling each
stepper motor lead with the axis it’s attached
to.
Assemble another Tri-Support and
label that one “Y-Axis”. The Z-Axis Tri-
Support has one additional component, the
power supply mounting bracket, as shown
on the next page.
27
Fig. 2-24: T-Nuts installed on the back of the X-Axis Tri-Support
Fig. 2-25A: Tri-Support labeled and RAMBo screws
installed.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The power supply bracket (P/N: 68356) fits into a slot in the Z axis
Tri-Support as shown
above. In my kit, the screw fit was a bit loose, so I used small tabs of
Scotch tape to hold them in place
until the Tri-Support was installed.
Now it’s time to install the three Tri-Support assemblies you’ve built into
the base. Go ahead
and install nylon lock nuts in both the top and bottom square nut pockets on
all three Tri-Support
assemblies. Some are a tight fit, so take your time. If you’re having
problems fitting one in, a pair of
slip-joint pliers can be used to fit the lock nut. (If you open the slip
joint, one jaw will press on the nut
corner while the other is flush with the opposite face of the melamine part
you’re working on.) DO
NOT TIGHEN DOWN THE TRI-SUPPORT SCREWS! Tighten the screws only to the point
where
they begin to engage the nylon. The Tri-Supports need to be loose in order
to give them a bit of
“wiggle” room in order to make installing the top of the base a much easier
task!
Start with the X axis Tri-Support as shown below:
28
Fig. 2-26: Z-Axis Tri-Support with power supply bracket in place.
Fig. 2-27: Installing the X-Axis Tri-Support.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The next Tri-Support you’ll install is for the Y axis. It’s the next
installation position counterclockwise
from the X axis Tri-Support.
After installing the Y axis, you should pass the X axis stepper motor under
the X axis Tri-
Support as shown above.
29
Fig. 2-28: Y Axis Tri-Support and X-Axis stepper wire
routing.
Fig. 2-29: Z axis Tri-Support in place.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The last thing you’ll need to do is make sure all three stepper motor wiring
harnesses end up in
what I call the “electronics bay” - the space between the X and Y axis
Tri-Supports. With this done, the
Tri-Support assembly installation is complete.
The last structural part that needs to be installed in the base is the Cover
Brackets (P/N:
68361). There are seven of them. These parts were originally used to help
hold a plastic cover in place,
but they’re now relegated to simple structural items. Like all the other
base components, the Cover
Brackets use #6-32 nylon lock nuts and 1” #6-32 flat head screws.
30
Fig. 2-30: Stepper motor wire routing.
Fig. 2-31: Installing the Cover Brackets.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Next, you’ll need to position the two doors on the base plate. The first
door is positioned
between the X and Y axes and is where the LCD brackets will mount. It’s P/N
68357 and is labeled
“Support Panel”.
The door has a “pin” that will fit into the hole located right behind the
Cover Bracket as seen
above. There’s another hole next to the stepper motor that is for the “door
keeper”. This is just a tiny
little part that helps keep the door shut.
Install the door keeper and tape it into place so the door doesn’t swing out
when you’re working
with the base.
31
Fig. 2-32: Installation of the Support Panel
Fig. 2-33: Door Keeper.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The other door to install is P/N 68358 and is marked “Electronics Door”.
This door is
positioned between the Y and Z axes and is simply used for a storage area.
Like you did on the
previous door, drop the door keeper in the hole and tape it in place.
The next task is to insert the T-Nuts for the Onyx heated bed into the back
face of the top plate.
The figure below was taken of my original Rostock MAX top plate, so it’s not
painted the same as the
other parts. The arrows highlight the six T-Nut locations.
32
Fig. 2-34: Installation of the "Electronics Mount" door.
Fig. 2-35: Locations for the heated bed T-Nuts.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
You can use the heated bed spacer plate as a guide if you’re unsure where
the holes are. Just
make sure that you’re inserting the T-Nuts on the bottom of the top plate.
The bottom is the face that
does not have any text engraved on it.
I would recommend that you either put a dab of Superglue on the T-Nuts as
you install them, or
cover them with a small patch of Scotch tape after they’re in (or both!).
This will ensure that you don’t
accidentally knock one out when it comes time to install the Onyx heated
bed.
Now carefully insert nylon lock nuts in all the square nut pockets on all
the Tri-Supports and
Cover Brackets (if you’ve not done so already as I know some of you like to
race ahead of the class!) :)
33
Fig. 2-36: Using the heated bed support plate as a hole locator.
Fig. 2-37: The remaining nylon lock nuts
are installed.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Now you can finally install the table top! This task isn’t difficult, but it
does take care to do it
right and not damage the tabs on the Tri-Supports and Cover Brackets. The
trick here is to start small
and work your way around the table top. We’ll start this process at the Y
axis as shown below.
In Fig. 2-38, you can see that we’ve really only started two parts – the
Cover Brackets located
to either side of the channel for the Y axis tower. Because we didn’t
tighten anything down, the parts
can move a bit to help them fit into the slots. Install two #6-32 1” flat
head screws as shown above
(this same screw is used throughout the table top installation). Tighten it
only enough that it begins to
engage the nylon portion of the lock nut. By doing this, we’ve established a
starting point that won’t
pop free as we’re working to get the other parts fit. Don’t forget that you
also have to make sure that
the door “pins” fit as well. Having the doors taped shut will help keep them
from tilting over too much.
Please take your time with this step and try not to force tabs into place.
The tolerances are very
tight, but they will fit! As you progress through the process, install
screws in the Cover Brackets as you
go – this will help quite a bit by preventing spots you've got fitted from
popping out as you work your
way around the top.
34
Fig. 2-38: Starting the table top installation.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Now that you’ve got the table top fitted down and you’re done teaching your
children some
fascinating new words, go ahead and install the remaining #6-32 1” flat head
screws, but don’t tighten
them down quite yet.
Flip the base assembly upside down and begin tightening down the mounting
screws. If you
use a power screwdriver, be VERY careful that you don’t over drive the screw
and pull it below the
surface of the melamine. You should tighten it enough that it’s flush, but
no more. You don’t want to
do damage to the screw holes. When you start tightening the screws, start in
the center and work your
way out in a spiral pattern, tapping as you go to make sure everything is
seated properly. When you’re
finished, install the “shoes” on the feet as shown in Fig. 2-40 below.
35
Fig. 2-39: Top is firmly in place!
Fig. 2-40: Screws tightened and shoes installed.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Now flip the base over and get all the screws in the top tightened down.
After the top screws are tightened down, go through and tighten the screws
that hold the Tri-
Supports together. It can be tricky to reach a few of them, but not
impossible.
36
Fig. 2-41: Screws tightened down in the top of the table
base.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
3 – Installing and Aligning the Towers
Now that the base is completed, it’s time to install the three aluminum
towers into the base
plate. Start off by locating the 1/4-20 x 1/2” button head cap screws and
the 1/4-20 T-Slot nuts. There
are 12 of each required for this step.
You need to pay special attention to the orientation of the “boss” or
protrusion on the T-Slot
nuts. See Fig. 3-2 below for the correct orientation.
The orientation is important because the flat surface of the T-Nut must be
flush against the face
of the Tri-Support in order for it to hold properly.
37
Fig. 3-1: Screws and T-Slot nuts required for the tower
installation.
Fig. 3-2: T-Nut boss orientation.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Now you want to install four t-slot nuts and four screws in each of the
three tower locations as
shown below. The image focus isn’t the best, so I’ve included an additional
photo from the first edition
of the manual to more clearly show what you need to do.
You’ll note that the T-Nuts are only a few threads deep on the screws. This
is needed in order
for them to fit easily into the slots in the tower extrusions.
38
Fig. 3-3: Installing the tower mounting hardware.
Fig. 3-3a: Installation of the tower hardware, clarification.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Now you can start installing the tower extrusions. It doesn't matter which
one you start with,
but I usually start from the Z axis and work my way around. Carefully slide
the extrusion into the slot
formed by the Tri-Support. Make sure that the T-Nuts are oriented in
parallel to the extrusion slots so
they'll fit properly.
Slide the extrusion down to the alignment mark that’s been laser engraved to
the inside face of
the Tri-Support
You want to make sure that the bottom of the extrusion is perfectly even
with the alignment
mark. Once you have done that, tighten down the bottom screws (only!) a
small amount. The idea is
to keep the extrusion from slipping lower while you’re squaring it up.
39
Fig. 3-4: Tower alignment mark.
Fig. 3-5: Extrusion even with the alignment mark.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Now grab the your framing square because here’s where we make sure that the
tower is
perfectly square to the Rostock MAX’s base.
Adjust the tower back and forth until you’re confident that it’s square. If
you’ve never used a
square before, you’re trying to make the “L” of the square fit such that
it’s in full contact with the
extrusion vertically and in full contact with the table base horizontally.
It shouldn’t rock back and forth
at all. Think of it as an upside down shelf brace.
Once you’re confident that the tower is square, carefully finish tightening
down the two lower
screws in the tower base and fully tighten the two upper screws as well.
Double check the tower to
make sure it didn’t come out of square while you were tightening down the
mounting screws.
After the tower is tightened down, go ahead and tighten down the two idler
bearings in the base.
Repeat this process for the other two towers.
40
Fig. 3-6: Squaring the tower extrusion to the base.
Fig. 3-7: Towers installed!
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
A final note on the towers – make sure that while the towers are square,
that each one has the
same distance between the inside face of the tower and the outside face of
the tower pocket on the table
top. While it’s important that each tower be square, it’s also very
important that they’re equidistant
from one another around the circle defined by the base. If they’re not,
you’ll have problems calibrating
the Rostock MAX (if you can do it at all!).
41
Fig. 3-8: Mind the gap! Make sure the gap is the same for each tower!
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
4 – Assembling and Installing the Idler Mounts
For this step, you’ll need the six Idler Mount parts (P/N: 68369) and the
three Top Clamps (P/N:
68370). You’ll insert the remaining 1/4-20 button head screws and their
associated T-Nuts as shown in
Fig. 4-1.
Make sure you orient the parts as shown in order to have the alignment marks
visible (the white
arrows indicate those marks – the marks are a thin, laser cut line below the
wire slot)
Take one of the Idler Mounts and install it at the top of the tower
extrusion. Position it such that
the alignment mark is perfectly even with the top of the extrusion. Tighten
one of the bolts a bit and
make a pencil mark on the extrusion, even with the bottom of the Idler Mount
as shown below.
42
Fig. 4-1: Idler Mount parts.
Fig. 4-2: Marking the bottom of the Idler Mount.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The pencil mark is going to be your guide for how much you’ll need to cut
off the yardstick you
bought. (I bet you were wondering about that!)
The idea here is to cut the yardstick off at the mark and then when it’s
time to install the top
assembly, you’ll be able to guarantee that each idler mount is at the exact
same height as all the rest of
them.
43
Fig. 4-3: Idler Mount spacing gauge.
Fig. 4-4: Marking the yardstick.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Make sure that when you cut the yardstick that the cut is perfectly square!
If it’s not, using the
yardstick as a good gauge will be problematic at best.
After you’ve got the yardstick cut down, clamp it in place and verify that
when the idler mount
is installed, the alignment mark remains even with the top of the tower
extrusion, then remove it.
Loosely assemble each Idler Mount as shown below. (Like “loosely” is a
choice at this stage!)
44
Fig. 4-5: Test fitting the gauge.
Fig. 4-6: Idler Mount assembly.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Install a #4-40 T-Nut on the bottom of each Idler Mount location in the Top
Support Plate (P/N:
68368) as shown:
Install each Idler Mount assembly using a 1-1/4”, #4-40 pan head machine
screw and a #4
washer.
45
Fig. 4-7: T-Nut installed in the Top Support Plate
Fig. 4-8: Bottom view of the Idler Mount
installed in the Top Support Plate.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The Top Support Plate should now look like what is shown below in Fig. 4-9.
46
Fig. 4-9: Assembled Idler Mounts and Top Support Plate.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
5 – Installing the Top Support Plate
Now it’s time to install the Top Support Plate on to the three extrusion
towers. It’s not
difficult, but you will need to take your time. Start by getting one Idler
Mount set in the extrusion
tower as shown:
When you set the Idler Mounts in, just do the bottom two T-Slot nuts for
each tower. This
makes all three easier to install without the Top Support Plate tilting and
making installation more
difficult than it needs to be. After you get the base T-Nut pairs done,
repeat the process and insert the
top two pair:
47
Fig. 5-1: Setting the Idler Mount into the tower extrusion.
Fig. 5-2: Setting the top pairs of T-Nuts into the tower
extrusion.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Now grab your fancy Idler Mount Height Gauge and let’s get the top
completed!
As you get each side positioned to the right height, tighten the lower cap
screw to hold the Idler
Mount in place. You’ll perform this task for all six Idler Mounts.
When you’ve got all six brackets at the correct height, tighten down all the
cap head screws as
well as the Top Clamp screw on each Idler Mount assembly.
48
Fig. 5-3: Adjusting the Idler Mount height using the height gauge.
Fig 5-4: Idler Mounts at correct height.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
At this stage, your Rostock MAX should look like the one shown in Fig. 5-5.
(Or not, if you’ve
got better taste in paint colors than I do!)
49
Fig. 5-5: Assembly progress so far.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
In order to ensure that the machine is properly aligned and squared up,
you’ll need to flip it
upside down and check each tower extrusion with your framing or machinists
square to ensure that the
towers are square to the top as well as the bottom of the machine.
If you find one that’s not square, you can use your height gauge to ensure
that the Idler Mount
doesn’t slide “up” while you’re adjusting the tower extrusion. Also note
that just as with the base, you
need to ensure that the gap between the inside face of the extrusion and the
outside face of the tower
notch in the Top Support Plate is the same for each tower location. The gap
on the top should match
the gap on the bottom – this kind of happens by default when the towers are
perfectly square to both the
base and top.
50
Fig. 5-6: Checking the top for square alignment.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
6 – Installing the End Stop Wiring, Switches and Idler Bearings
In the box for the RAMBo controller, you’ll find the end stop wiring
harnesses. There’s three of
them and they consist of a pair of wires (black & white) with crimp-on
spade connectors on one end
and small crimp-sockets on the other.
To begin, route the first end stop wires through the bottom of the Top
Support Plate at the top of
the tower as shown below.
Next, route the wire through the side of the Idler Mount:
Now here comes the tricky part – the end stop wires need to be run down the
center channel in
the tower extrusion. The simplest method is to take a length of fishing line
and use it to “fish” the
wires through. You’ll start by tying a simple granny knot around the crimped
pins of the end stop
wiring:
51
Fig. 6-1: Routing the end stop wires, step #1.
Fig. 6-2: Routing the end stop wires, step #2.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Thread the fishing line through the center of the extrusion and make sure it
exits to the outside
of the idler pulleys. Carefully pull the wires through, and you’ll end up
with this view from the top:
52
Fig. 6-3: Fishing the end stop wires.
Fig. 6-4: End stop wires routed through the tower
extrusion. (Step #3)
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Now carefully route the end stop wires through the left side of the
Tri-Support as shown in Fig.
6-5.
After routing the wiring through the Tri-Support, install the crimped socket
connectors in one of
the 3 pin connector shells that were included with the RAMBo package.
53
Fig. 6-5: Routing the end stop wires through the Tri-Support. (Step #4)
Fig. 6-6: End stop wiring connector.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Please pay careful attention to how you assemble the end stop connector. The
wires must go in
positions #1 and #2 (pin 1 is indicated by the arrow mark that’s in-line
with the pin exit). If you put a
wire in pin #3, you’ll short out the input on the RAMBo. Note that it
doesn't matter which pin uses
which color – just make sure you're consistent across all three connectors.
After installing the connector, label the wire for which axis it belongs to
and then route it along
the same path as the stepper motor wiring so it ends up in the “electronics
bay” where you’ll be
installing the RAMBo later on.
Now install the end stop wiring for the other two axes.
In order to install the end stop micro switches, you’ll need two #2-56, 5/8”
long machine screws
and two #2-56 nuts for each switch.
Since the switches are wired as “Normally Closed”, we’ll remove the center,
“Normally Open”
terminal as it’s just in the way.
Pin 1 in the photograph above is the “common” terminal, while pin 2 is the
“normally closed”
terminal. The terminal labeled “X” can be carefully cut free from the switch
using a pair of wire
cutters.
In order to mount the switch properly, you’re going to have to bend over the
two terminals on
54
Fig. 6-7: End stop switch terminals.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
the switch itself. If you hold the switch flat and then “roll” it upright,
you can bend both terminals at
the same time and the same amount.
Install an end stop switch at each axis as shown below. This is where the
forceps come in really
handy!
Take
55
Fig. 6-8: End stop switch with the leads bent properly.
Fig. 6-9: Installing the end stop switches.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
care not to over-tighten the screws. Too much pressure will destroy the
switch body. Install the end
stop switches on the other two axes. Don’t forget to hook them up! :)
Now that the end stop wiring and switches are handled, it’s time to install
the upper idler
bearings in the Idler Mounts. For this task, you’ll need three 1.75” long
#6-32 pan head screws, six
washers, three nylon lock nuts. The bearings require the last six injection
molded bearing spacers and
three 608 sealed bearings. Just as you built the bearings for the lower
idlers, you’ll do the same here.
