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I would like to take the credit for that design. But it was the good folks at SeeMeCNC that came up with it. I just stole it and told people about it.

As for the Dampers i still have my set waiting to be installed (got them on your last round of ordering them). I'm still working on my test prints so i'm reluctant to change anything on the machine.

I promise these are coming! Tracking says they just left LA today. Seems the postal system is pretty backed up here due to the holidays, it took these babies 5 days to get through customs!

These have been selling slowly... 14 left!

[EDIT] Wow... long time ago.. Completely out of stock at the moment, ordering some more this week!

Got some more if anybody needs a set!

How is the fit once these are installed?

I'm building my MAX v2 with three dampers (purchased from AstroBoy907: thanks for the quick shipping). Some notes:

- They're basically two plates with rubber between them. Each plate has two holes (rather than four) to attach to either the motor or the mounting surface. See here for what I mean.

- The plate that screws to the stepper motor has holes large enough to clear the screw size for the stepper. So, two M3 screws are used to mount a damper to its motor. But! the MAX kit supplies M3 10mm screws, which are too long (since the damper's metal plate is thinner than the melamine). I picked up some M3 6mm screws from Home Depot, and they work well.

- The plate that attaches to the mounting surface is threaded for two M3 screws. So, you can use the M3 10mm screws that came with the kit to fasten it to the melamine, with the screw going through the melamine and ending in the threaded damper plate.

- The thickness of the damper pulls the motor shaft back, making it appear shorter. So, instead of mounting the gear flush with the end of the shaft, you have to have the shaft inset by the thickness of the damper, which I think was 0.225".

- Having two mounting points rather than four worried me a bit. I decided that the damper-melamine junction was potentially weaker than the damper-motor junction, so I arranged those two screws such that the axis of pull (the direction that the timing belt pulls) is parallel to the line between the screws. (If that didn't make sense, don't worry about it; it probably doesn't matter anyway.)


FYI,
Dan

On a side note - would anybody be interested in an "Upgrade Kit" of sorts? The dampers plus the mounting screws (+washers?). As I don't have a rostock I'd have to collaborate with people who have installed the kits, but it really wouldn't bring the cost up much, as well as save most a trip to the hardware store.

astroboy907 wrote:On a side note - would anybody be interested in an "Upgrade Kit" of sorts? The dampers plus the mounting screws (+washers?). As I don't have a rostock I'd have to collaborate with people who have installed the kits, but it really wouldn't bring the cost up much, as well as save most a trip to the hardware store.

Interested. Are the dampers still available?

Thanks

-David

whaleboy wrote:
Interested. Are the dampers still available?

Thanks

-David

Yep, I have a whole lot of them! Replied via PM.

I am also interested. Please pm me with the details. Thanks

I sent you a PM>>>

Barefoothurst wrote:I am also interested. Please pm me with the details. Thanks

Sorry, I didn't check this forum last night. But I got your PM.

All PMs replied.

I'm currently out of stock on these. Astrosyn is backed out 6 weeks on orders so I'm taking some time to look into other suppliers. Thanks guys!

Well, some guy said he wanted the last few, but he fell through. Currently have 16pcs left in stock. Haven't heard anything promising from other suppliers so I should be ordering more from Astrosyn.

PM sent - I'll take 3.

Just installed my dampers (thanks astroboy907!)

Anyone who says they don't make much of a difference is on crack. These things are ridiculous. The sound from the steppers is almost non-existent. My fans are by far the loudest thing on the machine now. Money well spent.

All gone on ebay
Getting more on backorder...
Ordered!

Anyone seen this? http://repables.com/r/143/

Notice who made this model. When I get my machine up and running I may have to test these out.

Interested, sent you a PM, any still in stock?

Demolishun wrote:Anyone seen this? http://repables.com/r/143/

Notice who made this model. When I get my machine up and running I may have to test these out.

The problem with this type and the foam, cork or other similar types is that they don't truly decouple the stepper from
its mounting surface. The screws that secure the stepper must be decoupled through an absorption material such as rubber
to truly isolate the stepper. On this printed "damper" the vibrations from the stepper are coupled through the mounting screws
into the plastic and are free to pass on to the screws holding the plastic to the mounting surface, there is no decoupling of the
vibrations. The only type of damper that truly works has steel on both sides with a rubber isolator in the middle. The rubber
decouples the vibrations so they are not passed through to the surface mounting screws. I have tried them all, cork, foam, printed
and none are even close to dampening the vibrations as the rubber isolated types do. I was amazed at the difference in noise level
that the true dampers make. Another thing to help quiet the noise transmitted by the printer is to place the printer on rubber pads
such as what they sell to stand on. Harbor Freight sells them in a 4 or 6 pack and I cut 4" squares out of them and set the printers
feet on the pads. They don't make the printer quieter but they help to reduce the vibrations from passing from the printers table into the rest
of the house.
See this video to hear what the real dampers do to a Rostock Max - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3Xn7b7tcxY

mlapaglia wrote:Interested, sent you a PM, any still in stock?

Unfortunately, no. I've ordered some more but they are on backorder. Should be here near the end of June. Sorry!

When I first gave the dampers a try for the first time I was amazed. It took some time for me to finally convince you guys to try it and see how substantial the difference is.

One of the primary reasons that they do their job so well is because a ridiculous amount of money and research has gone into creating these things that thankfully other large corporations like HP, Canon and the stepper motor manufacturers themselves have footed the bill for. The research and development for these and the inerta dampers came about from primarily the photocopier industry and the need for a quiet "none disturbing machine" for the typical office environments. The dampers have since been refined and perfected over literally decades of revisions and rubber changes and selections.

That being said, not all dampers are created equal. The astrosyn dampers are in my opinion some of the best. I have seen very poor attempts at these dampers from chinese sources. The rubber is either too soft, too tall or completely useless at damping anything.

If you are the salvaging type, these dampers can be had from old photocopiers from any of the big names.

You are looking for sheet feeder big heavy types. From them you will get both nema 17 and nema 23 dampers. Along with a great deal of other nice choice bearings, gears, belts and pulleys. Oh and the stepper motors too!

Wouldn't it be great to have a source of "junkyard" full of copiers etc local to your location.
I'd spend a lot of money in a place like that getting all sorts of goodies.
Regrettably, I know of no source of junk copiers anywhere near me.

I am definitely interested, I'll keep an eye out!

Alot of times people are dying to get ride of them on craigslist in the free section. All they want is for you to pick it up. Then take it home and pick it clean!