Folgertech FT-5 (Page 1 of 4)

I am looking forward to getting it here. Even cleared a spot to put it once it is built.
The 2020 Prusa is being retired (may even have it sold) since I really don't use it much. It was fun to build and tinker with, but most of the printing I do is in ABS, so it doesn't see much use - and I do have the Kossel, which is much more fun to watch, LOL

I think I am officially addicted.

got confirmation today - the FT-5 is enroute! should be here Wednesday, June 22nd

yeah, I have looked through the build manual - kind of quickly. will have to go through it again in more detail before it arrives. And there is the FolgerTech Facebook group as well for some of the stuff that isn't 100% clear (some have had issues with the dual motor wiring)

I will be using RH & Slic3r since that is what I know best. I don't like Pronterface's interface and never did get the hang of using Cura. FWIW, they recommended Pronterface/Cura for the Kossel, too - nope, not here. lol I may have to pose that question over at the fb group.

the biggest new thing for FT is the MKS Gen 1.4 controller board - big departure from the Ramps boards they have been using. I am curious to find out how well it performs. From what I have seen come off of the beta machines (supposedly), they print pretty nicely

Well, it arrived on Tuesday, and I have been rather busy since, LOL
the box is huge! that is 12 in ruler laying on the top..

and a couple of obligatory unpacking shots...

once all unpacked, and inventory verified, the hardware sorting began...

Frame assembly took roughly a couple of hours working in short increments... but this thing is HUGE! it dwarfs the SD4s and barely fits on my 24in deep counter.

and most recent pic... bottom and top plates in...

was trying to install the bed mounting plate last night and hit a small snag - the lead-screw mounts don't quite line up correctly... not really sure why yet, it was late so I called it a night and will take a better look tonight after work..
the smooth rods went in fine (2 on each side) but the lead-screws are almost a 1/4 inch out of alignment at the bed plate.
All rods/screws are straight and roll smoothly, so that is not the issue.

up to this point it has gone together pretty smoothly. hoping that simply rotating the bed plate 180 degrees will solve the alignment issue (it is marked to be placed in a certain orientation and is currently in the "correct" position)

will post more once i get it sorted out.

because I hate waiting, i broke out the mini file set, and some extra fine sandpaper and fixed the dad-burned bearing. If FT comes thru with a replacement, I will put it in, but it is quite functional at this point. functional enough that I was able to continue with the build.

One of the linear rail bearings was a bit sticky as well, but again, a bit of futzing around and it is sliding quite smoothly now. should be interesting to see what kind of speed i can get out of this beast.

almost completely built now, but still have a few minor things to do - then on to the wiring and firmware.. yee-ha!

Currently in the midst of getting the wiring sorted out on this beast. The build manual is less than helpful for this stage (still a draft).

The design is supposed to have interchangeable heads - CNC to start with, but there was talk of possibly a laser in the future - but I am not interested in all of that, so I am skipping the connectors at the head part, and wiring direct - a much cleaner appearance, too, hehe.

With any luck, I should have this beast up and running by this weekend.

the stock hotend uses a 0.4 nozzle... once i get this thing running and calibrated, I was thinking very seriously of upgrading to a Volcano setup

kind of stalled out on wiring the other day - sore, tired hands were not conducive to getting much fiddly work done plus so many other things going on, it has sat untouched for a couple of days now. I just need to extend 1 set of endstop wires, combine the Z motor wiring, and finish making the connections at the controller (re-installing connector ends, etc) all while making sure things stay tidy and neat, then get firmware flashed.

Well, it is finally finished!

Firmware loaded = check!
power up = check!
connect to RH = check!
Test movement of motors* = check!
Test bed heating = check!
Test hotend heating = check!
Load filament for calibration = Uh-oh... Houston, we have a problem...
Seems there is a bit of an alignment issue between the extruder (mk9) and the hotend mounting block...
Currently printing out a replacement that should (hopefully) resolve that issue...

* just an aside on the movements - I dont know who set up the firmware, or why they set it up the way the did, but X & Y are essentially backwards of every other cartesian style printer I have ever come across...
it homes to right rear, like the SDs do, but instead of reading MAX (300,300), it is set to MIN (0,0) at that location which necessitated making adjustments in RH to get it moving the way they have it set up to move...

I may try to change things to a more standardized setup at a later point, but for now, I will live with it until i know it is actually working.

Sounds like you almost there.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id= … =drive_web

also had to enable EEPROM chitchat - silly for it to be turned off...

anyway - it LIVES! I have successfully printed a calibration cube, LOL

Been a long day here, so more on this beast later....