When you install the idler bearing, you don’t need to tighten it down just
yet. Press the bearing
down until the 1.75” screw is resting in the bottom of the tensioner slot on
both sides of the Idler
Mount. I would strongly recommend you go take a break. The Cheapskate
bearing assemblies are
next! (Drink a beer, chase the significant other around the living room,
etc)
56
Fig. 6-10: Idler bearing parts Fig. 6-11: Idler bearing assembled.
Fig. 6-12: Upper idler bearing installed.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
7 – Assembling and Installing the Cheapskate Bearings
Each Cheapskate bearing assembly consists of these melamine parts:
Carriage Plate (P/N: 68343) 1ea.
Arm Plate (P/N: 68344) 1ea.
Axle Support (P/N: 68381) 2ea.
The first thing you need to do is attach the bearing covers to each one of
the 608 bearings. In
my photos, the bearing covers are white, but chances are pretty good that
you’ll get the updated ones
made from a black material. The covers just snap over the bearing as shown
below.
57
Fig. 7-1: Some of the Cheapskate bearing assembly components.
Fig. 7-2: Assembling the bearing covers
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Once you’ve got the bearing covers taken care of, you’ll now need to prepare
the three Carriage
U-Joint mounts and u-joints for installation. The screws shown below are
from a package of #4 3/8”
sheet metal screws. You’ll need six of them to install the u-joint axles in
the Carriage U-Joint mount.
Next comes one of the parts of the Rostock MAX assembly that is frankly, a
pain in the ass.
The Carriage U-Joint mounts need some sanding in order for the machined
aluminum u-joint to fit.
The reason for this is that it’s apparently very difficult to produce
injection molded glass-filled
nylon parts in the kind of tolerances required for this application. This
enjoyable task will be repeated
when it comes time to assemble the effector end. Fortunately SeeMeCNC is now
shipping the Delta
Arms in a machined state, so they should require little if any sanding.
58
Fig. 7-3: Carriage U-Joint mount parts.
Fig. 7-4: Test fitting a u-joint in the Carriage U-Joint
mount.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
You want to sand the sides of the U-joint mount just enough that the u-joint
will spin freely on
the axle when in place, but has no side-to-side play. If you over-sand and
get side-to-side play, you’ll
need to install shims to remove that, otherwise your prints will have tiny,
uncorrectable errors in them.
The u-joint needs to pass the “flick test” - where you “flick” the u-joint
with your finger, and
it’ll spin on the axle for a short period of time. If they stick at all,
you’ll need to fix it, otherwise you’ll
experience a phenomenon unique to the Rostock MAX, the dreaded Delta Arm
Blues! The DAB was
coined by the fine folks on the SeeMeCNC forum as a slick way to describe
the effects caused by any
mechanical friction in the delta arm interconnect system. I’ll cover this in
more detail when I discuss
calibration and tuning later on.
After you’ve got all three Carriage U-Joint mounts sanded properly, you can
install one in each
of the Arm Plates (P/N: 68344). Each mount requires 2 #6-32 nylon lock nuts
and two #6-32 5/8”
socket head screws as shown below.
You may want to add a #6 washer to the back of these when you assemble them.
Your choice.
I would recommend that before you install the Carriage U-Joint mount that
you install the end stop
adjustment screws into each of the Carriage U-Joint mounts. These screws are
2” long #6-32 pan head
screws and are threaded into the mounts as shown on the next page.
59
Fig. 7-5: Carriage U-Joint mounts and mounting hardware ready to go.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The mounts are not threaded, so you’ll need to carefully thread the holes
with a #6-32 tap. Take
special care that the tap remains square to the hole! You don't want to cut
the threads at an angle.
If you don't have a tap, you can drive the screw in to form threads in the
glass-filled nylon
mount. Drive the screw such that about 1/16” of the end of it sticks out
through the other side. Pay
careful attention to what hole you insert the screw into. Some mounts may
have two holes – you want
to install it exactly as shown in Fig. 7-6 in order for it to properly
engage the arm on the end stop
switch that’s mounted on the Idler Mount.
60
Fig. 7-6: End stop adjustment screw installed in the u-joint mount.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
In Fig. 7-7 above, you’ll see the mount installed in the correct position.
The arrow indicates the
location of the end stop adjustment screw.
Next, you’ll install the two u-joints using four 5/8” long, #4 sheet metal
screws. After installing
the u-joints and the screws are in tight, ensure they still pass the “flick”
test. If they don’t, it means that
the screws have slightly deformed the notches that the u-joints are
installed in. Identify where the
contact is happening and lightly sand it until all six of the u-joints can
pass the flick test with no sideto-
side motion.
61
Fig. 7-7: Carriage U-Joint mount installed in the arm plate.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Now we’ll go ahead and get the Cheapskates assembled. For this task you’ll
need the following
materials:
• Four 2” long, #6-32 cap head screws
• Eight #6 washers
• Four #6-32 nylon lock nuts
• Four bearings with covers attached
• Four bearing spacers (black, cone shaped spacers)
• Four eccentric cams (gray, six sided spacers)
• Four #4-40 T-Nuts
First up, we need to install the four #4-40 t-nuts. These parts will hold
the belt brackets in
place. I highly recommend that you use Superglue to hold them into place.
You don’t want to chase
them around when it comes time to install the belts.
62
Fig. 7-8: U-joints installed in the carriage mount.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Next, we’ll build the spacer “stacks”. You’ll see on the Arm Plates that the
holes are marked for
the type of “stack” that belongs there.
63
Fig. 7-9: Installing the t-nuts for the belt clamps.
Fig. 7-10: Spacer "stack" locations.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
I refer to them as “stacks” because they consist of a stack of parts. One
spacer, a bearing
assembly and another spacer. The next figures will illustrate how the spacer
stacks are assembled.
64
Fig. 7-11: The spacer stack begins with a black, conical
spacer.
Fig. 7-12: Next are the bearing assemblies.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Now you’ll want to add one of the Carriage Plates to this – take care to
ensure that you’re
aligning the holes marked “SPACER” in the Carriage Plate with the screws
you’ve built the spacer
stacks on.
You’ll note that they’re attached loosely – this is done in order to allow
the Cheapskate
assembly to be set on the tower extrusion without striking the nylon lock
nuts that are holding the ujoint
mount in place.
65
Fig. 7-14: Carriage Plate showing the
spacer mounting holes.
Fig. 7-15: Carriage Plate attached.
Fig. 7-13: Finally, add two more conic shaped spacers as
shown.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Now you’ll need to position the Cheapskate on the tower extrusion as shown
below. You’ll be
installing the bearings with the gray plastic eccentric cams next.
The eccentric cams are used to tighten the “grip” of the bearings on the
tower extrusion. This
allows you to adjust the completed Cheapskate to fit the tower precisely and
with no “slop”.
The eccentric cam has a ridge that indicates the “narrow” point of the cam
shape. When you
install the eccentric cams into the bearings, make sure you line the ridges
up as shown above.
66
Fig. 7-16: Cheapskate resting on the tower extrusion.
Fig. 7-17: Bearing assemblies with eccentric cams in place
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
When installing the eccentric cam & bearings into the Cheapskate, make
sure that the ridge is
facing the tower extrusion as illustrated below.
Install the two bearing assemblies as shown below. Make sure that you
tighten the screws that
hold the bearings in place BEFORE you start your adjustment procedure!
With the eccentric bearings installed, use a 7/16” open end wrench to adjust
the distance of the
bearings to the tower extrusion. When you adjust the cam on one side, they
should both move the same
amount. If they don’t, you should use two wrenches to keep the eccentric
cams “in sync”.
This short video illustrates how the Cheapskates should operate when
correctly adjusted.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LCHGMivJeE
67
Fig. 7-18: Correct orientation of the eccentric cam prior to
installation.
Fig. 7-19: Eccentric bearings installed.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Now you need to install the Axle Supports (P/N: 68381). You’ll need two
melamine Axle
Supports, one 2” long, #6-32 screw, two #6 washers, one #6-32 nylon lock
nut, two conical spacers,
and one bearing assembly for each of the three required Axle Support
assemblies. You’ll also need two
#6-32 nylon lock nuts and two 1” long #6-32 flat head screws to install each
Axle Support into the
Cheapskate bearing assembly.
Please check each melamine part to ensure that it fits properly in the
mounting notches in the
Cheapskate Carriage Plate (P/N: 68343). I’ve found that while most of them
fit properly, one or two
are just a tiny bit too large to fit without a lot of friction. Sand them
down evenly on each contact side
until they fit properly. You want a fit that is snug, but not one that’s so
tight that you have to break out
the hammer to make it fit. Please check the fit of each Axle Support to make
sure that it won't bind
when you finish assembling them.
The next set of figures illustrates the assembly order for each Axle
Support.
68
Fig. 7-20: Required parts for the Axle Support assemblies.
Fig. 7-21: Insert screw with a washer into the melamine
Axle Support
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
69
Fig. 7-22: Install two conical spacers and a bearing
assembly.
Fig. 7-23: Next, install the remaining Axle
Support, a washer and a #6-32 nylon lock
nut.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Finally, insert the #6-32 nylon lock nuts into the square nut capture
pockets as shown above.
The Axle Support assembly is fitted into the back of the Cheapskate bearing
as shown in Fig. 7-
25. You may want to loosen the axle screw a bit in order to give yourself a
bit more “wiggle” room
when installing it.
70
Fig. 7-24: Completed Axle Support assembly.
Fig. 7-25: Axle Support installed in the Cheapskate
bearing assembly.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The retaining screws for the Axle Support fit through the face of the Arm
Plate as shown below.
When tightening the retaining screws, make sure you tighten them evenly in
order to
avoid “canting” the Axle Support. Only tighten them enough to cause the
bearing to get good contact
with the back of the tower extrusion. You don’t want it so tight that it
interferes with the smooth
motion of the Cheapskate assembly.
When the upper and lower bearings are adjusted properly, the Cheapskate
should slide freely
along the tower extrusion and should not bind at any point in its travel.
Attempt to “rotate” the
Cheapskate by gripping the back of the Cheapskate as shown in Fig. 2-27 and
attempt to turn it.
71
Fig. 2-26: Axle Support retaining screws.
Fig. 7-27: Testing the Cheapskate for proper bearing
tension.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The pink arrows indicate a rotation motion that results in your thumb moving
up and down.
The cyan colored arrow indicates a rotation motion that results in your
thumb turning away from you
and toward you. If the Cheapskate has any motion along the cyan arrow, the
Axle Support can be
adjusted to remove this motion. Correct adjustment will have been achieved
when the only motion the
Cheapskate has is purely up and down along the tower extrusion. It should
have no motion along any
other axis.
It is important to note that you want the Cheapskate assembly gripping the
extrusion only tight
enough to keep it from moving improperly. It shouldn't be loose enough to
move laterally or
rotationally as shown previously. Correct tension has been achieved when
lateral and rotational
movement have been adjusted out AND the Cheapskate falls quickly and
smoothly when raised to the
top of the tower and dropped. Do NOT let it strike the machine base – catch
the stupid thing so it
doesn't do any damage. [It annoys me that I have to put an explicit warning
about that, but I just know
someone will let it hit and then squall about me not telling them not to let
it happen...]
Complete these steps for the remaining two Cheapskate bearing assemblies.
72
Fig. 7-28: Cheapskate bearings installed!
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
8 – Installing the Belts
For this step, you’ll need one of the three drive belts and a pair of
forceps. You’ll also need two
belt clamps and four 1/2” #4-40 socket head machine screws in order to
attach the belt ends to the
Cheapskate.
The figures 8-2 and 8-3 below show the belt path at the top and at the
bottom of the Rostock
MAX. Each tower gets a single belt with the teeth of the belt facing the
center of the tower extrusion.
.
Insert the belt through the notch at the base of the tower as shown above.
Please ensure that the
belt teeth are facing the center of the tower extrusion or the gear on the
stepper motor will not be able
to engage the belt. Tape the end of the belt about mid-way up the tower
until you’re ready to attach it
to the bottom of the Cheapskate.
73
Fig. 8-1: Entry point for the belt routing task.
Fig. 8-2: Routing the belt around the stepper motor gear.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Route the belt around the gear as shown in Fig. 8-2. Note that the belt path
takes the belt
between the two idler pulleys on the way down towards the gear, and on the
outside of the outer idler
bearing as it travels up the tower toward the Idler Mount at the top of the
Rostock MAX.
The figure above shows the belt as it passes over the drive gear and up over
the outer idler
bearing.
Now that you’ve got the belt routed, let’s get it attached to the
Cheapskate!
Before I outline the “traditional” method of getting the belts installed, I
wanted to show you a
slick method that Dan Barrans over at the SeeMeCNC Forum came up with.
74
Fig. 8-3: Belt path as it goes over the upper idler pulley.
Fig. 8-2.1: Lower belt path.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Dan’s process goes like this:
1) Cut a strip of flat plastic narrow enough to fit in the slot in the rail.
2) Push the strip into the belt slot far enough to stick out above the
carriage.
3) Grab the top end of the plastic. You'll need to use a toothpick or
something else sharp
enough to get behind it.
4) Thread the belt between the plastic strip and the back of the carriage.
5) Hold the belt and strip together with your thumb and finger, pushing them
both down
a bit to open up enough space in the slot for the belt to fit through.
6) Push the belt and strip through the slot enough so you can grab the belt
from the front.
Here’s a picture of how this works:
As you can see, this is a pretty slick method of getting the belts installed
Dan says that it takes
very little time and is easy to accomplish. Many thanks to Dan for allowing
me to include his tip in this
assembly guide!
If you’re interested, the link that contains the discussion about his
mounting method is here:
http://forum.seemecnc.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=1590
75
Routing the belt on a plastic "ramp".
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
This task is deceptively simple. If you slide the belt end under the
Cheapskate with it oriented
vertically, you can reach through the slot with small forceps and easily
grab the belt end and pull it
through.
Now grab one of the belt clamps and fold it in half as shown below.
Hold the clamp in your right hand with the “teeth” of the clamp facing down
and the oval
“mouth” of the clamp pointing to the left. Slide the belt end through the
oval with the teeth facing up –
they’ll lock into the teeth in the clamp. Push the belt through until it’s
even with the outside edge of the
clamp and using two 1/2”, #4-40 socket head screws, install it as shown in
Fig. 8-6.
76
Fig. 8-5: Belt clamp.
Fig. 8-4: Pulling the belt through with forceps.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
77
Fig. 8-6: Lower belt clamp installed.
Fig. 8-7: Belt clamp installed. Arrows indicate direction of teeth in the
clamp.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Perform the same procedure on the upper belt clamp as shown below – if
you’ve got enough
“extra” belt, just loop it down under the u-joint carriage to get it out of
the way. If there’s not enough
to do this, fold the tail of the belt in half and tape it together. You
don’t want the belt interfering with
the end stop switch. Try to take out as much slack as you can when you
attach the upper belt clip. It’ll
give you more “room” to work with when it comes time to adjust the tension
in the belts.
Repeat this process for the other two Cheapskates.
Once you’ve got all three belts installed, you’ll need to get them
tensioned. The mounting
screw for the idler pulley on the Idler Mount is in a slot for a reason.
This slot is used to adjust the belt
tension to ensure smooth operation of each axis.
In order to adjust the tension on the belt, you need to move the idler
pulley such that it’s farther
away from the base – higher in the slot as it were. This task can be done
easily, if a bit awkwardly by a
single person.
78
Fig. 8-8: Upper belt clamp installed.
Fig. 8-9: The belt tension adjustment.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Place the Rostock MAX on a table that allows your eye level to be above the
top plate of the
machine. Insert a screwdriver diagonally under the idler bearing as shown
below:
Tighten the idler pulley screw just enough so that it begins to grip the
side of the Idler Mount.
Press down on the end of the screwdriver until the center line of the idler
pulley screw is in the center
of the travel allowed by the slot it passes through. Once you’ve reached
that point, tighten the screw
down to lock it in place. Do NOT tighten it down too much! The small area of
the washer can
compress the melamine in such a way that it begins to collapse and form a
“cup” as the washer is
drawn through it. Keep a careful eye on how “level” the idler pulley screw
is. If it tilts to either side of
the Idler Mount, the belt will rub against the “high” side.
79
Fig. 8-10: Using a screwdriver as a lever.
Fig. 8-11: Screw at center point of adjustment travel.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
There is no measurable “ideal” belt tension that I’m aware of. The rule of
thumb to go by is to
adjust the belts such that they’re tight enough to not skip on the drive
gear and not have any “slack”,
but not so tight that it creates a bunch of drag on the stepper motor. Play
with it a bit and go with your
instinct on it. I wish I had a better way of doing this, but until some guy
with a LOT more brain power
than I have comes along, this is what we’ve got to work with.
80
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
9 – Assembling the Effector Platform
For this step, you’ll need the three remaining short steel rods, the two
Effector Platform halves
(P/N: 68304) and six u-joints (P/N: 68309). You’ll also need 12 1/4” long #4
sheet metal screws in
order to complete the assembly.
Assemble the platform and start test fitting the u-joints. Make sure you
have the u-joint aligned
by holding it in place with the steel rod.
