1 (edited by Donitz 2012-11-27 16:35:39)

Topic: X axis rod slack

Just got my Solidoodle 2. Most seems to be in order, the belts are tight and nothing is visibly broken.

I notice there is a significant amount of slack between the white plastic blocks and the X-axis rod. It's a little over 1mm and makes the Edit: extruder tip up and down a considerable amount when I press down on it. Is this normal behavior?

2

Re: X axis rod slack

Are you talking about Z axis?  Up and down?  Do a search on z axis wobble and you'll likely find your answers, this has been resolved with a simple modification.

3 (edited by Donitz 2012-11-27 16:35:10)

Re: X axis rod slack

I mean the axis going left and right, the one which moves the extruder itself. I assumed that was called the x-axis.

4

Re: X axis rod slack

What I do for that is loosen the screw and twist the block a little so it contacts the rod and tighten it back down.  It might wear a little more over time, but at least it will be stable.

5 (edited by Donitz 2012-11-27 16:36:36)

Re: X axis rod slack

So the rod should just barely touch both of the white blocks? Gotcha.

6 (edited by nickythegreek 2012-11-27 22:50:08)

Re: X axis rod slack

I was wondering about this as well.  I have a decent clearance along the left Y axis rod.  There are 2 white blocks here, but only the top one lies on the rod, and it has started to get a groove.  After awhile, the rod gathers white dust from this white block wearing down that I vacuum up.

Is this something that I should be concerned about in the medium/long term? Ian, are you twisting the lower block to make contact with the rod?

http://www.soliforum.com/misc.php?action=pun_attachment&item=456&download=0

http://www.soliforum.com/misc.php?action=pun_attachment&item=457&download=0

Post's attachments

white block gap.jpg
white block gap.jpg 340.53 kb, 3 downloads since 2012-11-27 

white dust.jpg
white dust.jpg 285.78 kb, 2 downloads since 2012-11-27 

You don't have the permssions to download the attachments of this post.

7

Re: X axis rod slack

Donitz wrote:

I mean the axis going left and right, the one which moves the extruder itself. I assumed that was called the x-axis.

Yes, your original post said the bed or platform was moving up and down so I thought you were confused.

8

Re: X axis rod slack

If the teflon block is wearing away and leaving dust, you should probably lubricate the rod with some lithium grease.  I would think that it would take a fair amount of friction to do that.  I don't know if clearance under that rod is as critical.  Does it seem like it can wiggle in that space when the X carriage moves back and forth?

I guess wear on the upper block would explain why the fit between the rods and the lower blocks can tend to loosen.  That would be a good reason for keeping the rods lubricated.

9 (edited by Donitz 2012-11-28 08:10:54)

Re: X axis rod slack

nickythegreek wrote:

I was wondering about this as well.  I have a decent clearance along the left Y axis rod.  There are 2 white blocks here, but only the top one lies on the rod, and it has started to get a groove.  After awhile, the rod gathers white dust from this white block wearing down that I vacuum up.

Is this something that I should be concerned about in the medium/long term? Ian, are you twisting the lower block to make contact with the rod?

That's funny. For me it is always the bottom block which always contacts the rod. Mind you I haven't actually used the printer yet.

I tightened the lower block so now there is just a tiny bit of slack between them.