1 Topic by peabody1929

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Topic: Y-Axis Movement VERY difficult

I just recieved my Solidoodle and have not been able to print anything.  The problem is Y-Axis movement makes a stuttering noise and does not move about 80% of the time on 10mm moves.  (On 100mm moves, it seems to operate normally).  I took the belt off the Y-Axis stepper.  Pushing the carriage back and forth in the Y direction is quite difficult.  With no stepper attached, it should move freely.  The rods are greased and freshly oiled (with plastic compatible oil)  Should my next step be to remove the Y belts from the carriage and try movement? 

Looking for suggestions.

2 Reply by elmoret (edited by elmoret 2013-01-07 03:33:10)

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Re: Y-Axis Movement VERY difficult

Loosen/remove the set screw of the pulley on the driven rod on the side away from the y-motor. (Back right corner of the solidoodle, if you are standing at the front looking towards the back), try again. You'll want this screw tight eventually, but it's a good troubleshooting tip for skew.

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3 Reply by IanJohnson

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Re: Y-Axis Movement VERY difficult

Also try loosening the long belts.  If they are too tight there will be a lot of friction on the bushings in the back of the frame, and the bolts that hold the front pulleys.

4 Reply by peabody1929

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Re: Y-Axis Movement VERY difficult

Hi Guys,

I took your advice and worked on my Solidoodle.  I loosend the set screw on both pulleys on the driven rod.  The Y direction movement of the carriage was still hard since the driven rod was still turning with the set screws loose.  Next, I loosend the long belt screw and took the belts entirely off the pulleys.  Now if I spin the right or left pulley with my finger, the driven rod does not turn.  Probably means the belts were too tight.  The only thing screwed tight on the driven rod is the pulley for the belt to the Y stepper.  (See photo).  When I try to turn this pulley with my finger, the driven rod is VERY difficult to turn.  One would think this rod should spin freely.  Please advise how to free the driven shaft so it will turn freely.

Thanks!

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5 Reply by ronsii (edited by ronsii 2013-01-10 06:19:02)

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Re: Y-Axis Movement VERY difficult

peabody1929 wrote:

Hi Guys,

I took your advice and worked on my Solidoodle.  I loosend the set screw on both pulleys on the driven rod.  The Y direction movement of the carriage was still hard since the driven rod was still turning with the set screws loose.  Next, I loosend the long belt screw and took the belts entirely off the pulleys.  Now if I spin the right or left pulley with my finger, the driven rod does not turn.  Probably means the belts were too tight.  The only thing screwed tight on the driven rod is the pulley for the belt to the Y stepper.  (See photo).  When I try to turn this pulley with my finger, the driven rod is VERY difficult to turn.  One would think this rod should spin freely.  Please advise how to free the driven shaft so it will turn freely.

Thanks!


See if you can tell if the bushing is turning with the shaft it might be seized on it just take a sharpie and put a dot on the bushing and see if it turns along with the shaft. if it is all it should take is a bit of oil to get in there sometimes you can tap sideways on the shaft lightly so as not to break the plastic holder but enough that it kinda realigns the bearing with the shaft
http://i.imgur.com/b5Qf9.jpg

Ps. check both sides smile

6 Reply by IanJohnson

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Re: Y-Axis Movement VERY difficult

See if the rod slides easily side to side.   If it doesn't slip back and forth through the bushings, then it isn't going to spin easily.   The bushings have a little wiggle, so if you can slide the rod through them you might be able to get them to align with each other a little better so they don't bind the rod.

7 Reply by merlz42

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Re: Y-Axis Movement VERY difficult

I am having a similar problem - if I loosen the belts too much they slip, as soon as they stop slipping the motor starts clicking instead. The rod slides side to side with a small amount of effort for me, and I can slide the whole assembly if I try. There seems to be a lot of friction to start it off sliding, and I think that might be the problem since I find the motor starts stuttering more when a lot of small slow movements are required. Most decent sized prints I've tried have failed due to the Y motor issues. Is there any way to fix it?

8 Reply by peabody1929 (edited by peabody1929 2013-01-17 23:15:56)

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Re: Y-Axis Movement VERY difficult

I fixed the problem!  When the rod was fab'd, it was cut to length and a bevel was ground onto the edge of the rod.  The grinding created a small bur around the rod.  Normally, it would be polished off.  You can barely see it in the photo; it is only a couple thousands thick.  However, you can feel it with your finger.  Since the end of the rod is inside the bronze bushing, the bur would dig into the bushing and bind.  I polished off the bur with 600 grit paper and then polished the ends of the rod with 1500 grit paper.  The rod spins freely and the carriage moves in the Y direction with no issues.

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9 Reply by cmetzel

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Re: Y-Axis Movement VERY difficult

peabody1929 wrote:

I fixed the problem!  When the rod was fab'd, it was cut to length and a bevel was ground onto the edge of the rod.  The grinding created a small bur around the rod.  Normally, it would be polished off.  You can barely see it in the photo; it is only a couple thousands thick.  However, you can feel it with your finger.  Since the end of the rod is inside the bronze bushing, the bur would dig into the bushing and bind.  I polished off the bur with 600 grit paper and then polished the ends of the rod with 1500 grit paper.  The rod spins freely and the carriage moves in the Y direction with no issues.


Wow, I don't think I ever would have checked that.  Mine would have been sitting at the bottom of my pool before I dug that far into it.  haha

Glad  you're up and running