1 Topic by kuedes

  • kuedes
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  • Registered: 2012-11-12
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Topic: X-Axis Motor getting very hot

I've noticed, that the x-axis motor is getting very hot (it's too hot to touch). What could cause this and what can I do against it?

Best regards

Kurt

2 Reply by harleydk

  • harleydk
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  • Registered: 2013-01-09
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Re: X-Axis Motor getting very hot

Internal grinding of the gears, perhaps...?

I wouldn't be overly concerned, my motors get very hot as well but they're built for it. Is it the same for all motors? I wouldn't hesitate to run them until failure, you can always replace them, it's not a big cost per se.

3 Reply by elmoret (edited by elmoret 2013-01-14 20:12:10)

  • elmoret
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Re: X-Axis Motor getting very hot

They're not built for it. Solidoodle overloads the x-motor 30% from the factory.

http://www.soliforum.com/topic/459/soli … iciencies/

You can put a heatsink/fan on it.

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4 Reply by bahstrike

  • bahstrike
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Re: X-Axis Motor getting very hot

From trolling the forums, I already made plans to add heatsink/fan to X-motor before my printer arrived  (video of the actual mod is in another thread here:  "heat mods").

The heatsink came off an old motherboard and fits dang near perfectly on the side (or bottom) of the X-motor with a ziptie and a generous dose of thermal compound. The dimensions are roughly 1.5" x 1.5" x 1.0"

The 12v 1.5w fan was from radioshack, also roughly 1.5" x 1.5"  so it fit the top of the heatsink very nicely w/ some epoxy.


My projects don't generally require long prints, but upwards of a 2 hour print, even with the metal cover on, the X-motor doesn't get terribly warmer than the Y- or Z- motors.  Warm, but certainly "grab-and-hold" touchable.


While you're at it, I would check the temperature of the 5v regulator-  it is the 3-legged black device with a metal tab on the "top" of the motherboard.  Mine was getting warm even just sitting idle.  I've heard of them popping on people.  If yours gets hot, you might consider attaching a heatsink there, too-  or at least blowing a fan.

I also cut a trace on the solidoodle motherboard, but you could achieve the same goal with less hassle:  cut the USB cable in half, and reattach all wires except for the +5v supply  (red).  This will help remove possible stress on the regulator, without requiring direct modification of your printer-  and if you kill the USB cable on accident, it's easy to find a replacement.  The only caveat to this mod is you need to power the printer for your PC to recognize it as 'plugged in'..  which is the general use-case, anyway smile   If it sounds risky, it's not-  you are actually putting your machine back into USB Spec by doing this mod.