Welcome to the SeeMeCNC Community

Hi guys,

My name's Mathias -Mathy57- and after careful consideration (and hours of reading various topics on this forum)
I finally decided to order a Rostock Max kit!
Since this will be my first 3D printer, I'm hoping on some tips and tricks from the more experienced builders out there

Perhaps a more general introduction is in order:
I'm Mathias (as mentioned earlier), I'm 24, and I'm from Belgium (So please, no Belgian waffle jokes )
My primary language is Dutch, so forgive me if my English isn't as accurate as it could be.
I'm an aeronautical engineering student, and I'll be using the printer mainly to print aerdynamic wing profiles for testing.
(Although I'm eager to design and print a whole plane!)
I have some basic mechanical and electrical skills. I hope they'll be enough to get this printer going.

So, this is it for now.
I'm eagerly awaiting my kit, but since there's a 1 to 2 weeks lead time, I'll have to be patient
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.
And I'm hoping to be hearing from you as my build progresses

Regards,
Mathy57

Welcome to the Forum!
We always anticipate a new build, be sure to provide pictures as you go along.
There are many users here with very diverse backgrounds and you will find the best support available on this forum.
While you are waiting for your kit to arrive perhaps you can find the time to review some of the builds users have
posted in the build section. Be sure to get the latest manual at https://github.com/geneb/Rostock-MAX-Docs

Mathy57 wrote:Hi guys,

My name's Mathias -Mathy57- and after careful consideration (and hours of reading various topics on this forum)
I finally decided to order a Rostock Max kit!
Since this will be my first 3D printer, I'm hoping on some tips and tricks from the more experienced builders out there

Perhaps a more general introduction is in order:
I'm Mathias (as mentioned earlier), I'm 24, and I'm from Belgium (So please, no Belgian waffle jokes )
My primary language is Dutch, so forgive me if my English isn't as accurate as it could be.
I'm an aeronautical engineering student, and I'll be using the printer mainly to print aerdynamic wing profiles for testing.
(Although I'm eager to design and print a whole plane!)
I have some basic mechanical and electrical skills. I hope they'll be enough to get this printer going.

So, this is it for now.
I'm eagerly awaiting my kit, but since there's a 1 to 2 weeks lead time, I'll have to be patient
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.
And I'm hoping to be hearing from you as my build progresses

Regards,
Mathy57

Welcome, Mathias. Printing airfoils sounds like fun.

I think the most challenging part of the Rostock MAX will be that it uses US units throughout. You'll do a lot of unit conversion. (-: And spare parts will be hard to get -- don't lose any screws!

kbob wrote: Welcome, Mathias. Printing airfoils sounds like fun.

I think the most challenging part of the Rostock MAX will be that it uses US units throughout. You'll do a lot of unit conversion. (-: And spare parts will be hard to get -- don't lose any screws!

Hi Kbob,

Yes indeed, I've been thinking about the different units.
But I have some experience in aviation, and everything there uses other units (PSI<->bar. feet, inches, nautical miles <-> meter ...)
I'm used to doing unit conversions, so that won't be that big of a problem I think.
The spare parts on the other hand wil be tricky if I mess something up

Also, I received some good news today: my rostock already shipped out!

There are a few other European builders with logs on the forum. They had issues with the material being different than what the US buyers get. You would be well served to hunt those build logs down I believe.

And Welcome!!

foshon wrote:There are a few other European builders with logs on the forum. They had issues with the material being different than what the US buyers get. You would be well served to hunt those build logs down I believe.

And Welcome!!

I didn't know that. Thx for the tip!

My kit arrived today

I'll start working on it tonight.
Too bad I'm in the middle of exams.

So I've done a dry run at the base.
I had some questions about the location of the LCDsceen, but Geneb's update to the manual took care of those.
Everything up to now looks good. I've checked for symmetry of the table and top plate, and they check out.

The door keepers are a nice touch
Funny little things.

Only downside up 'til now: my room smells like the inside of a fireplace due to burnt melamine from the lasercut parts!

Ahh yes! Nothing like the smell of laser cut parts in the morning! Think of it as a prelude to the smell of freshly melted PLA or ABS on that first print!

Looks good.

After you loosely screw the pieces to the bottom base, but before you screw on the top plate, I recommend you install the RAMBo board and power supply, then do as much wiring as you can.

I installed the RAMBo power connector, wired the motors, and routed the front power switch wires. I wish I had run the wires over toward the extruder/spool assembly (with connectors for disassembly), and I really wish I had routed the wires for the heated bed. I could not find 14awg wire with high temperature insulation, so I used 12awg, and it was very stiff.

But that's just my opinion. There are lots of ways to build this thing, and many of them lead to a working printer. (-:

kbob wrote:Looks good.

After you loosely screw the pieces to the bottom base, but before you screw on the top plate, I recommend you install the RAMBo board and power supply, then do as much wiring as you can.

