Counterweighted magnetic drivetrain and several other mods for MAX METAL
Posted: Wed May 11, 2016 2:01 am
I've been working on some mods for the Trick Laser MAX METAL for the last several months. These components have been designed with dual extrusion in mind, but can be printed with a single-extruder printer if you like. I was going to wait until I had everything uploaded to post this thread, but the drivetrain parts aren't quite done yet and I wanted to give people access to all the other stuff.
The drivetrain-specific parts are designed for use with Haydn Huntley's magnetic arms and chromed steel balls. One set (12 arms and 24 balls with M3 studs) is $60, if I recall correctly. Send him an email to ask about pricing and shipping.
Several of these designs use captive M3 nylon locknuts, which can be bought from McMaster-Carr here. The counterweight system makes use of these V-groove pulleys, these 500-gram weights, and three lengths of this 50-pound braided fishing line.
Parts are fixed to the frame using Unbrako #10-32 x 1/2 low-head caphead screws and 80/20 Inc T-Slot HW 10 Series 10-32 Roll-In T-Nut w/Ball Spring #3922 N.
DIMENSIONAL ACCURACY IS CRUCIAL FOR MOST OF THESE PARTS. This absolutely MUST NOT be skipped! Please use my dimensional accuracy calibration system unless you've already verified your printer's dimensional accuracy through other means.
Trick Truck-compatible carriage for magnetic arms, with integral belt clamp: (Pending install/verification, no link yet) These carriages are designed specifically for use with Trick Laser's Trick Trucks, and are pocketed in the back to accommodate the Trucks' wheel mounting screws. They should work on any "trucks" with two M3 screw holes, set 50mm apart. The small channel on the rear of the upper surface is for tying the carriage to fishing line, which then runs over the counterweight pulleys (below) and attaches to 500-gram weights. This takes up almost all of the weight of the flying extruder platform. The post going from the "roof" to the main body is for tying paracord to the extruder platform. The two rectangular openings on the front are for captive M3 nylon locknuts, which are also used to secure the chromed steel balls. The bump on the front of the "roof" triggers the endstop switch. There are no endstop screws because all good firmware lets you adjust the endstop offsets in software anyway. This can be done either by using an auto-calibration system, or by directly modifying the values in EEPROM. The belt feeds through the lower front of the carriage, where it's locked in place with a toothed part that matches the profile of the belt.
I'm printing three of these right now. I'll upload them at the same time that I upload the mag-lock effector (below).
Mag-lock effector for magnetic arms, featuring integral fan ducts and LED ring: (In progress, no link yet) This is meant to be printed with the fan ducts. You can also print it with the LED ring, but removing support will be a huge pain, so it's easier to print that separately. The LED ring needs to be adjusted to accommodate the mag-lock effector plate, so this isn't its final revision. The effector plate is meant to be installed from below (it twists into place), and is held firm with neodymium magnets. These have been located as far as possible from the magnetic arm joints in order to minimize magnetic interference. Captive M3 nylon locknuts are used to secure the chromed steel balls.
I'm going to publish this, and the carriages, as soon as I finish adjusting the LED ring and verifying that everything works properly once installed. I'm already using an older version of the carriages and effector, and the results I'm getting are VERY good. The only trick is that the ball sockets have to be lubricated with a THIN application of Super Lube. I use a paper towel to ensure the application is thin and uniform. If it's too thick, there will be problems with positional accuracy, and the effector does need to be moved around for a minute or two for the joints to settle after they've been oiled. The system will work OK without lubrication, but you'll get uneven layers, especially around the corners, as there will be a small amount of binding.
Counterweight system, using V-groove pulleys and 500-gram weights: This one will need to be printed with support. In the future, I plan to do a version that reaches out towards the center of the printer, and puts the pulley there, so that the counterweight can take weight directly off the flying extruder platform. For now, the weight is taken off at the carriage. If you have cats, you better figure out some way to keep them away! I've had to take measures to keep mine away from this because they LOVE to swat at the weights and bite the fishing line, especially when the printer is in motion.
Cable mast and Flying Triple-Extruder Platform: (Platform in progress, no link yet) The cable mast is a great way to take weight off the platform. The cable is meant to travel in an arc, ascending from the top of the mast before curving downward to the effector. The top of the arc can be suspended from a strain relief mast (below) with paracord. The extruder mounts are deep enough to accommodate the 5.18:1 steppers from TriDPrinting, and that's all ready to go, except that I want to enlarge the holes where the paracord is tied to the crossmembers. The cord I'm using now tends to wear out and lose some of its elasticity over time, and I'm hoping for better luck with some thicker stuff.
Filament spool holder and strain relief mast: The filament spool's arm is narrow enough to accommodate spools with thin inside diameters. The pale green object next to the spool arm is a print-in-place support.
The strain relief mast is useful for tying up the cable going down to the hot end, taking some weight off the effector and acting as a strain relief.
Smoothieboard and PanelDue enclosures: (Smoothieboard mount in progress, no link yet) The Smoothieboard enclosure is intended to be located below the printer. I haven't decided how to mount it yet. It's designed to work with this small 4.21 CFM blower.
The PanelDue mount is meant to bolt to the lower front frame crossmember. It's based on dc42's box, but is designed to print a little more easily, and to have a lid and a method of fixing it to this particular frame. It comes with center, left-offset, and right-offset mounting brackets.
Cable Clip This clip features a spring retainer that will print very well with PLA. It's designed to be short enough to slide past any accessories that might be mounted in the channel above/below it.