The u-joint mounts in platform are
made slightly under-sized in order to
guarantee a precise fit. Unfortunately, this
means that in order for the u-joints to
move freely, you’ll need to perform the
same sanding/filing task that you did to the
u-joint mounts that are mounted to the
Cheapskate bearings.
As with the carriage mount, you
want to ensure that the u-joint has no sideto-
side play along the steel shaft when it’s
installed in the Effector Platform. Note
that when you put the 1/4” #4 screws into
the platform, the contact area around the
screw will bulge a tiny amount. This will
cause the platform to grip the sides of the
u-joint near where the screws are. To avoid this issue, assemble the
platform using the screws as a final
check of each u-joint “pocket” and file or sand in order to be able to pass
the same “flick test” you
performed on the Cheapskate u-joints.
81
Fig. 9-1: Effector Platform Components.
Fig. 9-2: Test fitting a u-joint.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Please take your time with this sanding process. If you take off too much
material, you’ll need
to make shims to prevent any lateral play in the u-joint. Lateral motion
along the steel support rod will
cause your prints to be inaccurate and it will drive you madder than a box
of frogs.
When installing the screws, take care to not over-tighten them. The thread
on the screw is
pretty coarse, but the platform material is soft and won’t take much abuse.
You want to avoid a
stripped screw hole!
82
Fig. 9-3: 1/4" #4 Sheet Metal Screw.
Fig. 9-4: Assembled Effector Platform
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
10 – Attaching the Delta Arms
For this step, you’ll need the six Parallel Delta Arms (P/N: 68303).
In the original release of the Rostock MAX kit, the delta arms needed a lot
of work before you
could install them. Like the carriage and effector u-joint mounts, they grip
the u-joints way too much.
This friction causes no end of really odd print issues. In order to help
reduced the work required to fit
the arms, SeeMeCNC has begun to perform these post-production sanding steps
for you. However,
even though the arms come machined to a better fit, they’re still going to
grip the u-joints too tightly.
The good news is that they require very little sanding or filing in order to
make them fit properly!
I recommend using the Effector Platform assembly as the test fixture for
testing the u-joint fit
for all six arms. As you get the both ends of one adjusted, just leave it in
place and move on to the next
u-joint for testing. Installing the delta arms is very easy – they just
“twist” on to the u-joint. Note that
getting them off again can be problematic. Use a thin flat bladed
screwdriver or your thumbnail to pry
one side of the arm off the u-joint as you twist the arm. It should come off
easily. You CAN break
them, but it’s pretty hard to do. [Yes, I broke one.]
83
Fig. 10-1: Pre-processed Delta Arm end.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
If you've gotten a Rostock MAX kit produced after September 9th, 2013,
you'll have the updated
delta arms:
This new delta arm design is much more rigid than the original design and
they require NO
sanding at all! They're also very easy to install and remove, with no danger
of breaking them. The new
design for the ends means that they inherently have the correct grip on the
u-joints. It may seem a tiny
bit stiff, but they're ok. If they appear to grip the u-joint too tightly,
make sure that there's no mold
flashing that could cause binding. If you feel they're still too tight after
removing any problematic
flashing, please contact SeeMeCNC support and let them know what you're
experiencing and ask their
advice.
You want the arm to grip the u-joint loosely enough that it will fall under
its own weight when
you lift it up. Just like the u-joint mounts, you want to make sure that you
don’t remove so much
material that you get lateral motion of the u-joint when it’s installed in
the delta arm.
84
Fig. 10-2: Delta arms installed on the effector platform.
Fig: 10-1a: Updated Delta Arm Design
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Once you’re satisfied that the arms are moving freely and you’ve got them
installed on the
platform, go ahead and mount them to the Cheapskates as shown below:
The arms should install just as easily as they did on the platform. Since
you’ve sanded both
ends, you shouldn’t have any friction issues when they’re installed on the
Cheapskates.
85
Fig. 10-3: Delta arms attached to effector
platform and the Cheapskates.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
11A – Assembling the Side Extruder Mount and Spool Holder
For this step, you’ll need two Filament Spool Brackets (P/N: 68392), two
Extruder Brackets
(P/N: 68387), three Extruder Support Spacers (P/N: 68388) and one Extruder
Clamp (P/N: 68389).
If you don't have the parts listed above, you've most likely got a kit that
includes the top
mounted extruder and not the side mounted version. You can easily tell which
you got by the sheet
count for the melamine parts. If your kit had four sheets, you've got the
side mounted extruder and if
your kit had three sheets, you have the top mounted extruder. If you have
the top mounted extruder,
please skip to section 11B – Assembling the Top Mounted Extruder and Spool
Holder.
For the side-mounted extruder you’ll also need 12 #6-32 nylon lock nuts and
12 1” #6-32 flat
head screws to complete the assembly.
If you haven’t done so already, please pop out the countersink rings on both
filament spool
brackets.
86
Fig. 11-1: Extruder mount parts.
Fig. 11-2: Extruder bracket with one of the countersinks
popped out.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Insert 12 #6-32 nylon lock nuts into the three Extruder Support parts as
shown below:
Start the assembly by mounting an extruder support in the bottom slot in the
extruder bracket as
shown in Fig. 11-4.
87
Fig. 11-3: Nuts installed in the extruder supports.
Fig. 11-4: Installing the first extruder support.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Now set the other two extruder supports into the other two slots and rest
the extruder bracket on
them. Place the spool holder as shown and install it with four #6-32 1” flat
head screws. Take care to
tighten it enough that there is no visible gap between the inside face of
the extruder bracket and the
outside edge of the extruder supports. If they’re not tight, the extruder
bracket spacing will be too wide
to allow it to properly fit into the slots on the Rostock MAX machine base.
Flip the extruder over and install the extruder clamp as shown below in Fig.
11-6.
88
Fig. 11-5: Spool holder installed on extruder bracket.
Fig. 11-6: Adding the extruder clamp to the extruder
bracket.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Flip the bracket back over and install the bracket and spool holder on the
other side – make sure
all the tabs are aligned as you go so there is no damage to the brackets.
When you’re done, test fit it to the Rostock MAX platform as shown below.
The tabs on the
extruder support should fit the base snugly, but not bind. Take care when
installing and removing the
extruder support as it can cosmetically damage the slots.
89
Fig. 11-7: Completing assembly. (Spool holder omitted for
clarity)
Fig. 11-8: Extruder bracket installed.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
11B – Assembling the Top Mounted Extruder and Spool Holder
Parts list for the top mounted extruder:
7 ea. #6-32 x 1" Phillips Flat Head, Stainless
9 ea. #6-32 nylon lock nut, Stainless
1 ea. #6-32 x 2" Phillips Pan Head
1 ea. #6-32 x 1-3/4" Phillips Pan Head
3 Spacers (P/N: 70769)
1 Brace (P/N: 70770)
1 “Part A” (P/N: 70771)
1 “Part B” (P/N: 70772)
1 “Part C” (P/N: 70774)
2 Arms (P/N: 70773)
1 Motor Support (P/N: 70777)
I'll cover the assembly of the EZStruder here because it's part of
assembling and installing the
top mounted extruder & spool holder.
You’ll start with these parts:
90
Fig. 11B-1: Stepper motor mounted EZStruder parts.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
First, thread the push-fit connector into the metal guide boss as shown:
Next, you want to temporarily install the filament release mechanism on to
the stepper motor so
you can properly position the hobbed gear. The release mechanism should have
two short screws
already present.
You want to align the hobbed portion of the gear with the small bearing that
is attached to the
filament release lever. This bearing squeezes the filament against the
hobbed gear in order to allow the
stepper motor to feed filament to the hot end.
91
Fig. 11B-2: Push-fit connector installed.
Fig. 11B-3: Aligning the hobbed gear.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Once you’ve got the hobbed gear positioned properly, carefully remove the
filament release
mechanism from the stepper motor. Apply some thread locking compound to the
grub screw and install
the hobbed gear on to the stepper motor shaft as shown.
Now re-install the filament release mechanism back on to the stepper motor
like so:
92
Fig. 11B-4: Hobbed gear installed on the stepper motor.
Fig. 11B-5: Filament release installed.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The filament feed block that you installed the push-fit connector on is
mounted to the stepper
motor using one short and one long screw. The mounting holes in the filament
feed block are a bit
under-sized. You can thread the mounting screws into the holes easily, but
it's not a “slip” fit.
When you’ve attached the feed block the assembling of the EZStruder is
complete. It’s VERY
easy to do, isn’t it? For those with experience assembly the Steve’s
Extruder, this should be almost
disappointing in its easy of construction. :)
In order to connect the extruder to the RAMBo, you’re going to need to
extend the stepper leads
in order to reach the board on the interior of the base.
Included in your kit should be a length of four conductor, 22ga wire for
this purpose If it’s like
the material I have, the wires will be Red, Black, White and Green. Match
these colors to your stepper
motor wires as closely as you can – write up a little “translation” table if
you need to. It will help when
you add the crimp on connectors and the 4 pin connector shell. You’ll want
to make your extension
between 18 and 24” long. You’re much better off making it too long than too
short. :) You can always
loop up any extra. If your stepper motors came with the four pin connector
pre-installed, and you want
to make the lead extension permanent, you can clip off the connector with a
few inches of lead and then
splice in the extension. I would advise that you get the male crimp
connector as listed in the “stuff to
get” section – You'll be better off in the long run with an EZStruder you
can disconnect if you need to.
In order to ensure you've got enough wire cut for the extension, I would
tape one end to the top
of the Rostock MAX, next to the X axis idler bracket and route it across to
the Z axis, down the tower
and then back over to the electronics bay with about 6” of extra. This will
give you plenty of wire to
attach to the wire routing rod that will be described later.
If you solder up the extension, I’d recommend using heat shrink tubing and
not electrical tape.
You’ll get a much nicer looking splice and it will better sealed against
outside contaminates.
93
Fig. 11B-6: Completed EZStruder
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Next, let's build the spool holder. You'll need parts marked “Part A”, “Part
B”, “Part C” and the
two parts marked “Arm”.
You'll want to pop the countersink rings in the outside faces of Part A and
Part B and then insert
two #6-32 nylon lock nuts into Part C. Assemble the spool holder frame as
shown in the figures below.
94
Fig. 11B-7: Top mounted spool holder.
Fig. 11B-8: Installing Part C into Part A.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
This completes this assembly for the moment. Set it aside and grab the Motor
Mount and the
three identical spacer parts. The three spacers will support the lower face
of the EZStruder drive.
95
Fig. 11B-9: Attaching Part B to Part C.
Fig. 11B-10: Attaching the support arms to the
spool holder.
Fig. 11B-11: Attaching the EZStruder to its mount.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
As you can see in Fig. 11B-11, you'll stack the three identical spacers
under the “output” side of
the EZStruder. Use two #6-32 nylon lock nuts and a 2” #6-32 pan head screw
and a 1.75” #6-32 pan
head screw to attach the EZStruder to the Motor Mount.
Insert two #6-32 nylon lock nuts into the nut capture cutouts and install
the curved brace as
shown below. Using 2 #6-32 1” flat head screws, install the motor mount in
the top of the Rostock
MAX. I recommend that you install it between the X and Y towers.
96
Fig. 11B-12: Installing the EZStruder Mount.
Fig. 11B-13: Top view of the installation location.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Once that's done, you can now install the top mounted spool holder as shown
below. You'll
need to install three #6-32 nylon lock nuts and use three #6-32 1” flat head
screws to install it.
That completes the installation of the top mounted extruder mount and spool
holder.
97
Fig. 11B-14: Spool holder installed.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
12 – Assembling and Installing the Side Mount Extruder
If you’ve got an older Rostock MAX kit that features the original “Steve’s
Extruder”,
SeeMeCNC produced a YouTube video that does an excellent job in illustrating
how that device is
assembled. The video can be seen here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mua3i_wP32I.
When I assembled my Steve’s Extruder, I used a vise with soft jaw covers to
install the bearings
in the gears as well as the drive gear on the stepper motor. The video
covers this, but I figured a clear
shot of what goes on would help.
In the photo above, I’m using a 10mm socket with the back of the socket
pressed against the
bearing. It’s being pressed in place with a vice. The socket is just large
enough to press on the outside
ring of the bearing without coming into contact with the gear itself. If you
were to press on the middle
or inner portion of the bearing, you’d ruin it.
Make sure that the bearing is fully seated – the face of the bearing should
be a bit below the face
of the gear.
98
Fig. 12-1: Installing the bearing in a Steve's Extruder gear.
Fig. 12-2: Proper fitting of the bearing to the gear.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
I created a short video that describes some of the less clear elements of
assembling the Steve’s
Extruder. You can find that here: http://youtu.be/rAVlvRuHuE8 .
If you’ve got the EZStruder, you’ll have a package of parts that looks like
the figure below. The
hobbed gear and push-fit connector for the bowden tube are not shown.
The melamine parts are used in order to mount the assembled EZStruder to the
side mount
Extruder Bracket that you completed a short time ago. Let’s get the
EZStruder mounted to the extruder
stepper motor.
You’ll start with these parts:
99
Fig. 12-3: Components for the EZStruder
Fig. 12-4: Stepper motor mounted EZStruder parts.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
First, thread the push-fit connector into the metal guide boss as shown:
Next, you want to temporarily install the filament release mechanism on to
the stepper motor so
you can properly position the hobbed gear. The release mechanism should have
two short screws
already present.
You want to align the hobbed portion of the gear with the small bearing that
is attached to the
filament release lever. This bearing squeezes the filament against the
hobbed gear in order to allow the
stepper motor to feed filament to the hot end.
100
Fig. 12-5: Push-fit connector installed.
Fig. 12-6: Aligning the hobbed gear.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Once you’ve got the hobbed gear positioned properly, carefully remove the
filament release
mechanism from the stepper motor. Apply some thread locking compound to the
grub screw and install
the hobbed gear on to the stepper motor shaft as shown.
Now re-install the filament release mechanism back on to the stepper motor
like so:
101
Fig. 12-7: Hobbed gear installed on the stepper motor.
Fig. 12-8: Filament release installed.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The filament feed block that you installed the push-fit connector on is
mounted to the stepper
motor using one short and one long screw. The mounting holes in the filament
feed block are a bit
under-sized. You can thread the mounting screws into the holes easily, but
it's not a “slip” fit.
When you’ve attached the feed block the assembly of the EZStruder is
complete. It’s VERY
easy to do, isn’t it? For those with experience assembly the Steve’s
Extruder, this should be almost
disappointing in its ease of construction. :)
In order to connect the extruder to the RAMBo, you’re going to need to
extend the servo leads
in order to reach the board on the interior of the base.
Included in your kit should be a length of four conductor, 22ga wire for
this purpose If it’s like
the material I have, the wires will be Red, Black, White and Green. Match
these colors to your stepper
motor wires as closely as you can – write up a little “translation” table if
you need to. It will help when
you add the crimp on connectors and the 4 pin connector shell. You’ll want
to make your extension
between 18 and 24” long. You’re much better off making it too long than too
short. :) You can always
loop up any extra.
When you solder up the extension, I’d recommend using heat shrink tubing and
not electrical
tape. You’ll get a much nicer looking splice and it will better sealed
against outside contaminates.
If you've never spliced two wires together before, I'd suggest you check out
the Wikipedia
article on the “Western Union” splice, shown here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_union_splice.
Your goal is the splice shown in Fig. D on the Wikipedia page.
102
Fig. 12-9: Completed EZStruder
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
In order to mount the EZStruder to the side Extruder Mount you assembled in
the previous
section, you’ll need to attach it to the EZStruder adapter. This consists of
an EZStruder Adapter
Hanger (P/N: 70778) and an EZStruder Adapter (P/N: 70779).
Remove the countersink rings from the adapter plate as shown above and
insert the hangar part
into it.
103
Fig. 12-10: EZStruder adapter components.
Fig. 12-11: Assembled EZStruder adapter.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Now insert two #6-32 nylon lock nuts into the laser cut nut capture pockets
located on the
adapter. You may need to temporarily tape the nuts in place if they’re too
loose in the capture pockets.
Using two 1” #6-32 flat head screws, attach the EZStruder to the adapter
plate as shown below.
All that remains is to mount the EZStruder to the side Extruder Mount we
finished in the last
section.
104
Fig. 12-12: Nylon lock nuts in place.
Fig. 12-13: EZStruder mounted to the adapter plate.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Insert four #6-32 nylon lock nuts into the side extruder mount as shown
above. Using four 1”,
#6-32 flat head screws, mount the EZStruder to the side extruder mount.
Now that this is complete, we can move on to the next task!
105
Fig. 12-14: Nylon lock nuts installed in the side extruder
mount.
Fig. 12-15: EZStruder mounted to the side extruder mount.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
13 – Preparing and Installing the Power Supply & RAMBo
The Rostock MAX uses a standard ATX computer power supply to provide power
to the
RAMBo controller, the Onyx heated bed and the hot-end. All of these
components require 12V DC.
The 12V wires on an ATX power supply are yellow. You’ll need four of these
for the heated bed
power, and one each for the hot-end and motors.
Start by locating the six longest yellow wires in the power supply. You want
the most reach
possible. Clip them and the six longest black wires from the connectors
they’re attached to and bundle
them up into two sets. [Note, Fig. 13-1 shows four, but you want six.]