I installed the RAMBo power connector, wired the motors, and routed the front power switch wires. I wish I had run the wires over toward the extruder/spool assembly (with connectors for disassembly), and I really wish I had routed the wires for the heated bed. I could not find 14awg wire with high temperature insulation, so I used 12awg, and it was very stiff.

But that's just my opinion. There are lots of ways to build this thing, and many of them lead to a working printer. (-:

The best wire to use for the heated bed is stranded wire with a silicone jacket. It is expensive but you don't need much of it.
I used 10awg silicone wire on my build. I found the wire on Ebay by searching for 10awg silicone wire. It is very flexible compared to any other type
and can easily be routed under the heated bed. It is not a necessity but it does make routing the wire easier.

kbob wrote:Looks good.

After you loosely screw the pieces to the bottom base, but before you screw on the top plate, I recommend you install the RAMBo board and power supply, then do as much wiring as you can.

I installed the RAMBo power connector, wired the motors, and routed the front power switch wires. I wish I had run the wires over toward the extruder/spool assembly (with connectors for disassembly), and I really wish I had routed the wires for the heated bed. I could not find 14awg wire with high temperature insulation, so I used 12awg, and it was very stiff.

But that's just my opinion. There are lots of ways to build this thing, and many of them lead to a working printer. (-:

I was planning on doing exactly that
I'm working on the steppers right now. First time I've crimped this type of connector, and after the fourth one, I'm starting to get the hang of it.

For the heated bed, I'm gonna use silicon wires. Flexible, yet handles the heat very well. I use them in my RC airplane.
They can handle upwards of 60-80 A, if memory serves correctly.

Crimping is an art onto itself and throws a lot of people a curve. I'm glad that you are learning the crimping art.
The silicone wire is the best there is, I just wish that it wasn't so darned expensive.

Mathy57 wrote:For the heated bed, I'm gonna use silicon wires. Flexible, yet handles the heat very well. I use them in my RC airplane.
They can handle upwards of 60-80 A, if memory serves correctly.

Neat. I'll look forward to seeing photos of that.

You get points for weaving the stepper motor wires too. Good job!

g.

geneb wrote:You get points for weaving the stepper motor wires too. Good job!

g.

Hah, thx! I want it to be as neat as possible.

Btw, you have one nice looking F15 flight sim in the making! !
Building a flightsim cockpit is something that's been on my To Do list for some time now

First official question:

I've been looking for the '1.75” long pan head Philips screws' for mounting the idler bearings.
I've found 9 screws that fit the description (3 for each tower. 3 idler bearings per tower so checks out),
but they don't look like the screws used in Geneb's manual. (page 23, version 1.04)

I haven't found any other use for them in the manual, so I'll go ahead and use these,
since these are the only ones of that length.

Any suggestions?

PS: the quality of the photo's aren't that great. I really need to get me a better camera, I know

Edit: I Spoke to soon, it's not possible to use the ones from the picture. They're used on the cheapskates.
Can't find them anywhere. If I haven't found them 'til monday, I'll go find me the metric equivalent.

Dumb question - do you have any 2" pan head screws?

g.

geneb wrote:Dumb question - do you have any 2" pan head screws?

g.

Yes, I have 21 of those.

I'd say go ahead and use those then. I'll try to get a good parts manifest from John to see if we can't clear some of this vagueness out.

g.

There are four uss for long screws.

• Axles for the idlers (9)
• Axles for the wheels on the Cheapskates (15)
• Adjusters for the limit switches (3)
• Spacers on the effector platform (3)

The 15 wheel axles must be 2". I am not sure about the effector platform spacers (I am not near my printer). The idler axles could be either length. The limit switch adjusters could be either length.

Gene's manual says Phillips head, but the pictures show socket head. It does not matter. They are interchangeable. I almost went out and bought some hex head bolts for the limit switch adjusters; the wider, flatter head should allow better control for fine adjustments. But expediency won out.

Geneb wrote:I'd say go ahead and use those then. I'll try to get a good parts manifest from John to see if we can't clear some of this vagueness out.

g.

kbob wrote:There are four uss for long screws.

• Axles for the idlers (9)
• Axles for the wheels on the Cheapskates (15)
• Adjusters for the limit switches (3)
• Spacers on the effector platform (3)

The 15 wheel axles must be 2". I am not sure about the effector platform spacers (I am not near my printer). The idler axles could be either length. The limit switch adjusters could be either length.

Gene's manual says Phillips head, but the pictures show socket head. It does not matter. They are interchangeable. I almost went out and bought some hex head bolts for the limit switch adjusters; the wider, flatter head should allow better control for fine adjustments. But expediency won out.

I''ve looked it up, and the effector platform spacers use 2" machine screws.
So I'll go ahead and use the 1,75" for the idler bearings.

Thx for the info, guys