Spacer for SSR Mount These printable spacers are useful for mounting an Auber Instruments 100-amp SSR + HS25 Heat Sink to your MAX Metal.
The drivetrain-specific parts are designed for use with Haydn Huntley's magnetic arms and chromed steel balls. One set (12 arms and 24 balls with M3 studs) is $60, if I recall correctly. Send him an email to ask about pricing and shipping.
Several of these designs use captive M3 nylon locknuts, which can be bought from McMaster-Carr here. The counterweight system makes use of these V-groove pulleys, these 500-gram weights, and three lengths of this 50-pound braided fishing line.
Parts are fixed to the frame using Unbrako #10-32 x 1/2 low-head caphead screws and 80/20 Inc T-Slot HW 10 Series 10-32 Roll-In T-Nut w/Ball Spring #3922 N.
DIMENSIONAL ACCURACY IS CRUCIAL FOR MOST OF THESE PARTS. This absolutely MUST NOT be skipped! Please use my dimensional accuracy calibration system unless you've already verified your printer's dimensional accuracy through other means.
Trick Truck-compatible carriage for magnetic arms, with integral belt clamp: (Pending install/verification, no link yet) These carriages are designed specifically for use with Trick Laser's Trick Trucks, and are pocketed in the back to accommodate the Trucks' wheel mounting screws. They should work on any "trucks" with two M3 screw holes, set 50mm apart. The small channel on the rear of the upper surface is for tying the carriage to fishing line, which then runs over the counterweight pulleys (below) and attaches to 500-gram weights. This takes up almost all of the weight of the flying extruder platform. The post going from the "roof" to the main body is for tying paracord to the extruder platform. The two rectangular openings on the front are for captive M3 nylon locknuts, which are also used to secure the chromed steel balls. The bump on the front of the "roof" triggers the endstop switch. There are no endstop screws because all good firmware lets you adjust the endstop offsets in software anyway. This can be done either by using an auto-calibration system, or by directly modifying the values in EEPROM. The belt feeds through the lower front of the carriage, where it's locked in place with a toothed part that matches the profile of the belt.
I'm printing three of these right now. I'll upload them at the same time that I upload the mag-lock effector (below).
Mag-lock effector for magnetic arms, featuring integral fan ducts and LED ring: (In progress, no link yet) This is meant to be printed with the fan ducts. You can also print it with the LED ring, but removing support will be a huge pain, so it's easier to print that separately. The LED ring needs to be adjusted to accommodate the mag-lock effector plate, so this isn't its final revision. The effector plate is meant to be installed from below (it twists into place), and is held firm with neodymium magnets. These have been located as far as possible from the magnetic arm joints in order to minimize magnetic interference. Captive M3 nylon locknuts are used to secure the chromed steel balls.
I'm going to publish this, and the carriages, as soon as I finish adjusting the LED ring and verifying that everything works properly once installed. I'm already using an older version of the carriages and effector, and the results I'm getting are VERY good. The only trick is that the ball sockets have to be lubricated with a THIN application of Super Lube. I use a paper towel to ensure the application is thin and uniform. If it's too thick, there will be problems with positional accuracy, and the effector does need to be moved around for a minute or two for the joints to settle after they've been oiled. The system will work OK without lubrication, but you'll get uneven layers, especially around the corners, as there will be a small amount of binding.
Counterweight system, using V-groove pulleys and 500-gram weights: This one will need to be printed with support. In the future, I plan to do a version that reaches out towards the center of the printer, and puts the pulley there, so that the counterweight can take weight directly off the flying extruder platform. For now, the weight is taken off at the carriage. If you have cats, you better figure out some way to keep them away! I've had to take measures to keep mine away from this because they LOVE to swat at the weights and bite the fishing line, especially when the printer is in motion.
Cable mast and Flying Triple-Extruder Platform: (Platform in progress, no link yet) The cable mast is a great way to take weight off the platform. The cable is meant to travel in an arc, ascending from the top of the mast before curving downward to the effector. The top of the arc can be suspended from a strain relief mast (below) with paracord. The extruder mounts are deep enough to accommodate the 5.18:1 steppers from TriDPrinting, and that's all ready to go, except that I want to enlarge the holes where the paracord is tied to the crossmembers. The cord I'm using now tends to wear out and lose some of its elasticity over time, and I'm hoping for better luck with some thicker stuff.
Filament spool holder and strain relief mast: The filament spool's arm is narrow enough to accommodate spools with thin inside diameters. The pale green object next to the spool arm is a print-in-place support.
The strain relief mast is useful for tying up the cable going down to the hot end, taking some weight off the effector and acting as a strain relief.
Smoothieboard and PanelDue enclosures: (Smoothieboard mount in progress, no link yet) The Smoothieboard enclosure is intended to be located below the printer. I haven't decided how to mount it yet. It's designed to work with this small 4.21 CFM blower.
The PanelDue mount is meant to bolt to the lower front frame crossmember. It's based on dc42's box, but is designed to print a little more easily, and to have a lid and a method of fixing it to this particular frame. It comes with center, left-offset, and right-offset mounting brackets.
Cable Clip This clip features a spring retainer that will print very well with PLA. It's designed to be short enough to slide past any accessories that might be mounted in the channel above/below it.
Spacer for SSR Mount These printable spacers are useful for mounting an Auber Instruments 100-amp SSR + HS25 Heat Sink to your MAX Metal.