Howdy to SeeMeCNC community!

[dclarkm]

Just introducing myself as a new member here.

Looking into purchasing the Rostock MAX v2 as my first 3D printer. I've been interested in the field for several years and started serious research at the end of 2014. I'm currently working in the IT industry but have a BSEE and previous experience in the machine controls field. I'm really not much of a DiY hobbyist, but my goal is use this field to dirty my hands a bit more.

I have reviewed the Rostock V2 manual and have a few questions and concerns (mostly about the electronics cooling and placement)....where would it be appropriate to post a thread about them?

Thanks for any responses and I'll be seeing you around.

[McSlappy]

Feel free to post those here since you're just asking them. It's not really troubleshooting since you don't have a machine yet

A Rostock kit is a pretty awesome way to get your hands dirty in 3D printing, you'll end up with a nice machine at the end.

[Eaglezsoar]

Welcome to the Forum and you sure can ask your questions in this forum. We would be glad to help you if we can.

[dclarkm]

My concern is for the Rambo mosfet parts and the (IMO) rather odd location of the PCB cooling fan (blowing on the rear of the PCB an just on one end of the motor drivers). If there has not been a significant issue with Rambo's MOSFET's failing after long term operation (what would happen if those SMT parts burned out due to improper cooling over a long period of time), I guess I'm just imagining problems before I even buy the horse.

I guess I was just generally curious if anyone has investigated (or needed) any additional cooling of the electronics? It would seem that a few buck invested in some small heatsinks for the MOSFET parts and a potentially better fan location would drastically increase the life of those parts (whether or not that is economically feasible is another story).

Thanks for the replys,

Clark

[Earthbound]

I've heard no reports of RAMBo having mosfet or stepper driver failures due to overheating. The RAMBo cooling fan is primarily there to cool the stepper drivers which channel their heat to the copper on the PCB. I haven't compared the fan position to component locations, so not sure why it is offset to its exact spot. The only heat related RAMBo failure I see occurring to multiple users is the compression terminals where the heated bed wiring is connected. A loose or otherwise compromised connection at these terminals will eventually burn them up. A good, clean connection there seems to have no issues.

[Eaglezsoar]

We have had reports of noisy fans that cool the Rambo but no failures that I am aware of.
Some have enlarged the hole and used a bigger fan, usually a Noctura because they run so quiet.

[dclarkm]

This is good information! It appears that the fan is positioned under the E1 (Extruder 1) MOSFET (the one being used by the printer) which makes sense. It also follows that the screw terminal connections between the heated bed (and maybe the hotend?) would be suspects for overheating as any high current flow boundary (metal to metal junction) would generate heat if the connection ever became compromised. My guess is some users are tinning the wire leads (to make insertion easier) and those type of screw terminals actually NEED To compress multiple conductors in the wire to make a solid contact (a soldered (or even solid) wire is a potential issue for screw terminals).

Thanks for the feedback and I'll be lurking about here until I make a final decision on a purchase.