Polly's Rostock MAX build

[paharris]

Started my build. Got all the paper off the melamine parts except for the ones I was planning on painting. Found it was easiest to rub on the edge of the paper until it started to curl then "roll" the paper across the surface. It went pretty quickly. Put together the hot end. Instructions were correct, the silicon was sticky and hard to work with!!

Started painting the edges of the four base pieces (two bottom and two top). It didn't go well. I thought the edges would be alright since they were laser-burned, but when I started to spray paint them, the paint seemed to just drip off or settle at the corners. What sort of paint do people use? Maybe I'm using the wrong paint...too thin?

So I painted a couple of layers of white and then a couple of layers of red...it doesn't look like I had hoped. I may have to sand the edges and try again.

Anybody have better success that me? Hints? Tips?

Would it be better just to buy some 1/4" pin stripe and tape the edges?

Polly

[Eaglezsoar]

Started my build. Got all the paper off the melamine parts except for the ones I was planning on painting. Found it was easiest to rub on the edge of the paper until it started to curl then "roll" the paper across the surface. It went pretty quickly. Put together the hot end. Instructions were correct, the silicon was sticky and hard to work with!!

Started painting the edges of the four base pieces (two bottom and two top). It didn't go well. I thought the edges would be alright since they were laser-burned, but when I started to spray paint them, the paint seemed to just drip off or settle at the corners. What sort of paint do people use? Maybe I'm using the wrong paint...too thin?

So I painted a couple of layers of white and then a couple of layers of red...it doesn't look like I had hoped. I may have to sand the edges and try again.

Anybody have better success that me? Hints? Tips?

Would it be better just to buy some 1/4" pin stripe and tape the edges?

Polly

When I did my edges I used what is called a paint pen from Amazon. But whether you paint them or use a pen, you need a coat of primer first,
probably in white. The primer will stick to the bare wood and is always used as the first coat. You can buy spray primer in various colors and if your
final coat is red then a reddish primer is available. If the paint is dripping off or ends up at the corners you are putting it on too heavy. You need many
light coats not a few heavy coats. Pin striping is another option but it can be a bear to keep straight. I think it would look great if you can keep it straight.

[paharris]

The build is coming along nicely. I sanded off all the crappy paint and started over. It's looking really nice now!!

Build - day 1

One question: in putting the sleeves on the cheapskate bearings, almost all of the sleeves have small pieces of the top/narrow edge coming off. I believe this is called flashing and is a byproduct of the manufacturing process...but I'm not sure. Should I just trim the pieces off, or are the sleeves defective?


Polly

[Eaglezsoar]

You are right, that is flashing and is normal.

[paharris]

Thanks, Eaglezsoar. I'll just trim off the flashing before I finish building the cheapskates so it doesn't wear of later and possibly gum things up.

So far, things have gone pretty well and I've been impressed with the kit, the directions and this forum. One of the reasons I bought this kit was the great support the company and this community offer!!

Polly

[paharris]

Ack!! I screwed up!

I accidently put the tower depth screws on the wrong side. Now I can't route the wires to the right as they come out of the towers since one of the tie locations is blocked. Will it mess things up to route the wires to the left side as they come out of the towers? Seems the sensor wires would be out of the way of the hot end power, but would cross the extruder power instead.

I thought about taking the whole top apart and moving the depth screws to the other side, but the tower mount spreader blocks fit so tight I don't think I can get them out without breaking the tower supports.

Ideas?

(I guess this is what happens when you try to assemble things at 3am)

Polly

[Eaglezsoar]

I would try routing the wires on the left side before tearing it all down.
It will probably work especially if you cross the motor wires at a right angle to minimize noise pickup.

[paharris]

All assembled and powered up. Had a hard time with the crimper tool...PITA!! So far, everything SEEMS to be working. I've done the firmware download and am starting on the calibration. Woohoo!

[Eaglezsoar]

Still looking good, best luck on the calibration.

[paharris]

Got it all calibrated. Went ok, but I had to wait an extra 24hrs because I pulled the thermister out of the hot end while I was trying to crimp on the quick release connectors. Had to re-glue the thermister and let the sticky brown stuff cure. One tip: crimp and solder the wires before assembling the thermister in the hot end?

Two problems (besides the hot end thermister re-glue):

1. The bed heats really slowly and will not heat above about 86 degrees and that took ~30 minutes to reach. I lowered the bed temperature so I could get a print.
2. I had some separation in the top layers of my print. The bottom layers were solid...so I'm not sure why this happened. In the picture, you can kind of see the middle "wall" is hollow.

Today, I removed the thermister from the bed and re-glued it. I also resoldered all the connections. Hopefully this will help the bed heating issue. I will check all the tension on the cheapskates and belts to try and get rid of the seperation of the upper print layers. Would the "delta-arm blues" cause worse seperation as the layers increase or will it show up on the first/bottom layer?

[Eaglezsoar]

The "blues" would show up on all the layers. Is this the older V1 you have built? The Delta Arms Blues was pretty much eliminated when they went
to the arms that did not need sanding. Incorrect slicer settings would also cause what looks like the Delta Arm Blues.

[paharris]

I built the v2 so I thought the arms would be fine. I did notice the clips were very tight and pushed the u-joints against the platform. I also noticed a couple of the arms were a little melted looking on the ends. I'll fiddle with them...I also adjusted the extruder feed rate, so maybe I messed that up.

While looking through the troubleshooting board, I saw that there might be a current problem with the Onyz bed with recommendations to add an extra pair of power wires to the bed.

So really, just a couple of tweeks, I think, and everything should be fine.

I must say, watching the printer work was one of the most fun and amazing things I've seen. Mesmerizing!

Polly

[gajtguy]

I must say, watching the printer work was one of the most fun and amazing things I've seen. Mesmerizing!

Ditto

[Eaglezsoar]

Mesmerizing they are, I can spend hours just watching them do their dance.