The Cheap Skates.

[Flavored Coffee]

Hello,

I think you should get all of the six pieces for the sake of alignment, when it comes to the large melamine parts. Here's why, at first glance, all four of those holes can look parallel, pending on the angles you're holding pieces with. They are not parallel. So, the quick fix, is not taking apart the universal joint but, reversing the direction the eyes are looking in. Then you wind up with all four roller bearings parallel in their seats.

In adjusting them, so that they would fall with gravity and not have loose spots, it was easier with the two holes farther apart, vs closer together. One set of eyes are in the right direction. You should include a second pair of eyes in your next trademark registration, and just a second pair looking in the other direction. Simple mistake, with a simple fix. I think the adjustment is at a high torque location if they are close together, and a low torque location if they are farther apart. Everything should center due to dimensions and shape. So, I think the eccentric bearing mount should be on the wide side, not the narrow side. It seems less touchy there.

I wish that the extruded holes were a larger diameter, for the sake of modification, and or development. But, I couldn't find a way to fit two more 18 AWG, wires up those supports. I even tried using, one up one post and another up the other. My dehumidifier, is going to have a long road, and I'll probably just drill four holes because the tripod, really give me that room without making big holes in the melamine. I'll just use machine screws.

As for the pre-existing crimped pins, for the end stop switches. I found that if you stagger them, two by two, making sure, that the crimp on has been passed by the next pair, and then the final pair, then wrap a couple of turns of electrical tape around them width wise, then wrap them with the ground wire, that you were instructed to toss out, they are all easy to pull through. But, you need to keep the turns of tape tight, and keep the wires close. Wrap the end of the bare wire from the bottom of the tape, long wires hang at the bottom to the top, then wind the long end from the bottom to the top crossing the first winding winding in the opposite direction. Be sure, with the first winding, you ran to the end of bare wire, with winding it over tape, and just two crimp on terminal lugs, to mounted in plastic housings. Then it's easy. Before that, It was binding up and turning into a candy cane following the other instructions. The rotation never helped, and the bare wire went straight though.

[bdjohns1]

First two paragraphs: I have no idea what you're trying to say, and my head's hurting trying to parse it. The key points are that the inner plate needs to be parallel with the inner face of the tower extrusion, and the motion up and down needs to be smooth to avoid load on the steppers, as well as reduce the likelihood of flat spots forming in the Delrin bearing covers. If the tower extrusion is properly aligned, then you can be reasonably confident that the arms will not skew the effector platform.

Holes: Instead of monkeying with trying to pull wires through the extrusion (and I'd argue it's a bad idea to put anything in the same channel as an endstop wire), do the cable management pole that's recommended in the build guide. Two little printed parts and a wooden dowel. If you really want a larger channel to run the wires through, one option to consider would be a larger extrusion. I think the stock extrusion is the 1" square, so you go to a 1x2" extrusion - you'll need longer machine screws for the bearings, and only use one set of channels for the bearing wheels on the 2" side. That gives you a bigger channel - I know at least one of the extrusion companies advertises using their extrusion as the last leg of a compressed air distribution system for industrial workstations - it can handle 150psi air with the right fittings closing off the ends.

[geneb]

There's nothing wrong with the Cheapskate design. It works well and is assembled easily.

The wiring for the v2 is fine going down the towers as long as you follow the instructions on what goes where - like keep all the end-stop wires in their own tower and not mixed with other wire.

g.

[LASERMAN]

I ran my end stop wires down the holes (one pair down each hole), and the other wires down the "side" channel. I used adhesive to make sure the wire ( a multi-wire cable) stuck to the inside edge. The side bearings never hit it. One tower for the extruder wires, the other for the hot end. Makes for a nice clean install.

As for the cheapskates, I have a V1 max, and the cheapskates are the flawless part of my system. I ended up replacing the arms for the trickshot carbon fiber, putting isolators on my motors, and tension adjusters on my belts, But I'd be hard pressed to come up with a better method than the stock solution.

I work with plenty of high-end engineers (medical industry), and these cheapskate bearings are as pretty as anything I've seen. Simple, elegant, suitable, low-cost, and precision.

[Flavored Coffee]

The cheap skates consist of two pieces of melamine. In the construction guide, they want you to have eye's look same direction as the logo on the web page. Okay, you can assemble the universal joints but, wind up where having the eyes look desired direction results in the misalignment of the screws. Because, two screws are closer together, for one set of bearings, and the other two holes are farther apart. As a result, of mistakenly not shown, or I may missed the phrase, which told me to have which holes, and measure the distance to have eyes look the right direction. So, you can mount the universal joint to either side of the melamine for the cheap skate. The same is true for the bearings. So, if you get through with assembling the universal joint, it's okay to have eyes look the other way, for the sake of aligning all of the screws, or you're bearings will be crooked and off to different angles rather than paralleling the extrusion.

I would have to put the Universal joint of the opposite side of the melamine to have the eyes look the right direction because, the bearings are not parallel to each other, and would have to be to make that plate reversible. All four bearings would have to be spaced out the same distances to avoid that mistake.

Having the holes the same distance apart on both sides, wouldn't even change how you adjusted the eccentric bearings. It's just not as simple as flip it over, and it will work, as the manual seems to make it seem. Because,to have all eyes looking in the right direction, I would have to take apart the Universal joints that are mirrored. Technically, it will work just as well if I look the other way. I wasn't saying it was made wrong, or didn't fit together, it's just at points, it fits together so well it will work just as well either way. I would have put the decals on there if they gave em' too me, and if they wanted the eyes to looked the right way every time, and I would have preferred a solid cheap skate.

The more times you drive a screw into plastic, it really wears on it. So, once it's screwed together, I don't really unlike unscrewing it. From the first time forward it weakens it.

[geneb]

Or you could just follow how it's supposed to be assembled.

g.

[Kevinvandeusen]

well said geneb!!

[PhoenixNZ]

I'm curious as I've seen this in a different thread - what's the reasoning behind having the end-stop wires in a different tower to the others? Do you get some sort of interference from having unshielded power cables twisted around end-stop cables?

[nitewatchman]

Concern is false triggers of the end stop circuits due to induced signals primarily from the stepper drives.

You should use caution in running the end stop wires parallel to the stepper wires for the extruder on the top deck. Make sure the wires cross at right angles.

nitewatchman