Buildy McBuildface

[vrenlos]

My RMv3 kit finally showed up last night! I could only spare a little over an hour so I tore into the first couple of steps of getting the whip put together and then onto the hotend build. So far, mostly smooth save for the crimp ferrules not wanting to stay crimped. Is it a terrible idea to just solder the heat cartridge and thermal fuse leads instead?

[Eric]

It's not recommended if you're close to the hotend. 60/40 solder melts at 186C and your hotend heater gets up to 300C in normal operation. Even if it doesn't melt outright, the extreme thermal cycles may degrade the solder joint over time.

(That said, I did solder the wirewound resistor leads in my first hotend years ago. However, I used a higher temperature 10/90 solder normally used for tube sockets. Not something most people have handy.)

[vrenlos]

That's a fair point - thanks for bringing it up. I likely have some 10/90 solder in my box from, oddly enough, some work with tubes I'll have to check tonight when I get in.

[geneb]

The heat will evaporate the solder out of the joint over time, leaving you with an intermittent connection.

g.

[vrenlos]

I wound up borrowing a ratcheting crimper from work, so problem solved. And then we got hit with a bunch of snow, so I was able to spend a good amount of time at home yesterday and I'm already into the final assembly. Huzzah!

[vrenlos]

Build (mostly) complete! I still have to affix some of the side panels, and I wouldn't mind tidying the wiring a bit but otherwise it's all together. Two issues, though.

1) The PTFE bowden tube is a few inches too short! Has anyone else had this happen? If I butt the tube all the way up into the extruder correctly, the nozzle can't reach the farthest point (Y axis) on calibration. I cheated it down to the start of the compression/locking fitting and that seems to just barely let it clear.

2) My nozzle temp is bouncing between the low 140's and 266 - I'm guessing I mangled the first thermistor?

Any input would be great - can't wait to get this thing going! Also, I completely owe some images but alas my phone died on me this week and I'm being lazy. Maybe I'll get out the GoPro tomorrow for some updates.

[vrenlos]

An email from JJ confirmed that my hotend thermistor was the culprit...a little fancy maneuvering with some tweezers and a little solder magic and the second one from the kit is doing its job admirably. I'm guessing it was just a goof-up on the bowden tube length, so I'm still cheating the extruder end in that regard, but I'm otherwise off to the races in dialing in settings. My first benchy is mid-print right now @ 100mm/s and .1mm layer height and it's looking stellar!