Next, locate the green wire that goes to the large ATX connector and cut it
flush with the
connector. The green wire and one black wire will be attached to a toggle
switch in order for you to
power up the supply. You’ll need to extend the green and black wires as
they’re too short to reach the
required distance. I would recommend an 18” extension to them – you’ll be
cutting it down later, but
you’ll appreciate the extra length when it comes time to add the switch and
mount it.
106
Fig. 13-1: Isolating the power wires for the Rostock MAX.
Fig. 13-2: Extending the power-on wires.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Now fold up and bundle the unused wires – you don’t want to cut them all off
as you may have
some use for them later when adding lighting or other “upgrades” to the
printer.
Install the power supply in the power supply bay by facing the wire exit
towards the center of
the printer and the power cord connector facing out. You’ll want to thread
the power and switch wires
through the center and into the electronics bay. Some builders have found it
simpler to add the
RAMBo power connector to the wiring and THEN install the power supply.
The power supply can be mounted using three of the 1/2” long #6-32 nylon
screws that you’ll
find in the parts kit. The fourth screw can be problematic to install once
three have been placed, so you
can just skip the fourth.
107
Fig. 13-3: Power supply mounted.
Fig. 13-4: Power wires routed to the electronics bay.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Now take the four long black wires from the bundle and strip about 3/4” of
insulation from
each. Tightly twist them together as shown below. Do the same for the four
long yellow wires.
The reason you’re doing this is because the Onyx heated bed requires a
significant amount of
power to heat up. A single wire can’t carry enough current to do the job.
The reason is that you can
only draw so much power through a wire of a given gauge. Think of it like a
small water hose. No matter how
much you try to draw water through that little hose, you’re only going to
get as much as it has room for.
However, if you use four small hoses, you effectively get the same volume as
if you had one hose with the same
volume capacity as the four smaller ones combined.
Once you have the wires twisted together, insert them into the large black
terminal block
connector as shown below:
108
Fig. 13-5: Twisting the ground wires together for the
heated bed supply.
Fig. 13-6: Installing the heated bed power wires into the
terminal block connector.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, SOLDER THE WIRES TOGETHER!
Soldering the power wires together can prevent the terminal clamp from
getting good contact
with the wires. A poor connection will result in a lot of heat due to
resistance and you run the risk of
damaging the terminal block connector, the RAMBo, or both. A fire could also
result!
Please take care to install the wires exactly as shown! If you reverse the
polarity (yellow is
positive, black is negative (or ground)), you’ll blow up the RAMBo board and
make yourself very sad.
Now strip about 1/2” of insulation from the other yellow and black wires and
install them as
shown:
The next task is to assemble the RAMBo to SmartController adapter board.
I've created a short
video that does an excellent job of illustrating how this small board is
soldered together. You can view
the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzdWk5BtttA.
109
Fig. 13-7a: RAMBo power terminal wiring completed.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Before you install the RAMBo board, you should change the power supply
jumper on the board.
After you change this jumper, the RAMBo will
only be turned on when the power switch is turned on. As
it's shipped, the RAMBo will be active any time the USB
cable is connected to the computer.
The “PSEL” jumper should be set as shown in
Fig. 13-7b.
Note, if you received your Rostock MAX kit after
November 2013, you may have a RAMBo v1.2 board.
The v1.2 board does not have the PSEL jumper
mentioned here. The board is powered externally by
default.
Now you can install the RAMBo controller. Please take special care when
handling the
RAMBo! It’s extremely static sensitive! It’s best to handle it while you’re
wearing a ground strap, but
if you can touch a nearby metal water faucet, you should be OK. (that’ll
drain away any static charge
you’re carrying)
The RAMBo board is installed on
the X-axis Tri-Support as shown on the
right.
You’ll need four 1/2” #4-40 socket
head screws, four #4 flat washers and
eight small round plastic spacers.
You should have installed the four
t-nuts into the back of the X-axis Tri-
Support all the way back in Section 2. If
you didn’t, you’re in a world of hurt
because you’re going to have to pull the
power supply to easily reach the t-nut
locations on the back of the Tri-Support.
110
Fig. 13-8: RAMBo Installed
Fig. 13-7b: Setting the Power Supply Select
Jumper
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
See Fig. 13-9 for details on how the spacers are used.
As you can see above, the RAMBo uses a pair of spacers at each corner. This
gives an air gap
between the RAMBo and the surface it’s mounted to. This is important as the
stepper driver chips use
the board itself as a heat sink and need good airflow behind the board in
order to help prevent them
from overheating.
Note that if you're a European user, make sure you've got the voltage
selection switch set to
220v. The power supply will ship with the switch (located next to the power
plug socket) set to 115v.
111
Fig. 13-9: RAMBo mounting point detail.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
14 – Installing the Onyx Heated Bed
Installing the Onyx heated bed is pretty simple. Get your soldering iron
heating up and make
sure you’ve got the following bits handy:
• 6 nylon stand-offs
• 6 #4-40 flat head mounting screws
• Melamine heated bed mounting plate (it’s a “star” shaped melamine plate)
• Onyx heated bed
• Thermistor
• 1 short length of PTFE tubing – this is used to insulate the thermistor
leads.
• 1 4.7K Ohm Resistor (used to drive the LED with 12vdc)
• 1 LED
• 14ga power wires. Two leads, one black and one white, 18” long.
• RTV
You should have installed the six #4 t-nuts that the heated bed requires
when you were doing the
steps in Section 2. If you didn’t...well let’s just say I’m glad I’m not you
right now. :)
The first thing you should do is tin (apply solder to) the two square power
pads on the bottom of
the Onyx. See below.
112
Fig. 14-1: Preparing the power pads for wiring.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Grab your 14ga power wires and strip about 1/2” of insulation of one end of
each wire. Flatten
the wire and tin it as shown below.
By flattening and tinning the wire as shown, it’ll make it a lot easier to
install on the bottom of
the Onyx. Set the power wires aside and grab the Onyx bed and your roll of
Kapton tape.
On the front side of the Onyx, place a small bit of Kapton tape over the
hole in the center. This
will keep the RTV you’ll be filling the hole with from leaking out while it
cures.
Examine both the top and bottom of the board for vias. These are tiny little
gold plated holes
that pass electrical current from one side of the board to the other. When
you find these, cover them
with a tiny bit of Kapton tape. This will ensure that if you decide to
install an aluminum heat spreader
(covered in detail later), you won’t worry about the metal shorting out the
vias. The Kapton tape won’t
interfere with your glass build plate.
Now cut two 1/4” (or so) lengths of the tiny PTFE tubing and slip them over
the thermistor
leads, one for each lead. Bend the wires at the thermistor head at a 90
degree angle, making sure the
exposed portion of the wires don’t touch. Set it aside and flip the Onyx
upside down. Fill the center
hole with RTV and then press the thermistor into the center of the hole.
Take special care to make sure
that the thermistor is in the hole center so that you don’t need to worry
about the thermistor leads
touching the metal edges of the center hole. If they do, you could short the
thermistor against the
heated bed. Much screaming and throwing of things would likely occur. :)
Making sure the PTFE
tubing is up as far as it will go along the wire thermistor leads will help
prevent this.
113
Fig. 14-2: Tinned power lead.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
You’ll want to set the Onyx aside until the RTV has a chance to cure. After
the RTV has cured,
spread the wires a bit so each crosses the solder pads as shown above and
solder the leads to the pads
and trim off the excess wire. Placing a strip of Kapton tape over the
thermistor after the RTV cures will
help prevent it from being accidentally dislodged from the hole over time.
(Theoretically this could
happen across a number of heating/cooling cycles. Better safe than sorry!)
Now we can wire up the thermistor leads, power LED, resistor and the two
power wires to the
Onyx. All of these parts are mounted on the bottom of the Onyx in order to
prevent them from
interfering with the glass build plate that rests atop the Onyx.
114
Fig. 14-3: Installing the heated bed thermistor.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The RAMBo comes with two thermistor wiring harnesses. They’re a long pair of
white wires
with a locking connector attached to one end. Grab one and attach it to the
thermistor pads located at
position #1 shown above. You can solder them in place by just tacking them
to the solder pad – you
don’t need to push the wire through the hole first. If you DO, please make
sure you trim it flush on the
other side so it won’t interfere with the glass build plate.
Soldering the power leads is pretty easy, but does take a little time due to
the thermal mass of all
that wire & solder. You want to install the lead as shown in #2 with the
wire oriented as shown. This
orientation makes it a bit easier for the wire to route through the slot in
the top of the Rostock MAX
base. Red goes to #2, black goes to #3. You’ll see them both in place in the
next photo.
Install the resistor by laying the leads across the mounting holes and
soldering it in place. Do
the same for the power-on LED. The LED must be installed with the proper
polarity in order for it to
operate. The negative wire of the LED is closest to the “side” of the LED
that has a flat spot ground in
it (this is called the Cathode). Looking at the bottom of the heated bed,
the negative lead is near the
negative power input lead. (#3 in Fig. 14-4, above.) You'll want to bend the
LED up at a 90 degree
angle such that it's easily visible once the heated bed is installed on the
Rostock MAX.
115
Fig. 14-4: Wiring up the heated bed.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
116
Fig. 14-5: Completed Onyx heated bed wiring.
Fig. 14-6: Taping the power wires down with Kapton tape.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Now we can get the Onyx heated bed installed! Take six of the white spacers
and arrange them
around the base over their mounting holes as shown below. The wiring slot
for the thermistor and
power wires is at the base of the Z axis tower and is indicated by the green
arrow.
Carefully route the Onyx bed wiring through the slot as shown. After the
installation is
complete, you can route the wires through the Tri-Supports and into the
electronics bay.
Carefully set the star shaped heated bed platform on the plastic spacers and
then set the Onyx on
top of the platform. It’ll be tricky because you’ve got to feed the Onyx
wiring through the slot at the
same time. I’d suggest finding some small nails that you can use to drop
into the mounting holes in the
Onyx in order to use them as alignment pins.
117
Fig. 14-7: Mounting spacers and wiring slot.
Fig. 14-8: Running the Onyx wiring into the base.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
You could also use the #4-40 flat head mounting screws for this, but take
care that you don’t
accidentally punch out the t-nuts on the bottom of the base. If you do, some
are difficult to put back
into place easily.
Insert the six #4-40 flat head screws screws into the Onyx and tighten them
in a “star” pattern.
See the figure below for a suggested tightening order.
Take care to not over-tighten the screws, you don’t want to damage the Onyx.
118
Fig. 14-9: Aligning the Onyx.
Fig. 14-10: Suggested fastener tightening pattern.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
15 – Assembling and Installing the Hot End
The hot end for the Rostock MAX is mostly pre-assembled for you. The only
tasks you need to
complete involve installing the heating resistors, the thermistor and the
push-fit connector.
The resistors included with the hot end (the green objects in Fig. 15-1) are
too small to fit
snugly into the bore holes to either side of the hot end. In order to make
them bigger, you’ll need to cut
a strip of aluminum foil and wrap the resistor. You want the width of the
foil strip to be about 1/16”
shorter than the length of the resistor body so that it can’t come into
contact with the leads on either end
of the resistor.
Note that in order to shield the resistor leads from accidental shorts, you
should have purchased
some PFTE tubing as listed in Section 1. You can get by without it by
wrapping the leads in Kapton
tape, but the PFTE is a much better looking and simpler to install solution.
Once you've got the resistors installed in the hot end with a snug fit,
cover each end with RTV
to glue them into place. We use RTV here because if you have a resistor
failure, it can be removed
easily, but is very resistant to high temperatures.
Note that Rostock MAX kits that shipped from September 9th, 2013 will
include hot ends
equipped with a new nozzle design. The new nozzle design is shown below in
Fig. 15-1A.
119
Fig. 15-1: Hot end components.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Before the RTV cures, install a 3/4” length of PTFE tubing on each of the
resistor leads as shown
below.
120
Fig. 15-2: Insulating the hot end resistor leads.
Fig. 15-1A: New nozzle design.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Once the RTV cures, carefully twist the resistor leads together as shown
below. Use a pair of
needle nose pliers to help you get a good, tight twist.
When you're done twisting the leads together, clip about 1/16” to 1/8” off
each end to clean up
the ends a bit. A crimp connector will go on them and you want the best fit
you can get.
Because of the temperatures reached by the hot end, we can't use solder to
attach the power
wires to the resistors. We'll use uninsulated crimp on connectors – if you
purchased the recommended
121
Fig. 15-3: Resistor leads twisted together.
Fig. 15-4: Resistor leads ready to crimp.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
ones, you'll use the ones marked “22-16”.
Crimp one connector to each twisted pair of resistor leads as shown below.
Note that you only want to crimp it in one place.
The lower portion of the hot end is threaded on to a PEEK barrel that acts
like a thermal break.
In order to keep repeated heating and cooling cycles from loosening the hot
end from the PEEK, wrap
the seam with a short length of Kapton tape as shown below.
I prefer to use a quick disconnect connector on my hot-end and I strongly
suggest you do the
same. In Section 1 I list two different types – the Deans and XT-60
connectors. My preference is the
XT-60, but if you've got Deans on hand, they're well suited to the task. I
won't show how to attach
them – it should be pretty obvious and if not, there's always Google. :) I'm
going with the assumption
122
Fig. 15-5: Crimp on connector in place.
Fig. 15-6: Kapton wrap on the PEEK barrel.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
that you like to be able to change out hot-ends and have installed the
connectors of your choice.
Attach a 3” or so length of 16ga wire (one black, one red) to the crimped
connectors, and wrap
them in Kapton tape to insulate them.
Now you need to install the thermistor into the hot end. A thermistor is a
tiny temperature
sensing device that changes resistance as the temperature around it changes.
I cannot stress this enough
it's a very delicate component! Please handle it very carefully! The glass
bead is fragile and the wire
can be brittle if soldered and moved too much.
First, cut two 1” lengths of the included PTFE tubing and slide them over
the thermistor leads
as shown:
123
Fig. 15-7: Attaching the power leads to the hot end.
Fig. 15-8: Insulating the thermistor leads.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Just like the resistor wiring, I recommend you use a quick disconnect
connector. For the
thermistor, I recommend using a JST connector like the ones listed in
Section 1. You can cut a 2” long
section from the wiring supplied for doing the stepper motor extension for
this purpose. Thermistors
have no polarity, so it doesn't matter how you attach the JST connectors.
Now you can solder your leads to
the thermistor. I recommend covering the
solder joint with heat shrink tubing. The
thermistor wires won't get hot enough to
affect it. You'll also see that I taped the
leads together with Kapton tape. This is
done to give it a bit more protection.
Be careful when you're soldering
this up. The thermistor leads are very
brittle and can break easily once soldered.
Once you've got the leads added, I strongly suggest that you use Kapton tape
or more heat
shrink to bind the two leads together at the joint – this will help prevent
flex that could cause the
thermistor lead solder joint to fail.
124
Fig. 15-9: Attaching leads to the thermistor.
Fig. 15-10: Thermistor ready to install.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The thermistor is installed in the hot end at the location shown in Fig.
15-11.
In order to “glue” the thermistor into place, you'll need to coat the sides
of the thermistor bead
with a small amount of RTV as shown in Fig. 15-12.
The idea here is to leave the tip of the glass bead exposed. This will allow
it to come into
unobstructed contact with the thermistor port on the hot end.
125
Fig. 15-11: Thermistor installation location.
Fig. 15-12: RTV applied to the thermistor sides.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Wait, you just broke the wires on your thermistor, didn't you? Oh. You
didn't? Well I just did.
So instead of doing the technical writing equivalent of sweeping the bits of
broken ceramic
under the couch with your foot while smiling and telling your mother you
have no idea where her prize
vase is, I'm going to show you photos of the thermistor as I actually
installed it.
Please give the RTV time to fully cure before you move on to the next steps.
126
Fig. 15-12a: D'OH!
Fig. 15-13: Magically repaired (and slightly different)
thermistor installed in the hot end.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
In order to install the hot end, you'll need the Hot End Spacer (P/N:
68324), Hot End Adapter
Plate (P/N: 68328), Bowden Hot End PTC Adapter (P/N: 68316), three 2” #6-32
machine screws, three
#6 washers, three #6-32 nylon lock nuts and three #6 aluminum spacers.
127
Fig. 15-14: Magic thermistor getting JST
connector.
Fig. 15-15: Magic thermistor with JST
connector in place.
Fig. 15-16: Mounting the hot end!
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The first step is to mount the hot end adapter plate to the plastic effector
platform.
Insert a 2” #6-32 machine screw from the bottom of the effector plate and
then slide on a #6
spacer, followed by the adapter plate, a #6 washer and then a #6-32 nylon
lock nut.
128
Fig. 15-17: Hot end adapter plate.
Fig. 15-18: Two of the three mounting screws in place.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
You'll perform the same process for all three mounting screws.
Now the hot end needs to be mounted to the hot end adapter plate as shown
below.
129
Fig. 15-19: Hot end adapter plate installation complete.
Fig. 15-20: Mounting the hot end.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Make sure you also install the small Hot End Spacer as shown above. Route
the thermistor
wiring through one of the holes in the adapter plate. The power leads for
the hot end should be routed
outside the adapter.
You'll need an 11/16” open end wrench and a set of large slip-joint pliers.
