Folgertech FT-5 R2 build (Page 2 of 4)

oil the snot out of them, too... mine were stiff and did not want to move smoothly.. plenty of 3-in-1 oil worked in really helped loosen things up

Here is the video with the information I promised.

Try some spray lube with teflon . But the rail may be toast and need replacement.
Have you tested the power supply Yet?

Ok, so I've discovered why one of the rails refuses to free up. The darned thing is WARPED! sigh...

Well, I went through their main checklist showing each package and individual (not in a package) item. One should not have to count every individual screw, or ensure that every size of parts is correct before beginning assembly. Now I admit that the missing ACM parts should have been caught under normal circumstances, however this is the R2 kit and things have changed. The number of items has changed as well as the way the ACM parts (formerly melamine) are cut, and do not match the photo. (difficult to identify or know if your missing something that is actually supposed to be there). So counting and checking each individual item ultimately ends up at a waste of time. However, the other outcome of this situation is wasting even more time waiting to see if they will send missing and or replacement parts. Then again, one wouldn't go through and check the level of every part either... SIGH,,... thanks for letting me vent. I feel better now. Well, back to work on my FT-5 R2!

I kind of agree. If I thought it would take me more than a few days to build, I would forgo a kit and just buy a complete unit. My time is worth more to me than spending a month of my free time to build a printer.

While I completely agree that one "should not need to" do this.. the reality is: YES, you SHOULD to do a FULL inventory of ALL parts. Things get missed all the time. Maybe not great, but for the price, it is what it is.

And while it "should" only take a couple of days to actually put the thing together, sometimes other "life" things get in the way and before you know it, poof... days have gone by with no progress.

The 2020 Prusa kit took me about a day and a half (of actual building time, but this was spread out over the course of a week - couple hours here & there)
the Kossel kit about the same...
The FT-5 took about 2 and a half, maybe 3 days... but then, I had a few issues with various parts (lead screw bearing mounts, and the slider rails) that had to be sorted out before I was able to continue.
And even after doing a full inventory, I found during the actual build stage that I was sent 2 of one part, instead of 1ea of mirrored parts...
I also took my time with the wiring to make things as neat as possible from the start. (i really dislike messy wiring)

Building a kit is a valuable experience. You learn a LOT from these kits... from how they are put together to how to tweak and flash firmware and how to calibrate. (all skills translatable to other machines). They may not be for everyone, but they can be a lot of fun.

wow sounds like more than your share of out of box failures. Would not hurt to test the themisistors.  My friend had to replace both of his these will lock out the system on testing. 
Sorry to here this has been a less that stellar experience for you . But I think you know to push forward.
This is the risk you take  when purchasing a kit. And I think this is the reason Heartless is so Insistent about a full inventory,inspection  and even component testing as much as practical.
That way you have a full list to present to the factory.

So, I spent my build time today removing the FT-15 which is now the FT-16 (board the bed goes on) and flipping it around because I put it like I did the base plate as the instructions were not clear. Fortunately John Folger replied to a facebook message I was concerned with the holes not lining up and he set it straight. So, I'm back to where I was, and still waiting on a reply for my LCD board and linear rails and bearings.

I've got my gantry assembled with the motor, all is well except the top rail that still has some skipping/bumping while sliding, not very smooth. I hope it doesn't effect the print quality. I've got the bed mounted, still waiting on the new LCD screen. It seems to me that some of the screws recommended need to be between 3-5mm longer than what they say, because they would not fully engage the nylock nuts otherwise. Also, I have been adding some flat washers, and lock washers here and there causing me to use longer screws as well. It just makes more sense to me.

Thanks for making sure I knew about that. I used the lock washers on the screws going into a threaded hole as well as one or two other parts that used regular nuts, not crimp or nylock.

Ok, I got the entire gantry assembly installed, aligned and sliding smoothly. Here's how I aligned everything.

HOW I ALIGNED MY GANTRY AND Z T-RODS (threaded rods)

Do step 10) 18 before you install the gantry, it's just easier. And make sure to install the idler pulleys and that they are the correct height with belt mounts on the gantry (and the motor). The gantry is a set height so I secured my pulleys by this.

One of my Y axis 2020 rails was 0.5 to 1mm longer than the others not allowing me to install it. So I had to adjust the length.

Loosened the X axis 2020 rail from the ACM parts.

Next, I got the Y axis rails down and placed the X axis in the middle, ran the bed up to near the top and tightened the t-rods.
Next, moved the X axis to the rear and tightened those and then to the front and tightened those.
Finally I tightened the X axis 2020 back down to the ACM parts.

I ran the bed up and down (especially near the top where every print must start) to ensure it was smooth. It was not totally, so I repeated the process and everything lined up. I've heard some people advising to remove the top t-rod mounts so it doesn't bind, but it you align it right, it doesn't bind. At least not on mine.

Next, I found the gantry had a slight stickiness to the rear of it's Y travel. I loosened 4 bolts on the rear of the slide rails, placed the gantry back there and re tightened. Rechecked everything, did it again on the front and I now have a Z, X and Y axis running as smooth as possible for the parts I got.

The last thing to do in this process is go back and check EVERY screw you loosened to ensure you didn't forget one, and get ready for lots of squatting up and down exercise as you loosen and tighten everything repeatedly.

mine uses 20 on X (not counting the end links that get screwed down - just the intermediates) and 22 on Y

If you have it set up correctly, that should be more than sufficient for full travel.