Idea: Delta Printers + Skyscraper Earthquake Ballast

[graham.p.heath]

In a thread about extras for your rostock max v2 http://forum.seemecnc.com/viewtopic.php?f=77&t=5467, there was discussion of placing weights on top of your rostock max for rigidity and well, to quote myself:

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I was watching "Build it bigger" or something similar, about earthquake prevention in towers. The trick there, at least in skyscrapers, was ballasts partially filled with water.

So i placed a bottle of household cleaner on the top. Its not a perfect solution, it is an improvement though; I have hardly noticed the machine building any standing oscillations since. I think you could use multiple bottles, and improve the stability.

Then geneb replied that it might be worth sharing a video;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is_X-t8xW_8

Whaddya think?

Any thoughts about measuring the vibrations?

[bot]

I have my rostock on a wire shelf which lets the thing rock back and forth a lot. Sometimes I feel it helps, by gently absorbing some of the vibration, and sometimes I think it amplifies it.

I'm very interested in ways of quantifying your experiment. It definitely seems plausible that this would help. Perhaps finding prints that have lots of details with sharp changes in direction, thus have a prevalent "ringing" artifact, as it seems to be called. Compare the ringing with the same gcode with and without the water. That's where I would start.

I'm printing this http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:521463 thing right now, and it has some easily noticeable ringing artifacts in some of the details, at 70 mm/sec print speed.

[0110-m-p]

I'm very interested in ways of quantifying your experiment.

Strain gage on the side and outside of one of the towers should work.

[Renha]

I use kraken hot end and i have water cooling system reservoir on top plate, i don't know if it helps or not, that's just fou usability reasons

[Tonkabot]

It seems to me that the movement of the top of the printer, or the whole printer if on a wire shelf, really should not affect the print at all.

What would affect the print is if the three towers are flexing some, or the arms are flexing. Flexing would change the geometry. movement or vibration of the unit as a whole should not matter. As long as the printhead is locked to the universe of the entire printer, what happens outside does not matter.

The only vibrations or movement that can affect the print are those that are strong enough to flex the towers, arms, belts, or work piece.

[Nylocke]

I think that that is the concern; the fact that the upper tower is wobbling could be taken as a sign that the towers are flexing a small amount.