You'll need the pliers
to carefully grip the PEEK section of the hot end while you tighten the
11/16” mounting nut on top.
130
Fig. 15-21: Hot end installation completed!
Fig. 15-22: Underside view of the installed hot end.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Don't forget to install the push-fit connector for the Bowden tube on to the
hot end. Thread it on
just finger tight – just enough to compress the O ring a bit. The O ring
will prevent the connector from
backing out.
Now you need to install the bowden tube. The Bowden tube is a long length
(roughly 18” or so)
of 2.0mm PTFE tubing. This tubing guides the filament from the top of the
extruder and into the hot
end.
The tube fits into the push-fit connection at the top of the extruder and
the one located on the
top of the hot end. They're circled below in Fig. 15-24.
Shove the end of the
tube into the fitting until it
bottoms out. You can
remove it by pressing the
blue ring at the top of the
connector.
131
Fig. 15-23: Push-fit connector installed.
Fig. 15-24: Attaching the Bowden tube.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
16A – Wiring the Effector Platform, Side Mounted Extruder
Well, you've come a long way and it's finally time to start dealing with the
rat's nest of wiring
we've created so far in the build. This section is broken into a few parts.
Which part pertains to you is
dependent on which extruder mount your kit included. The beginning of this
section covers items that
remain common between the two mounting methods.
The first task I want you to do is attach the power switch to the green
& black wires we worked
with in Section 13.
Open the electronics door and route the green & black wires along the
bottom of the RAMBo,
up the inside face of the door and over to the mounting hole in the door
marked “Power”. You're trying
to get an idea of how much wire you'll need in order to reach this spot when
the door is fully opened.
Take look at the path highlighted by the arrows in Fig. 16-1. If it helps,
take a look at the fig16-
1.jpg image in the github repository, or on your local disk if you
downloaded this manual as part of an
archive file. I recommend using adhesive-backed tie-downs and wire ties in
order to manage how the
wire moves along the indicated path. It keeps the wiring neat and prevents
it from interfering with the
door.
(https://github.com/seemecnc/RostockMAX/tree/master/ASSEMBLY_MANUAL/figures)
When you've got the right length of wire, solder the wires to the switch as
shown in Fig. 16-2.
Please use heat shrink tubing in order to prevent accidental shorts.
Note the orientation of the switch bat. It's
currently in the “off” position. You can tell when a
toggle switch is “on” when you picture an imaginary line
drawn along the center of the bat handle intersects with
the wire to the outside of the switch.
132
Fig. 16-1: Routing the power switch wiring.
Fig. 16-2: Wiring the power switch.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Now you're going to attach the thermistor from the heated bed to position T2
on the RAMBo
board. See Fig. 16-3 for the correct position.
Use a wire tie to clean up the extra wire and go ahead and connect the big
power connector to
the terminal block in the upper right corner of the RAMBo as shown above.
The heated bed power wires enter the base in what I refer to as the “Y-Axis
Bay”. Clean up the
wiring by adding wire ties as shown below. (Note that I prefer using waxed
lacing cord – it's a better
choice for making wiring harnesses than wire ties and a spool of lacing cord
can last you YEARS.)
[OPTIONAL]You'll want to install either an XT60 or Deans connector to the
heated bed
power wires at this time. Space is a premium where the RAMBo is installed
and using a quick
disconnect connector on the RAMBo power wires will make maintenance and
upgrades simpler.
133
Fig. 16-3: Heated bed thermistor connection.
Fig. 16-4: Heated bed wiring with quick disconnect
installed.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
[OPTIONAL] Now you'll need to create a short pigtail with the other mating
XT60 or Deans
connector and attach it to the terminal block on the RAMBo. Take special
care to make sure you're
observing the polarity printed on the connector. You don't want to get them
backwards!
Now route the heated bed power wires through the center of the base as shown
below. We'll
connect it up later.
If you've got a Rostock MAX with the top mounted extruder, go to Section
16B.
134
Fig. 16-5: Heated bed quick disconnect attached to the
RAMBo.
Fig. 16-6: Headed bed wires routed to the electronics bay.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Now it's time to get the hot end and a PEEK fan (if you're installing one)
wired up.
You should have some four conductor, 18ga wire included with your kit. This
wire is for
powering the hot end and one “accessory”. In this case, the accessory is
going to be a PEEK fan. (If
you plan to print in PLA, you MUST HAVE ONE. It will prevent the PLA from
jamming in the hot
end due to thermal creep.)
In order to find the optimal length of wire for your installation, clip the
wire to the bowden tube
using the binder clips included in the kit – you'll want to follow the path
shown by the arrows in Fig.
16-7. Route the wire from the hot end to the extruder mount and then down to
and through the notch in
the Y Axis Bay door, through the center of the base and into the electronics
bay. You want to have a
few inches of extra wire in order to provide enough to reach the terminal
block on the RAMBo and
have some extra to allow the wire to flex without binding.
After you've cut the wire to length, cut back about 3” of the gray outer
jacket and install the
XT60 or Deans quick disconnect connector that mates to the one you used on
the hot end heater wiring.
Use the red & black wires for this. If you're installing a PEEK fan,
attach the appropriate connector to
the green and white wires. In my installation, I used white for “+” and
green for “-”. Make sure you
follow this wiring convention when attaching the connector to your PEEK fan.
(Typically, red is “+”
and black is “-” on most fans.)
When you've got the connectors added, remove 3” or so of the outer jacket on
the other end and
route it from the hot end to the electronics bay. Use wire ties to hold it
in place. (We'll be adding the
hot end thermistor wire to this route in a second.)
135
Fig. 16-7: Hot end wiring path.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Now attach the wire you just ran to the terminal block on the RAMBo as shown
below.
If you haven't done so already, attach the mating connector to the wiring
harness for the hot end
thermistor. (If you're not sure what that is, it's identical to the wire you
used to connect the heated bed
thermistor to the RAMBo – a two wire (both white) harness with a 2 pin
locking connector on one
end.) Connect the thermistor harness to the thermistor and route the wire
along the same path as the
hot end and fan power lines.
136
Fig. 16-8: Hot end & PEEK fan wiring.
Fig. 16-9: Hot end wiring attached.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Now bind up any extra wire to neaten up the bundle and plug the hot end
thermistor connector
into the top thermistor connector, marked T0 as shown below.
137
Fig. 16-10: Thermistor wiring plugged in.
Fig. 16-11: Hot end thermistor wiring plugged in.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
If you're installing a PEEK fan, mount it as shown in Fig. 16-12. It's just
a friction fit, so if it's a
bit loose, wrap the fan chassis in a couple of layers of blue tape or Kapton
until you get a snug fit.
138
Fig. 16-12: PEEK Fan installation.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
16B – Wiring the Effector Platform, Top Mounted Extruder
The wiring for the top mounted extruder is different in that the wire path
is much longer. The
hot end and accessory wiring travels from the RAMBo, across to the base of
the Z axis, up the Z-axis
tower to the top and then hangs down to the center of the bed. The easiest
way to get the right length of
wire goes like this;
• Push the effector platform to the bottom of it's travel, leaving it
centered in the bed. You
may want to put a washcloth under the nozzle to keep it from scratching the
Onyx.
• Unroll the 18ga, 4 conductor wire and clip one end to the effector
platform.
• String the wire up to the EZStruder and then over to the top of the Z axis
tower, then
down the tower to the desk and straight across to where the RAMBo is
mounted.
This should give you enough wire to do the job. To give you an idea of what
the end wire path
will look like, see the photo below:
139
Fig. 16B-1: Completed wiring path.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
You'll want to cut a length of the 24ga four conductor wire you purchased to
match the length of
18ga you just cut. The 24ga wire will be used to connect the thermistor as
well as provide power for a
layer fan if you wish to install one. The supplied thermistor wires are too
short to follow the new
wiring path, so we must supply our own.
After you've cut the wire to length, cut back about 3” of the gray outer
jacket and install the
XT60 or Deans quick disconnect connector that mates to the one you used on
the hot end heater wiring.
Use the red & black wires for this. If you're installing a PEEK fan,
attach the appropriate connector to
the green and white wires. In my installation, I used white for “+” and
green for “-”. Make sure you
follow this wiring convention when attaching the connector to your PEEK fan.
(Typically, red is “+”
and black is “-” on most fans.)
When you've got the connectors added, remove 3” or so of the outer jacket on
the other end and
route it from the hot end, to the top of the Z axis, down to the Y axis door
and into the electronics bay.
Use wire ties to hold it in place. (We'll be adding the hot end thermistor
wire to this route in a second.)
In order to wire up the thermistor to the RAMBo using the new wire, you're
going to need to
add the 2 pin connector from the supplied thermistor wire to the new 24ga
wire you're using now.
Just clip off the connector, leaving yourself a few inches of wire to work
with. Solder it to thew
new wire and you're done. It doesn't matter the polarity or which color you
use, just as long as you're
consistent on the other end of the wire. A thermistor is basically a
temperature controlled resistor and
as such as no “polarity” anyway. On the other end of the wire, crimp on the
mating connector to the
one you'd installed on the thermistor itself. Ignore the thermistor wire
colors you see here – they
won't match what you're doing as mine is wired slightly differently.
140
Fig. 16B-2: Thermistor connector spliced into new cable.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Now go ahead and connect up the hot end and PEEK fan wires as shown:
Route the 24ga thermistor wire just like the hot end wire and insert the 2
pin connector into the
T0 location as shown in Fig. 16B-5:
141
Fig. 16B-4: Hot end and PEEK Fan wired.
Fig. 16B-5: Connecting the Thermistor to the RAMBo
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
If you're installing a PEEK fan, mount it as shown in Fig. 16B-6. It's just
a friction fit, so if it's
a bit loose, wrap the fan chassis in a couple of layers of blue tape or
Kapton until you get a snug fit.
Note that once you have your printer calibrated, I recommend printing the
SeeMeCNC Fan
Shroud, which can be found on the SeeMeCNC Git repository:
https://github.com/seemecnc/RostockMAX/tree/master/PRINTED_ADDONS
142
Fig. 16B-6: Installing the PEEK fan.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The hot end and thermistor cables should be wire tied to the bowden tube
that runs from the hot
end to the extruder. This will support them until you've got the wire
management parts printed and
installed. The extension wire for the EZStruder stepper should follow the
same path along the Z axis
tower that the hot end and thermistor cables do. Route it through the access
door on the Y axis and into
the RAMBo bay.
143
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
16C – Completing the Wiring
Now you need to connect the three end stop leads and the four stepper motor
connections.
Each position is clearly marked in Fig. 16C-1. Each wire should reach its
respective
connection point without having to be stretched tight. If this is the case
for any of them, please splice
in an extension or re-route the wire to provide enough slack for the wire to
be connected without
straining it. Note that “E” is the location for the extruder stepper motor.
Now the last thing we've got to do is install the LCD panel!
Because of a few design issues, this can be a little bit tricky, but it's
very straightforward. To
mount the LCD and it's faceplate, you'll need four #4 5/8” flat head wood
screws.
Alternately, you can friction fit the LCD into place and use a bit of hot
glue or rubber cement
to affix the LCD faceplate in place. This is a good alternative to using the
screws as shown below.
144
Fig. 16C-1:End stop and stepper motor connections.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
First, slide the right side mounting plate on to the right edge of the LCD
panel. You want to
make sure that the outside edge of the circuit board is flush with the
outside face of the mounting plate.
Draw two pencil lines that match where the mounting holes in the LCD panel
are located.
Transfer the two lines to the top of the mounting plate and then transfer
the marks to the left
side mounting plate. Then drill two 7/64” holes in each, about 1/4” past the
bottom of the circuit board
slot. It was recently pointed out that a 7/64” hole is small enough to allow
the screws to grip, but
has a much smaller chance of splitting the melamine.
I'll warn you right now – the melamine will split when you insert the screw.
That's just the
nature of the material. If you install the screws carefully, you can
minimize the splitting problem.
Now you want to countersink the four mounting holes in the LCD face plate as
shown below:
145
Fig. 16C-2: Mounting hole alignment marks.
Fig. 16C-3:Pilot holes for mounting the LCD panel.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
If you don't have a countersink, you can use #4 pan head screws instead of
the flat head, but I
recommend getting a countersink.
Insert the LCD panel into the right hand mount and install the two screws
for that side.
You'll notice that the material is split on the upper screw. This is
unfortunate, but there just isn't
enough material there to take the screws intrusion into the material, even
with a pilot hole.
The left side is a bit odd. The SD card slot is wide enough for the
connector on the circuit
board, but it's not wide enough to clear the two solder tabs that hold the
connector in place. This results
in a rather...odd mounting of the left side.
As you can see below, the two screws don't actually hit the left side mount.
This isn't a fatal
issue, it's just annoying. :)
146
Fig. 16C-4: Countersunk mounting holes.
Fig. 16C-5: Right side installed.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
This becomes less of a problem once the LCD is attached to the electronics
bay door. The LCD
panel mounts using two #6-32 nylon lock nuts and two #6, 1” long flat head
screws. The nut capture
pockets are a bit loose, so use a bit of tape to hold them in place until
you've got the whole assembly
installed on the door.
147
Fig. 16C-6: Mounting the left side.
Fig. 16C-7: Attaching the nylon lock nuts.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
On the back of the LCD panel, label the connectors “A” and “B” and then
attach the two ribbon
cables. Mark the cables “A” and “B” to match the position they're connected
to.
148
Fig. 16C-8: Marking the ribbon cable locations.
Fig. 16C-9: Marked cables.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Now thread the ribbon cables through the door and mount the LCD assembly
with the two #6-
32 flat head screws as shown below.
Take the RAMBo to SmartController adapter you assembled in Section 13 and
mark the
connections as “A” and “B” as shown below.
149
Fig. 16C-10: Attaching the LCD panel to the electronics
door.
Fig. 16C-11: Adapter board assembled & marked.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Let's start by adding the “B” cable to the adapter first.
There is a small graphic or “silk screen” on the circuit board that shows
the orientation of the
cable. The ribbon cable connector has a plastic “key” on one side – this key
should face the little
rectangular drawing on the circuit board as shown above.
Install the adapter on the RAMBo in the same location as the one you were
shown in the
assembly video and close the door.
150
Fig. 16C-12: Installing the "B" cable.
Fig. 16C-13: Installing the "A" cable.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Congratulations! You're now the proud owner of a completed Rostock MAX 3D
printer! Take
a load off, get a beer, a Coke or whatever. Grab your significant other and
take them out for dinner in
appreciation of them putting up with you throwing things and saying lots of
bad words during the
construction process.
Next up, we'll get the required software installed and get your beautiful
new machine calibrated
so you can happily join the exalted ranks of crazy, grinning people that
print inexplicable plastic
objects. (Why? Because we can!)
151
Fig. 16C-14: DONE!
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
17 – Software Installation and Configuration
Okay, you’ve managed to get this far, so it’s time to get this old beastie
printing little green
squirrels (or whatever other “legitimate” use you have for this fancy
thing). The instructions provided
in this guide are centered on the Windows operating system – that’s because
it is what I have. Details
for Linux & MacOS should be on the Rostock MAX Wiki page.
In order to communicate with the RAMBo, you’ll need to download the driver
for the board.
This driver is essentially just an INF file that Windows needs to figure out
what’s going on with
the new peripheral you’ve just hooked up.
Download the USB Driver zip file from this location:
http://www.reprap.org/wiki/File:RAMBo_USBdriver.zip
The driver is now “signed”. This means that when you install it, you should
get no security
warnings due to having an un-signed driver package.
If you haven't done so already, connect the Rostock MAX to your computer
using the included
USB cable and turn the Rostock MAX on using the power switch you installed
previously.
Unzip the file to a temp directory or other place that you know the location
of. For Windows
users (and likely XP, Windows 8 and Vista users as well), plug in the RAMBo
and let Windows “fail”
to find the correct driver for the board. Open up the device manager by
right-clicking on “Computer” or
“My Computer” and select “Properties” followed by “Device Manager”. Scroll
down to the “Unknown
Devices” entry and right-click on the RAMBo entry. Choose “Update Driver”
and then “Browse my
computer for driver software” (or something similar to this). Choose “Let me
pick from a list of device
drivers on my computer”, then click the button for “Have Disk”. Browse to
where you unzipped the file
you downloaded and then click “OK”. It may complain (depending on OS) that
the driver isn’t signed –
allow it to install it anyway. That’s all there is to it. The RAMBo will now
appear on your computer as
a standard serial port. On my computer it appeared as COM6 – it will most
likely be different on yours.
There are some simple changes you'll need to make to the RAMBo's firmware as
part of the
calibration and configuration process. In order to send your changes to the
RAMBo, you'll need to
download and install the Arduino IDE. The firmware on the RAMBo is called
Repetier and requires
the version of the Arduino IDE to be at least 1.0. You can download the
current release of the Arduino
IDE from this location: http://arduino.cc/en/Main/Software. At the time of
this writing, version 1.0.5
was the current stable release.
The firmware for the Rostock MAX can be downloaded from this location:
http://github.com/seemecnc/RepetierMAX.
If you click on the “Zip” button on that page, it will create a zip file of
the current code and you
can download it all in one go instead of picking each file. I would
recommend you download the
firmware and unzip it so you can tweak it if need be.
