Injection Molded Cheapskate Carriages Upgrade

[soul_reaper_38]

What is everyone's take on this? I assembled my printer a few months back and it seems to be working fine. Is it not worth spending money on since my printer is working or will it save me in the future from having to readjust those wheels?

[Jimustanguitar]

It all depends on how you feel about it... The new carriages are lighter, easier to assemble, have a lower parts count, and don't require any periodic adjustments. Plus they just look cool, and that's most of the placebo. The original carriages are probably sturdier, can be adjusted to taste, and were made out of wood which made them very hackable for tinkerers. I guess the best way to sum it up is to say that a sturdy set of the new plastic carriages and a set of well adjusted V1 or V2 carriages should perform identically. They're different, sure, but neither one would be the weak link in the chain and have an effect on your prints under normal circumstances.

[soul_reaper_38]

It all depends on how you feel about it... The new carriages are lighter, easier to assemble, have a lower parts count, and don't require any periodic adjustments. Plus they just look cool, and that's most of the placebo. The original carriages are probably sturdier, can be adjusted to taste, and were made out of wood which made them very hackable for tinkerers. I guess the best way to sum it up is to say that a sturdy set of the new plastic carriages and a set of well adjusted V1 or V2 carriages should perform identically. They're different, sure, but neither one would be the weak link in the chain and have an effect on your prints under normal circumstances.

I appreciate that, thank you. I was hesitant to buy it unless there was a good reason for it. I can certainly do without it then.

[geneb]

For new builders, not having to do the adjustment dance is worth it all by itself. The new design also makes installing the belts nearly painless. Check out the new manual - they ARE a lot better all around.

I'm hoping someone will put LEDs in them that will blink in a pattern that's in sync with the travel direction.

g.

[briankb]

I just received my kit today and went back to the product page to find assembly instructions which were absent.

Are they in the manual now?

[geneb]

Download the docs again.

g.

[briankb]

I looked at the Orion docs earlier before I posted and didn't see the new carriages. (edit - new carriage assembly is in the Max manual). The end stop screws that are included (at least with mine) are about 1/3 the length of those shown in the manual. They barely have enough thread to make the depth the manual says is needed. I imagine this will create some issues when I re-calibrate.

[SEBRET]

I was gonna say the same about the stop screws, thought they were rather short. Everything else looks good except for one aesthetic issue. One of the six clear pieces was so cloudy it was almost opaque. Just messes with my OCD a bit, lol. I haven't installed them yet but ill report back if there are other problems.

[McSlappy]

For new builders, not having to do the adjustment dance is worth it all by itself. The new design also makes installing the belts nearly painless. Check out the new manual - they ARE a lot better all around.

I'm hoping someone will put LEDs in them that will blink in a pattern that's in sync with the travel direction.

g.

Using a wheel mod that powers the LED's via movement so that no wiring is needed as well! Just like those gyro-powered wheels on kids shoes...