152
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The “host” software of choice for the Rostock MAX is called Repetier-Host.
Repetier-Host is a full featured and multi-platform host interface for 3D
printers. There are
other host interfaces out there such as Octoprint and Pronterface, but this
guide will only cover
Repetier-Host.
Repetier-Host can be downloaded from http://repetier.com. Click on the
“Download” link.
The Repetier-Host installer for Windows also includes the latest stable
release of Slic3r, which
is the tool we'll be using to “slice” 3D models into a form that the Rostock
MAX can print.
The RAMBo controller in your Rostock MAX comes with a “default” installation
of the
Repetier firmware (the controller side “companion” to Repetier-Host).
Before we can run Repetier-Host for the first time, we need to know what
communications port
the RAMBo has appeared as. In order to discover this bit of information,
you'll need to open up Device
Manager (right click on My Computer, click “Properties” and then click
“Device Manager”). You'll get
a window that looks something like this:
153
Fig. 17-1:Locating RAMBo in the Device Manager.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The green box highlights the entries we're interested in. Because I've got
two printers currently
connected to my machine, there's two entries in there for RAMBo controllers.
The data you need is the
bit at the end – in this case it's “COM8”. Write this down – we'll need it
in order to tell Repetier-Host
what port to contact the RAMBo on.
Start Repetier-Host and click on Config->Printer Settings. See Fig. 17-2
for an example of how
that screen looks.
The first thing I want you to do is name the configuration for your printer.
You can do this by
clicking in the “Printer:” drop-down shown above. It will typically start as
“default”, but you can
change that to whatever you like. As you can see, I named this configuration
“Rostock MAX – The
Orange Menace” (for obvious reasons).
You'll want to change the “Port:” selection to match the entry you found
previously while
exploring the Device Manager. The “Baud Rate:” and remaining fields should
be set as they are shown
above. Don't forget to click the “Apply” button in order to save the changes
you've just made!
154
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Now click on the “Printer” tab:
You'll want to change all the fields in your Printer tab to match the values
I have set above in
Fig. 17-3. You'll learn over time what each of these different options do,
but for now just set them as I
have them. Click on the “Apply” button and we'll move on
155
Fig. 17-3:Configuring the basics.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Now click on the “Printer Shape” tab:
Click on the “Printer Type:” drop-down and select “Rostock Printer (circular
print shape)”.
That selection should change the Printer Shape tab to look similar to Fig.
17-4 above. The “Printable
Height” field is one we'll be coming back to later on.
Go ahead and click on the “OK” button to save your changes and dismiss the
configuration
dialog.
156
Fig. 17-4: Printer Shape.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Now it's time to test the machine! Click on the “Connect” button in
Repetier-Host – it's located
in the upper left corner of the window, right under the “File” menu bar
item.
When you connect successfully, you should see something very similar to Fig.
17-5 in the
Repetier-Host log window.
The text is a bit hard to read, so I've included the raw information below.
08:50:21.420 : start
08:50:21.592 : External Reset
08:50:21.643 : FIRMWARE_NAME:RepetierMAX0.80
FIRMWARE_URL:https://github.com/seemecnc/RepetierMAX PROTOCOL_VERSION:1.0
MACHINE_TYPE:RostockMAX EXTRUDER_COUNT:1 REPETIER_PROTOCOL:2
08:50:21.643 : Printed filament:43.60 m
08:50:21.643 : Printing time:0 days 7 hours 11 min
When you connect to the Rostock MAX, the Repetier firmware will tell you
what version it is,
the link to where you can find the code, how much filament you've consumed
so far and how long the
printer has been printing. The last two values are stored in the RAMBo's
EEPROM (non-volatile
storage) so you can clear them if you want to.
If Repetier-Host is unable to connect, go back into the printer
configuration and make sure
you've chose the COM port that matches the RAMBo entry in your Device
Manager listing.
Next, we're going to do a few tests to ensure that the Rostock MAX is ready
to start printing!
157
Fig. 17-5: Connecting to the printer for the first time.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Click on the “Manual Control” tab that's located in the right half of the
Repetier-Host display window:
This is the Manual Control Panel and is the interface you'll use most often
while working with
the Rostock MAX. From here you can home the machine, move it around the work
area, heat the hot
end or heated bed, turn on fans, etc.
158
Fig. 17-6: Manual Control Panel.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The next tests you're going to run make frequent use of the “G-Code:” input
area on the Manual
Control Panel. This is how you send commands directly to the RAMBo. Any time
you see me write
“Send the …. command”, I'm referring to you typing out the command exactly
as written in the GCode
input box and press the ENTER key to send the command to the RAMBo.
The first test that you need to perform is on the end stop (or “limit”)
switches that you installed
on each Idler Bracket.
In order to test them, click your mouse in the “G-Code:” box and type: M119
and then press
ENTER. Make sure that the end stop adjustment screws are not in contact with
the switches. If they
are, move the platform down by hand a little bit to get them to disengage
the switches.
In the log window, you should see the following text appear:
x_max:L y_max:L z_max:L
This would indicate that all three end-stop switches have not been pressed.
If you see anything
different, please check your wiring! Now I want you to hold down the switch
lever for the X axis and
re-run the M119 command. You should see the x_max value change to “H”. Do
this for the Y and Z
axes. This will ensure the end stop switches are functioning – this is very
important for the next step.
The next test involves checking the correct wiring of the stepper motors.
You're going to issue a
“G28” command which tells the machine to move all three axes up until the
end stop adjustment
screws engage the end stop switches. BEFORE you run this command, I want you
to have one hand on
the power switch! If the axes begin to travel down when you send G28, turn
off the power
IMMEDIATELY! You don't want to damage the belts or the heated bed by ramming
the hot end into it.
If the steppers are going the wrong direction, there's two simple ways to
fix the problem. The
first method involves changing the wiring on the stepper motor. Swapping the
positions of the first two
(pins 1 and 2) wires on each stepper motor connector will change their
direction of travel. The sockets
can be removed by pressing on the release tab that's accessible via a tiny
square hole located over every
socket. Gently press down on the tab with a sharp pin or tiny jeweler's
screwdriver and carefully
withdraw the socket by pulling on its wire. Don't pull too hard or you'll
pull the wire out of the socket.
Much yelling and cursing will then occur.
If you don't feel up to that, you can change how the firmware talks to the
stepper motors.
In order to make the firmware changes, you'll need to start up the Arduino
IDE and then open
up the “repetier.ino” file from where you unpacked the zip file you
downloaded.
Use the tabs across the edit window to bring up “Configuration.h”. You'll
want to search the
file for the following section text:
#define INVERT_X_DIR true
#define INVERT_Y_DIR true
#define INVERT_Z_DIR true
Your INVERT values may not match what you see above, but what you want to do
is make
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The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
them the opposite of whatever they currently are. If they're true, make them
false, and vice-verse.
I should mention that you should only change the INVERT options for those
axes that are
actually traveling in the wrong direction!
Save your changes.
Now we need to tell the Arduino IDE how to talk to the RAMBo. Before you we
do this
however, you'll need to click the “Disconnect” button in Repetier-Host. The
Arduino IDE cannot talk
to the RAMBo board if Repetier-Host is connected to it.
In the Arduino IDE, click Tools->Board and pick the entry marked “Arduino
Mega 2560 or
Mega ADK”. This tells the IDE what chip it needs to generate code for.
Next, pick the correct serial port – do this by clicking Tools->Serial
Port and then choose the
COM port that your RAMBo is connected as.
To compile and upload the new changes to the RAMBo, just click the “Upload”
button – it's the
second icon to the right in the Arduino IDE toolbar (it's an arrow pointing
to the right).
After a short period of time, you should see the message “Done uploading.”
in the blue bar
that's right above the log window in the Arduino IDE. If you see an error,
please post a message
describing the error on the SeeMeCNC forum and we'll get you straightened
out as quick as possible.
The next test involves moving the axes around to make sure they're free and
clear and there's no
“bad” noises going on.
Issue a G28 command – the axes should travel all the way up and “bounce” off
the limit
switches.
Send “G0 Z300 F3500”. This will move the effector platform down a few
centimeters. The
idea is to get them off the end stops so we can move things around a bit.
Fig. 17-7 shows the manual controls you have for moving the machine around.
Each movement
arrow is broken up into four sections. Each section represents a unit of
motion. Hover your mouse
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Fig. 17-7: The axis controls.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
over one of the arrows and the center will display the amount of motion it
will cause when clicked.
The manual panel also has four “house” icons that are used to “home” the
axes.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU CLICK
ON THE “HOME X” OR “HOME Y” ICONS! THERE IS A
BUG IN THE REPETIER-HOST SOFTWARE THAT WILL
DRIVE THE HOT END INTO THE BUILD PLATFORM AS
SOON AS ANY OF THE MOVEMENT ARROWS ARE
CLICKED IF AN X OR Y HOME BUTTON IS CLICKED
FIRST!
Experiment with how the machine moves by clicking around the various arrows.
Be careful not
to drive the hot end outside the boundaries. The host software is pretty
smart, but it will allow you to
somewhat overdrive the axes. A good rule of thumb with the Rostock MAX is to
not move the X or Y
axis plus or minus 140mm. Even so, 140mm is at the extreme operational
envelope of the machine.
While learning how the motion controls work, please keep the Z height (the
distance from the
tip of the hot end to the build surface) a few inches above the build
platform. We haven't set the
Rostock MAX's true Z height yet and you don't want to smash the hot end into
the bed by accident.
The last test involves checking the basic function of both the hot end
heating resistors and the
heated bed. For this test, you're only going to turn them on long enough to
verify that they're indeed
heating up as they should.
Once you're sure they're heating up, please turn them off. The PID loops
need to be calibrated
before they can be used for printing. (See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PID_controller for more
information on the system the Repetier firmware uses to control the hot end
and heated bed
temperatures.)
161
Fig. 17-8: Validating the operation of the hot end and heated bed.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
18 – Calibrating your Rostock MAX
Okay, now that you've spent the last 5 minutes (Who am I kidding? You've
been poking at it for
at least an hour, giggling like a little kid. Your dignity is the first
casualty of having your own 3D
printer. Don't worry, you're in good company.) moving the hot and around and
seeing how it works,
now it's time to get it calibrated so you can begin printing your army of
squirrels and Yoda heads.
In order for the mechanical calibration to be accurate, we need to do the
steps with the Rostock
MAX at operating temperature. This means that both the hot end and heated
bed must be at the
temperature they'd normally be at while printing.
It's very important that the temperature controlling algorithm in the RAMBo
(the PID loop) be
as accurate as possible. To do this, we need to run what is called the “PID
Auto tune” routine. This is a
firmware function that you run in order to determine the best values for the
P(roportional), I(ntegral)
and D(erivative) values used by the PID loop.
First, let's start the auto tune routine for the hot end:
Send the command “M303 S200”. This begins the auto tune process and when it
starts, it
begins to add data to the log window at the bottom of the Repetier-Host
display. The target
temperature for this process is 200C (that's what the “S200” is for).
It will begin with the entry, “PID Autotune start”. You'll notice that the
temperature in the hot
end will begin to climb. A few minutes later, you'll start to see more
information appear in the log
window.
While it's working, click on the “Temperature Curve” tab in the main
Repetier-Host window:
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Fig. 18-1: Hot end temperature graph during PID auto tune process.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Fig. 18-1 shows how well the controller manages temperature over time. The
display we're
interested in right now are the red and brown lines. The thin red line
represents the actual hot end
temperature and the brown line shows an average of the recorded temperature.
After a short time, the
display will look something like this:
You can see the PID auto tune function is “learning” how to better manage
the temperature in
the hot end. As time goes on, the actual temperature begins to hold to the
center of the average target
temperature.
In a few minutes, the routine will complete, and you'll get output similar
to the below example:
12:51:52.455 : bias: 76 d: 76 min: 198.18 max: 204.63
12:52:38.513 : bias: 74 d: 74 min: 197.88 max: 202.22
12:53:21.112 : bias: 72 d: 72 min: 198.18 max: 202.04
12:53:21.112 : Ku: 23.78 Tu: 42.60
12:53:21.116 : Classic PID
12:53:21.116 : Kp: 14.27
12:53:21.116 : Ki: 0.67
12:53:21.116 : Kd: 75.97
12:54:02.565 : bias: 71 d: 71 min: 198.33 max: 201.67
12:54:02.569 : Ku: 27.12 Tu: 41.45
12:54:02.569 : Classic PID
12:54:02.569 : Kp: 16.27
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Fig. 18-2:Reaching and holding a target temperature.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
12:54:02.569 : Ki: 0.79
12:54:02.569 : Kd: 84.31
12:54:45.247 : bias: 71 d: 71 min: 198.33 max: 201.67
12:54:45.251 : Ku: 27.12 Tu: 42.68
12:54:45.251 : Classic PID
12:54:45.252 : Kp: 16.27
12:54:45.252 : Ki: 0.76
12:54:45.252 : Kd: 86.81
12:54:45.255 : PID Autotune finished ! Place the Kp, Ki and Kd constants in
the configuration.h
The values that you're interested in are the “Kp”, “Ki” and “Kd” values.
There are three blocks
of these values, each under the heading “Classic PID”. Create an average of
all the values (add up all
the Kp values, divide by three. Do the same with the Ki and Kd values) and
we'll get them added to the
proper spot in the EEPROM table.
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The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
In order to store your new set of PID values, we need to open up the EEPROM
table in
Repetier-Host. Click on Config->Firmware EEPROM Configuration. This will
bring up the EEPROM
table editor.
Scroll down until you see the fields highlighted in green as above in Fig.
18-3. Change the Pgain
field to the value you calculated for the average of Kp. Do the same for the
I-Gain (Ki) and DGain
(Kd) values and then click OK.
165
Fig. 18-3: EEPROM Table Editor.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
A properly tuned PID loop will look like the following graph:
The thin purple line is the actual set point for the hot end (190C). You can
see over time how
the actual temperature (thin red line) eventually merges with the
center-line of the average temperature
line (brown line). This is a good representation of a well tune PID loop.
The graph at the bottom measures how much power in percent that is being fed
to the hot end
resistors. You can see how it applies 100% until it overshoots the target
temperature. It then falls to
zero and then slowly ramps back up as the target temperature is maintained.
Okay, now it's time to perform the same task, but this time we're going to
tune the PID loop for
the heated bed.
Send the command “M303 P1 S60”. This will start the auto tune process for
the heated bed
with a 60C target temperature.
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Fig. 18-4: Accurate temperature management.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The graph for the heated bed auto tune process will look something like Fig.
18-5.
When the auto tune process finishes, you'll have a similar list of figures
as what you got for the
hot end PID loop auto tune process. Obtain the average values for Kp, Ki and
Kd as before. Go into
the EEPROM table editor and look for the fields marked in green below:
Just like you did for the hot end PID values, enter the ones you got from
the heated bed here.
Click save and we're ready to go on to the next step!
167
Fig. 18-5: PID Auto tune for the heated bed.
Fig. 18-6: Heated bed PID parameters.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Okay, now we need to find out what the actual Z height on your machine is.
Send the G28
command to the Rostock MAX. If you haven't done so already, install the
300mm Borosilicate glass
build surface on top of the Onyx. You can fix it in place using the included
document clips.
Bring your hot end and heated bed up to operating temperature. Set the hot
end temp to 190C
and the heated bed to 55C. We want the hot end and bed to expand to “normal”
so we can get a fairly
accurate measurement here.
Once the hot end and bed have reached the target temperatures, measure the
distance from the
tip of the brass nozzle on the hot end to the surface of your build plate.
Add 2mm to this figure and
write it down. Open up the EEPROM table editor. Take care to not burn
yourself on the hot end!
Take the number you just wrote down and fill the three parameters shown in
green above with
it. We'll come back and tweak it again in a moment. Save the EEPROM editor
and open up the Printer
Shape tab on the Printer Settings dialog.
168
Fig. 18-7: Updating X, Y and Z axis lengths.
Fig. 18-8: Updating the Printable Height.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Enter the number you entered in the Printable Height field as shown in Fig.
18-8.
Now comes the task of making that figure as accurate as we can.
Send the command “G0 Z10 F3500” to the Rostock MAX. It should send the hot
end to a spot
roughly 10mm above the build surface. We added 2mm in the measurement step
in order to give us a
bit of wiggle room here.
Lay a sheet of notebook paper on the heated bed and begin to bring the Z
height down 1mm at a
time. Click on the “down” Z arrow in the 1mm segment (it's the center
segment of the arrow). If the
last time you click pins the paper down hard, start clicking the “up” Z
arrow using the 0.1mm (bottom
segment of the arrow) until the hot end is only dragging on the paper a
small amount. You should be
able to move the paper around but still hear it rubbing on the tip of the
nozzle when the paper is pressed
flat. Take care not to burn yourself on the hot end or build plate!
When you reach the point where the paper is just dragging on the tip of the
nozzle, write down
the “Z” height. See Fig. 18-9 below for the location of the Z height.
Now subtract this number from the number you entered into both the EEPROM
and the printer
configuration areas. Edit the EEPROM table and replace your previous figure
with this new one. Do
the same for the Printable Height parameter in the Printer Shape dialog.
Send a G28 command to re-home the Rostock MAX and then send the command “G0
Z5
F3500”. This should send the hot end to a spot 5mm above the surface of the
build platform. Make
sure your sheet of paper is still in place and send the command, “G0 Z0
F3500”. It should stop in the
same place as before – just barely snagging the paper. The reason I had you
stop 5mm short the first
time is just in case there was a problem, the hot end wasn't going to smash
into the build plate. You can
test again by sending a G28 followed by G0 Z0 F3500. It should stop right
where it did last time. If it
didn't, start over and make sure you enter the figures carefully!
169
Fig. 18-9: Current Z height.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Now we need to calibrate the end stops. This ensures that your Rostock MAX
achieves an
accurate hot end height no matter where on the bed it is.
To make this process easier, we're going to set up three “scripts” within
Repetier-Host.
To edit these scripts, you'll need to click on the G-Code Editor tab and
then select “Script 1”
from the drop down indicated by the arrow in Fig. 18-10, below.
Enter the g-code just as you see it above. After you've entered the two
lines, click the Save icon
and choose the next script, “Script 2” from the drop down. Enter “G28” on
line #1 and “G0 Z0 X77.94
Y-45 F3500” on line #2. Save this script and pick “Script 3” from the drop
down. As before, enter
“G28” on line #1, and on line #2, enter “G0 Z0 X-77.94 Y-45 F3500”, then
save it.
Last, enter the following code for Script 4.
G28
G0 Z0 F3500
And save it.
In order to make sure that each axis is higher than the three points listed
above, I want you to
position the machine using these commands:
G28
G0 Z5 X0 Y90 F3500
As before, stick a sheet of paper under the hot end. Approach the zero point
1mm at a time by
clicking on the down arrow for the Z axis. If you pinch the sheet of paper
really hard before you hit the
zero height point, use a #2 Philips screwdriver to turn the end stop
adjustment screw two full turns to
the right. Perform the same check on the other axes by issuing G28 followed
by G0 Z5 X77.94 Y-45
F3500 and G0 Z5 X-77.94 Y-45 F3500. You're not after accuracy at this point,
you just want to get the
nozzle from pressing into the build plate.
Once you're confident you can go to the heated bed without striking it, you
can begin to
precisely adjust the end stop screws.
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Fig. 18-10: Creating scripts.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Click the “Printer” menu option at the top of the Repetier-Host window and
select “Send Script
1”. This will send the g-code you entered previously to the Rostock MAX.
Make sure you've got your
sheet of paper under where the hot end will “land”. Script #1 covers the Z
tower, #2 covers the Y tower
and #3 covers the X tower. Having these in script form makes the repeating
task of setting the end
stops much easier.
You adjust the height of each axis by turning the end stop adjustment screw
to the right to raise
the platform and to the left to lower the platform. Each time you make an
adjustment, re-issue the Send
Script 1 command. Repeat this process until you're getting the same amount
of “grab” on the paper as
you did when setting the initial Z height. When you're satisfied, move on to
the #2 and #3 scripts.
Lay your sheet of notebook paper on the center of the build platform and
execute Script 4.
The nozzle tip is going to end up in one of three positions. It's going to
be above your paper by
a visible amount, it's going to pin the paper firmly to the bed, or if
you're incredibly lucky, it will be
“gripping” the paper the same amount as the tower base calibration steps. If
it IS, I strongly
recommend you go buy a lottery ticket. Your luck is just that good.
If you're merely mortal like the rest of us poor suckers, you're going to
have to make an
additional adjustment. Delta configuration printers like the Rostock MAX
have a very interesting
geometry that will result in the hot end traveling in a non-flat path if
it's not perfectly calibrated. This
tiny error will express itself as a “virtual” convexity or concavity in what
it thinks the bed shape is. If
your hot end is pinning the paper to the build surface, the error is
expressing itself as a concavity – the
firmware thinks that it is moving flat, but the path of the hot end is
actually concave and that's why it
pins the paper to the build surface – the center is actually lower than it
should be. The reverse is also
true – if the hot end is not touching the paper at all, it thinks that the
bed is dome shaped (convex).
In order to adjust this out, you'll need to crank up the Arduino IDE and
edit your firmware –
we're going to be making changes to Configuration.h again.
It was recently discovered that there is an issue with the Repetier firmware
that can sometimes
cause problems when you're adjusting the PRINTER_RADIUS parameter. In order
to avoid this
issue, you should turn off the EEPROM feature during the next calibration
step. You can do this by
locating the line in Configuration.h that reads “#define EEPROM_MODE” You'll
change the value
that's listed to “0” in order to turn off the EEPROM feature. Once your
PRINTER_RADIUS
configuration is completed, change it back to “1” to re-enable the EEPROM.
Note that because the firmware will not be referencing the EEPROM settings,
you'll need to
manually configure the X, Y and Z max length figures that you previously set
in the EEPROM.
Look in Configuration.h for the following values:
#define X_MAX_LENGTH 365.0
#define Y_MAX_LENGTH 365.0
#define Z_MAX_LENGTH 365.0
Set these equal to the data you placed in the EEPROM table. This will ensure
that the firmware
knows the correct height of the machine while you're calibrating the
PRINTER_RADIUS value.
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The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The concave/convex shape of the bed is controlled by the DELTA_RADIUS
parameter in the
Repetier firmware. Because DELTA_RADIUS is a calculated value, we don't
change it directly. All
our changes will be made to the value called PRINTER_RADIUS.
Search Configuration.h for a field that looks something like this:
#define PRINTER_RADIUS 198.40
What you're going to do is bump that figure by.5 (you'll see this figure
mentioned in the
comment right above the #define in Configuration.h) until the nozzle is
touching the paper just the
same as it was when you calibrated at the base of each tower.
In order to lower the nozzle, you'll need to increase the value in
PRINTER_RADIUS.
In order to raise the nozzle, you'll need to decrease the value in
PRINTER_RADIUS.
Each time you change PRINTER_RADIUS, you'll need to save your changes and
upload the
new firmware to the RAMBo. Note that the Arduino IDE won't be able to
perform the upload if you're
still connected to the Rostock MAX with Repetier-Host. Click the
“Disconnect” icon in the upper left
corner of the Repetier-Host window before you try to upload your changed
firmware.
Once you've uploaded the new firmware, you'll have to re-calibrate the base
of each tower as
you did in the previous steps using Scripts 1 through 4. It may take a
number of iterations to get the
center nozzle height nailed down, but it IS worth the hassle. Your first
layer quality and plastic
adhesion require that the nozzle track across the entire bed as perfectly
flat as it can.
I've added a flowchart below that outlines this calibration process more
clearly.
With the completion of this task, you should have yourself a perfectly[1]
calibrated Rostock
MAX 3D printer!
At this point, you should return the EEPROM_MODE setting back to “1” to
re-enable the
EEPROM.
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The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
173
Delta Radius Calibration Flowchart
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The last task you'll need to perform before you can load plastic in to the
machine is to correctly
set the steps per mm (“E-Steps”) for the extruder. Open up the EEPROM
configuration editor and look
for the label highlighted below:
The value should be set to 92.65. If you're using the older Steve's
Extruder, this value should be
set to 584.
This value dictates the number of steps that the stepper motor must rotate
in order to feed 1mm
worth of filament to the hot end. The figures supplied will get your e-steps
very close to ideal, but
extra fine tuning can't hurt. I highly recommend that you check out the “E
Steps Fine Tuning” section
of Triffid_Hunter's excellent calibration guide. It can be found here:
http://reprap.org/wiki/Triffid_Hunter%27s_Calibration_Guide
The other portions of his calibration guide doesn't really apply to the
Rostock MAX, so it's not
necessary to read unless you're simply curious.
174
Fig. 18-11: Setting the steps per mm.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
19 – Your First Print with the Rostock MAX
Here's where the rubber meets the road! The whole point of the previous 174
pages to get to
this point. This section will introduce you to Slic3r, the tool that you'll
use to turn solid models into
printable objects. The version used here is v0.9.9, which is the version
included with Repetier-Host
v0.85b.
The first object you're going to print will be the Skeinforge Bridge
Calibration Cube. This
object is commonly used to calibrate a large number of different printers.
Download the STL file for
the cube from here: www.thingiverse.com/download:15293 – I recommend
creating a “STL Files”
folder to store files like this – you'll be getting a lot of them as time
goes on!
In order to print your first object, we're going to have to feed the model
to a “slicing” program.
Slicers basically “slice” the solid model into dozens or hundreds of layers,
each layer being the height
of the print layer. Each trip around the model is one print layer.
Repetier-Host includes the latest
release of Slic3r. There are a number of other good slicing utilities, but
for simplicities sake, we'll
focus on Slic3r.
175
Fig. 19-0: Printed test cube.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Start up Repetier-Host and click on the Slicer tab and then click the
Configure button as
highlighted below.
176
Fig. 19-1: The Slicer tab.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The Slic3r configuration window should appear similar to the figure below.
The first section, Layers and perimeters dictate how thick the print layers
are and some other
features.
Layer height is how thick each print layer will be. The smaller the
thickness, the smoother your
model will be. 0.2mm is a good first setting. Experiment with this and the
other settings when printing
other models. It’s the best way to learn how the various printing settings
affect your print.
First layer height allows you to specify a starting layer that is thicker or
thinner than the rest of
the print. Please click in the input box and allow the Hint to be displayed
– it will give you more
information on this setting. All the other fields have this feature as well.
Use it! The information is very
good to have. For printing the calibration cube, set First layer height to
0.3.
Perimeters (minimum), specifies the minimum number of outlines on an object
for every
layer.
For this first print, make sure it’s set to 3.
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Fig. 19-2: Print Settings – Layers and Perimeters.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Randomize Starting Points if checked will make the print head move to a
random location on
each layer in order to prevent odd plastic buildup on one specific spot. For
the calibration cube, leave
this unchecked. This is another parameter that you’ll want to experiment
with.
Generate extra perimeters when needed will add additional perimeter prints
to each layer if
they’re required. Leave this checked.
Solid Layers determines the number of solid or 100% fill layers that should
be done on the top
and the bottom of the print. For the calibration cube, set this value to 3.
Higher values may give better
print results on the top.
Click the floppy disk icon next to the drop-down and name the print settings
“Calibration Cube”
and then click on Infill. (..and don't misspell it like I did!)
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Fig. 19-3: Print Settings - Infill
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The Infill configuration page controls how the interior, solid areas of your
model are filled up
with plastic.
Fill density controls how much plastic is used to fill the “solid” areas of
your model. This is a
percentage value, so 0.2 shown above will be a 20% infill.
Fill pattern determines HOW the fill is added to the solid areas of your
model. It provides for a
number of different fill patterns, but for this first print make sure it’s
set to rectilinear.
Top/Bottom fill pattern is essentially the same as Fill pattern, but the
fill density is 100%. For
this first print, make sure it’s set to rectilinear.
Infill every allows you to change how the infill works if you don’t want it
to infill plastic on the
solid areas for every layer. For the test cube, set this to 1.
Solid infill every allows you to force a 100% infill every so many layers.
For the test cube, set
this to 0.
Solid infill threshold area will force a 100% infill for sections that have
a size less than or
equal to the size specified. Note that the value is expressed in square
millimeters. For our test cube, set
this to 5.
Only retract when crossing perimeters means that the filament will only be
retracted from the
print head when you’re crossing perimeters of the part and you don’t want to
risk any “extra” plastic
accumulating outside the print volume. The infill areas really don’t matter
and not retracting while
crossing these areas will improve your print speed. For the test print,
check this option.
Click the save icon (don’t change the name!) and let’s move on to Speed!
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The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Each option above controls the speed in which the print head will move
during the various
stages of the print process. For your first print, make sure your settings
match all those above. If you’re
curious about what each one effects, hover your mouse pointer over the field
you’re interested in. A
helpful hint will be displayed with a short description of the field.
When you’re done, click the save button and let’s move on to the next
section, Skirt and Brim.
180
Fig. 19-4: Print Settings - Speed
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The Skirt page has some very useful options on it that are useful for
starting the printing
process.
Loops does exactly that. Before your part starts to print, the printer will
print a number of loops
around where your part will print. This is very handy when you’d like to
make sure that the hot-end is
primed with enough plastic to begin the printing process. For the
calibration cube, set this to 3.
Distance from object dictates how far away from where your part will be that
the loop will
print. Set this to 3mm for the cube print.
Skirt height will tell the looping routine in Slic3r how high to build a
“skirt” around your part.
This is especially useful if you want to use the looping feature to build a
“draft dam” around your part
to prevent air drafts from causing adhesion or other problems. Specify a
high number here (20?) to
build a skirt around your part. For now, set this to 0. This is really only
a useful feature if you’ve got
issues with cold air movement or you’re using a Cartesian printer than moves
the build platform around
quickly.
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Fig. 19-5: Printer Settings - Skirt and Brim
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Brim width tells Slic3r to print what essentially amounts to a hat brim
around your part for the
distance specified. This can be helpful for prints that have problems with
curling edges. Let’s leave
this value set to zero – we’re more interested in getting a good overall
print than worrying about curling
issues right now.
The Support Material page covers options that are specific to parts that
have large overhangs
that could make printing problematic. These settings would craft little
support structures as part of the
printing process that you would cut away after printing finishes. Their
purpose is to support extruded
plastic that sticks out in “open” air at angles greater than 45 degrees and
wouldn’t stand up well during
printing. For our calibration cube, there’s nothing to set here, so leave
“Generate support material”
unchecked.
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Fig. 19-6: Print Settings - Support Material.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The Notes page is very straightforward. If you have any comments you’d like
to include special
comments with the output that Slic3r generates, put it here!
183
Fig. 19-7: Print Settings - Notes.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The Output Options page covers three main items that handle some details on
how the G-Code
is generated for your part.
Complete individual objects will tell Slic3r that if you’re printing
multiple parts during one
job that you want each part to print before Slic3r begins printing the next
part. For the calibration cube
we’ll leave this unchecked.
Extruder clearance (mm) tells Slic3r the amount of free space it needs to
leave around each of
the objects in order to avoid striking a previously printed object with the
extruder.
Verbose G-Code indicates that you want Slic3r to put descriptive text on
each line in the GCode
file. This can be a good educational tool to see what each G-Code statement
does, but will create
pretty large files – if you’re printing from an SD card, you may want to
leave this unchecked. For your
first print, you can check this or not. It’s entirely up to you. When it’s
time to print, I’ll show you where
you can view the code that Slic3r generated and you can see (or not!) the
comments it put in.
184
Fig. 19-8: Printer Settings - Output Options.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Output file name format allows you to change how the file name is created
for your print job.
For now, just leave it at the default shown.
The Multiple Extruders page allows you to specify a specific extruder for
each of the tasks
listed. For now, leave them all set to 1. Note that unless your Rostock MAX
has more than one extruder
mounted on the carriage, you’ll never need to revisit this configuration
page.
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Fig. 19-9: Print Settings - Multiple Extruders.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The Advanced page only has one setting we may need to adjust at this time.
The Threads field
tells Slic3r how many simultaneous tasks to undertake during the processing
of your model. I would
recommend setting this number to the number of CPU cores that your computer
has. If you’re not sure
what that count is, you can safely leave it set to the default of 2.
Click on the Save icon one more time to ensure that your changes have been
saved and then
click on the Filament Settings tab.
186
Fig. 19-10: Print Settings - Advanced.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The Filament Settings tab is for setting options that are relevant to the
filament that you’re
going to use on your test print.
For the Diameter setting, you’ll want to use your digital calipers to take a
few test
measurements along a couple of meters of filament to get an idea of its
actual diameter. Put an average
of the measurements you took into the Diameter field. This helps the slicing
algorithm determine the
optimal amount of filament to feed at any one time.
Extrusion Multiplier proportionally changes the flow rate of the extruder.
For your test print,
make sure this is set to 1 as shown.
The temperature settings shown in Fig. 19-11 are good for your first test
print, assuming you’re
using PLA plastic. If you’re using ABS or another material, you should
consult your filament vendor
for appropriate extruder and heated bed settings.
Click the save icon at this point and name the configuration something that
makes sense to you.
187
Fig. 19-11: Filament Settings - Filament.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
I use the vendor name, the color, type and filament diameter. You really
want a configuration
file for every color, vendor and type of filament you print as not all
filament is created the same, even
from the same vendor.
The last filament page is Cooling. This is primarily used by people
extruding PLA. Make sure
Enable Cooling is checked. PLA can do odd things if it's not cooled properly
as it prints. Don't worry
if you don't have a fan, just set the configuration in your Cooling tab as
shown below and save your
changes one more time, then we’ll move on to Printer Settings.
188
Fig. 19-12: Filament Settings - Cooling
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
On the Printer Settings tab in the General page you’ll see how you specify
the physical
attributes of your Rostock MAX 3D printer. Make sure your Slic3r settings
match those in Fig. 19-13
and then click the save icon. Name it “Rostock MAX” and then click on the
Custom G-Code page.
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Fig. 19-13: Printer Settings - General.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The Custom G-Code page allows you to tell your Rostock MAX to do some
specific chores
before and after a print job is run.
Start G-Code is run before the print job is run. In this case, we send G28
which re-homes the
Rostock MAX, followed by G1 Z300 F3000 which rapidly moves the carriage to
300mm above the
print surface. This just gets the Cheapskates off the end stop switches
gives you a chance to see things
are moving smoothly. The last line, M42 P6 S255 is what turns on the PEEK
fan.
Note, if you're using the firmware supplied by SeeMeCNC, it has been
modified to turn on
the HEAT1 output any time the hot end is hot. If you choose to connect a
PEEK fan to the HEAT1
output, you do NOT need to add the M42 prefix/suffix code as shown here. If
you want manual
control of the PEEK fan, connect the PEEK fan to the FAN1 output and use the
M42 codes as
shown.
End G-Code is executed right after the print job is finished. M104 S0 turns
off the heat to the
extruder and M140 S0 turns off the heat to the heated bed. M42 P6 S0 turns
off the PEEK fan and
G28 re-homes the machine.
Layer Change G-Code would insert any special code you need between each
layer that’s
printed. For your first test print, make sure your Slic3R configuration
matches what’s shown above in
Fig. 19-14. Click save and let’s move on to the Extruder 1 page.
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Fig. 19-14: Printer Settings - Custom G-Code.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Tool change G-Code (not shown above) are g-code instructions issued to the
controller each
time you switch to a different extruder when using two or more filament
extruders.
Size describes the diameter of the hole in your extruder nozzle. For a
typical Rostock MAX,
this should be 0.5mm. This helps Slic3r know how much plastic is extruded
for a given extrusion
speed.
Extruder Offset is only used if you’ve got multiple extruder nozzles. For
now, leave both X
and Y set to 0.
Retraction Length tells Slic3r how much filament should be “backed out” of
the hot end when
making rapid moves. This helps ensure that no plastic is accidentally
extruded while the hot end is
moving to a new position to begin printing again.
Lift Z will tell the machine to rapidly move the Z axis up this amount
during retractions. For
the calibration cube, leave this set to 0.2. (This is a good general
setting).
Speed will tell Slic3r how fast the plastic should be fed to the hot end.
For this and most other
prints, you’ll want to set it to 60.
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Fig. 19-15: Printer Settings - Extruder 1
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Extra length on restart will extrude an extra amount of filament once a
rapid move &
retraction has occurred. This is seldom used. Set it to 0.
Minimum travel after retraction will tell Slic3r that you have to move at
least as far as
specified here for a retraction to take place during a rapid move. Set this
to 3 for the calibration (and
most other) cube prints.
You can leave the Retraction when tool is disabled advanced settings at
their defaults as they
really only pertain to multiple-extruder jobs.
Now make sure you click save and then close the Slic3r configuration window.
In order to give Slic3r something to work with, we need to load a model into
Repetier-Host.
Click the Load button and navigate to where you saved the hollow_cube.stl
file. When you open the
file, you should see a rendering of the cube sitting in the center of your
build volume as shown below..
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Fig. 19-16: Hollow cube loaded!
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
In order to make sure that Slic3r is using the configuration you just
created, you'll need to make
sure that you've selected the proper Print, Printer and Filament settings.
Make sure you've chosen the settings by name that we just entered into the
Slic3r configuration
tool. When you've chosen those settings, click “Slice with Slic3r”.
After a few seconds the Repetier-Host display should change to look
something like this:
193
Fig. 19-17: Choosing the Slicing configuration parameters.
Fig. 19-18: Hollow cube sliced and ready to go!
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
The cyan colored lines you see is the path that the extruder head will take
as it moves and the
dark blue represents the extruded plastic. You can click in that window and
using your mouse, pan,
zoom and rotate the model. In fact, why don’t you zoom in on the calibration
cube so you can see what
it will look like:
The rendering in Fig. 150 is a pretty accurate rendition of what will happen
on your print bed.
Notice the three rings around the part? When you set Loops to 3, it caused
that to be generated as part
of the tool path. (“tool path” is a term used to describe the path that the
tool takes during the entire
printing process)
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Fig. 19-19: The sliced hollow cube showing the extrusion path.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Back when I was walking you through the Slic3r configuration, I mentioned
we’d be viewing
the G-Code that Slic3r generates. Fig. 19-20 below shows the code that
Slic3r generated.
All that text is what controls the Rostock MAX through the RAMBo.
Repetier-Host sends each
line of that file to the RAMBo board and the software on the board
interprets each line in order to tell
the Rostock MAX to move to a specific place, extrude plastic, etc. Lines
that start with “;” are
comments.
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Fig. 19-20: The G-Code editing pane.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
They’re ignored by the G-Code processor on the RAMBo board and you’ll notice
that the start
of the file contains all the settings that you set up in Slic3r. This is a
great way to track prior
configurations.
If you want to know what a specific program code does, you can click on the
Help tab under the
editor and each time you click on a line of code, Repetier-Host will display
a little bit about what it
does if it knows about it. There are very few codes that Repetier-Host
doesn’t know about.
I highly recommend learning more about how G-Code works – that knowledge
will help you
get the most out of your Rostock MAX in the long run. Send G28 to the
Rostock MAX so it's in its
home position before we start working with the filament.
Before you can print the model you just sliced, you're going to have to load
filament into the
printer. I'm only going to cover the new EZStruder for this, so if you have
the older Steve's extruder,
please consult the first edition manual. If you can't find it online, email
me and I'll provide a place
where you can download it from.
The first step is going to be pre-heating the hot end.
If you're using ABS and not PLA, you'll want to make sure that your
temperature is set to 230-
240 instead of the 185 that I show above. Click the “Heat Extruder” button
in order to bring the hot
end up to operating temperature.
Load a spool of filament into the spool holder – you want the spool to
unwind in a clockwise
direction. The idea is to have the filament coming off the bottom of the
roll, up toward the EZStruder.
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Fig. 19-21: Pre-heating the hot end
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
It's extremely simple to load filament into the EZStruder. Just place your
index finger on the
top of the extruder and your thumb on the tension lever (marked by the white
arrow below). Squeeze
the tension lever up and feed the filament by hand along the path marked by
the green arrow. There is
a small opening behind the tension lever that the filament will enter into
the extruder through.
Continue to manually feed the filament until it passes through the other
push-fit connector on
the hot end.
Once the hot end reaches the target temperature, I want you to start using
the manual Extrusion
button to feed filament into the hot end.
In the figure to the right, you'll see the control panel for
the extruder. In order to safely feed the hot end, make sure that
your settings match those in Fig. 19-23. The arrows on the
panel control the feed – they indicate the actual filament
direction. Click the down arrow to feed the first 10mm of
filament into the hot end. You may have to click the down
arrow a number of times to get filament coming out of the hot
end, but you'll want to wait for the extruder to stop moving
before you click it again.
Once it does begin to feed, go ahead and click the down
arrow a few more times just to get the extruder all nice and primed.
I recommend that you extrude 20-30mm of filament each time you start up the
printer for the
day. This ensures that the hot end is primed and you have no jamming issues.
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Fig. 19-22: Loading filament into the EZStruder.
Fig. 19-23: Feeding filament
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Before you begin printing you'll need to make sure you're using a good
printing surface. In the
case of the Rostock MAX and ABS or PLA plastic, you'll want to have the
300mm borosilicate glass
disc attached to the Onyx with the included binder clips. For your first
print I would recommend using
blue painter's tape on top of the glass if you're using PLA. PLA sticks very
well to the tape. If you're
using ABS, I recommend using an unscented hairspray such as Aquanet Extra
Super Hold. Spray it on
the glass and let it dry before starting your print. There's a number of
different methods you can use for
both plastics, but I'll leave those up to you to research. See the SeeMeCNC
forums for more
information on this kind of thing.
Ok, I give up. I can’t keep you waiting any longer. Reach up with your mouse
cursor and whack
the Run Job button!
When you start the job, Repetier-Host will start sending the G-Code in the
editor to the RAMBo
over the USB cable. The first thing it will do is begin to heat the bed.
When the bed has reached its
operating temperature, it will then begin heating the hot-end. Once the hot
end has come up to
temperature, the Rostock MAX will begin printing the calibration cube you
just sliced.
Before the printer begins, I want you to move the Feed rate slider that’s in
the Speed Multiply
box back to about 50.
The reason for this is to help make sure that the print is going to adhere
to the bed properly and
to ensure that the flow rate will be sufficient for the printing speed. If
you go too fast, you can easily
over-run the ability of the hot end to melt the plastic. You'll soon learn
how to tweak speeds and feeds
as part of your learning experience with the Rostock MAX and 3D printers in
general.
That being said, there's no reason you can't bump the speed up a bit after
you're sure it's doing
ok. You'll soon discover the limitations imposed by the slicer settings or
the machine itself. Have fun
with it!
I’ll shut up now so you can watch your Rostock MAX in peace. It’s absolutely
the most
fascinating thing you’ll watch in a long time. I would highly recommend
getting a 3 diopter or better
magnifying glass so you can really watch that sucker lay down plastic. It's
simply amazing.
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Fig. 19-24: Reducing the print speed.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
20 – Maintenance & Troubleshooting
Like any machine, your Rostock MAX 3D printer needs preventative maintenance
to continue
to function as good as the day you built it. Vibration and heating/cooling
cycles can take their toll and
you want to stay ahead of any issues before they begin to adversely affect
your prints.
1. Check the condition of your drive belts to insure they’re not getting
worn out or rubbing on
any of the Rostock MAX structure. Check to make sure that a print too close
to the bed
hasn’t caused the drive gear to chew up the belt in one spot. This would be
a good item to
add to your start-up checklist.
2. Check all bolted connections to ensure that vibration hasn’t begun to
loosen them. This
should be part of your start-up checklist.
3. Check the Cheapskate bearings to ensure that they still have a good hold
on the rails. If you
leave your Rostock MAX idle for an extended period of time could cause
“flat” spots to
form on the Acetal bearing covers. You’ll know this has happened if you
begin to hear
“ticks” as the flat spot comes into contact with the rail. The good news is
that the flat spot
isn’t permanent as the Acetal will relax a bit with continued use and the
flat spot will
disappear.
4. Make sure that the fan in the power supply remains dust-free. Vacuum it
out periodically to
prevent the buildup of too much dust. Dust traps heat and isn’t any good for
power
supplies.
5. Keep the RAMBo free of dust. Clean it periodically with either canned air
or a dry
paintbrush. Do NOT use a vacuum cleaner on it! The tip of a vacuum cleaner
accumulates
static electricity and will kill the RAMBo dead as a post.
6. Keep the heated bed free of scratches and debris. If your bed gets too
scratched up to be
usable, you can either order a new one from SeeMeCNC or go to your local
glass shop and
order a 300mm diameter disc of glass, 1/8” to 3mm thick. Compare the
thickness of the
glass and your original build surface. If the glass isn’t the same, you may
need to re-adjust
your Z axis height.
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The problem with troubleshooting is sometimes trouble shoots back. :)
Your Rostock MAX 3D printer is a pretty complex piece of machinery even
though it looks
pretty simple. As with any complex device sometimes things can go wrong in
really weird ways. This
won’t be a comprehensive troubleshooting guide, but will touch on a few of
the problems I’ve run into
with my printer. As others offer tips, they’ll be added to this section.
Print Layer Issues
When you first start a print, you should get a very even and consistent
layer height. By properly
adjusting the machine, you should get this automatically if you’ve got all
three towers adjusted exactly
the same. Unfortunately, that’s really difficult to do. The larger the
object you print, the more obvious
first layer thickness inconsistencies will be, especially when using loops.
Above is an example of correct and incorrect nozzle height. The nozzle on
the right is right at
the surface of the print bed. This means that there’s no room for the
plastic to go – the bed is effectively
plugging the nozzle and will eventually cause the extruder to start
skipping, or it'll grind a notch in the
filament as it tries to feed it.
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Fig. 20-1: Correct nozzle height example. (Image Courtesy of LulzBot)
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
In the figure above, you’ll see five different print examples. On the far
left you see the result of
the nozzle being too close to the print bed, while at the far right you see
the result of the nozzle being
too far away. The result you’re looking for is shown in the center. That’s
what a good first layer should
look like. If you set the Z height such that you can just begin to feel a
sheet of note paper begin to drag
between the nozzle and machine bed, you’re pretty close to the ideal Z
height when at zero.
Machine Won't Move!
You’ve sent G28 and the machine still won’t move using the jog arrows. Take
a look at the log
output. You may be seeing an error go by that looks like this:
Extruder switched off. MINTEMP triggered!
What is most likely happening is that you haven’t yet plugged the hot-end
thermistor in. The
firmware is preventing the machine from moving because of this – it’s a
safety measure of sorts. A cold
thermistor will read ambient room temperature, but a failed one may not – it
could read zero or some
very high number. The firmware is will prevent the Rostock MAX from
operating if the thermistor
readings are below 3 degrees Celsius for the hot end and heated bed, or if
the hot end temp is above
275 or the heated bed is above 140. (These are defaults and shouldn’t be
messed with unless you know
exactly what you’re doing)
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Fig. 20-2: First print layer examples. (Image Courtesy of LulzBot)
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Belt Damage or “The Delta Arm Blues”
So you're printing along and you start to notice things like this:
The arrows are pointing to a gap between the infill and the perimeter of the
part. This was
caused by a number of factors, eventually resulting in a sharp drive gear
devouring all the teeth from a
short section of the drive belt. Vigilant belt inspection and more care in
setting the Z height would have
helped to prevent this from happening.
A sign to watch for is the accumulation of tiny black “crumbs” in the area
where the drive
pulley is located.
Another issue that will cause the problems shown above is known as “The
Delta Arm Blues”.
What happens is that one or more of the delta arm joints have a little bit
of extra friction to them. When
the delta platform changes direction, this tiny amount of drag will cause a
positioning error resulting in
the infill not completely meeting the perimeter. If you're seeing this kind
of issue and your belts are in
good shape, it's time to test each delta arm and u-joint for fit. There is a
thread on the SeeMeCNC
forum called “Don't get those Delta Arm Blues!” and it covers the why of it
as well as great suggestions
and techniques for getting the issue solved. Here's the link:
http://forum.seemecnc.com/viewtopic.php?
f=54&t=1434
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Fig. 20-3: Infill not meeting the perimeter.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Appendix A – Wire Management
With the advent of the top mounted extruder, it became necessary to find a
new way to route the
effector and stepper motor wiring. In order to solve this issue, I designed
a simple, easy to print clip
that will allow you to fit a 3/8” dowel to the back of the Z axis tower in
order to support the wiring.
Download and print two of the brackets from Repables:
http://www.repables.com/r/131/
These were printed using a .25 layer height out of PLA. When they're done,
clip off the single
layer squares that surround the ends of the clips. Those are only there to
ensure the tips of the clips will
adhere to the bed properly – basically gives them more surface area to stick
with.
Cut a 26-1/2” length of 3/8” dowel – this will be the rod that the wiring is
attached to. Fit a clip
to each end and attach them to the base & top of the Z axis tower.
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Fig. A-1: Wire Management Clips.
Fig. A-3: Base wire clip.
Fig. A-4: Top wire clip
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Attach the hot end, accessory and stepper motor wiring to the dowel rod
using either lacing cord
or wire ties, whichever you prefer. Attach from the bottom to the top to
ensure that you've got enough
slack on the hot end and accessory wiring to allow the effector platform to
move throughout its range
without putting stress on the wire.
See the following figures for examples of routing the wiring.
That's really all there is to it!
204
Fig. A-4: Wire routing on Red Sonja.
Fig. A-5: Wire routing on Blue Max.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
Appendix B – Accessories
PEEK Fan Shroud
One of the first accessories that you should print for your new Rostock MAX
3D printer is a fan
shroud for the PEEK fan.
The PEEK fan is very important, especially when printing with PLA. The fan
keeps the PEEK
section cool in order to prevent “heat creep” from jamming the hot end.
The Repables site has a SeeMeCNC-designed fan shroud here:
http://www.repables.com/r/140/
You should print it out of ABS. The shroud is in close proximity to the hot
end and will melt if
you print it from PLA. The fan shroud requires a 25x25x10mm 12VDC fan. If
you don't have one,
you can purchase one from the SeeMeCNC online store, or any number of
resellers on eBay.
In order to ensure maximum cooling to the PEEK barrel, you'll need to make
sure you insert the
fan into the fan pocket such that it's blowing IN towards the PEEK barrel.
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Fig. B-1: Fan shroud and fan.
Fig. B-2: Fan installed, top view. Fig. B-3: Fan installed, bottom view.
The Rostock MAX Assembly Guide, 2nd Edition
If you're using the Repetier firmware supplied by SeeMeCNC, you can connect
the PEEK fan to
the HEAT1 terminal on the RAMBo board. This output is set to turn on any
time the extruder is on and
it will drive the fan 100%, which is what you want.
If you're using your own firmware, or an older version of the Repetier
firmware by SeeMeCNC
that does NOT have this feature added, you can wire it in to the FAN1 output
and turn the fan on by
sending “M42 P6 S255” to turn the fan on and “M42 P6 S0” to turn the fan
off.
Install the fan shroud on the effector platform is very simple. Just slide
it between any pair of
aluminum spacers and you're done. You may need to loosen the platform screws
a small amount if the
fit is too tight for the fan shroud to fit.
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Fig. B-4: PEEK Fan shroud installed!