Welcome to the SeeMeCNC Community

Hi everyone! Super happy with how my Max V2 is coming along, it printed my fan shroud and a lot of other things with some amazing details. A few overhang and blobbing issues aside, I'm looking to spend a few christmas bucks left over, and was thinking of getting a magnetic/carbon fiber arms kit and a e3d v6 extruder to bring my rostock to the forefront of 3d printing. The only problem is... after hours of research, there doesn't seem to be a one stop shop for all these parts! I've already got astrosyn dampers installed on my xyz motors (still trying to get rid of extruder motor whine, I sent an email to seemecnc support, but it seems like they're on a well deserved winter break [any input is appreciated!]).

I've got Xnaron's .stl for an effector platform to hold the magnets for the hot end, but pre-cut carbon fiber arms seem to be impossible to find for the rostock max v2. I'm currently in an apartment, and the rostock is the most mechanical piece of equipment I own (I don't have the tools to precisely cut a piece of carbon fiber, and my limited exposure to the stuff from my college days left me pretty wary of the material when it's outside of a fume hood). Is there any forum member/store where I can purchase the magnets, ball ends, and carbon fiber rods (and maybe a precisely machined effector platform) as a kit?

Also, is there any place to get the e6d in the us? In edition to the exchange rate, the long shipping time from the EU with no tracking is making me a bit hesitant...

Thanks in advance!

The best place to get an e3d v6 is from filastruder.com. They are the official reseller and while a few other websites will also sell them, I haven't seen anyone beat their price.

Any reason you want to upgrade your arms? If you really have some money burning a hole in your pocket, I think buying the supplies for an enclosure would probably get you the most benefit.

Or, buy some exotic filament to really break in that sexy e3d.

If you're dead-set on getting arms, trick laser seems to be the popular choice, but I haven't ordered anything from them so I can't speak to whether they come pre-cut or not.

Shouldn't be hard to make carbon fiber arms. Get blank carbon fiber arrows (as in bow and arrow), easy to cut with a simple jig made of a piece of angle, end stop and a Dremmel tool on a hinge.

Then glue in one bearing end and with it pinned on that end, glue the other end in with it slipped over another pin. Use the exact same pins for each arm and they should be VERY VERY close in length.

Ball end CF rods and rod kits are available at http://www.tridprinting.com and while I've never purchased from them, I think that is about to change. They don't have a Rostock Max stock length of 269mm, but I think the 288mm would be fine. Would need to update some eeprom values. I think going to 288mm might actually yield a true 280mm diameter usable build area. Might lose a few mm of build height, but it will be a long time before I ever put max height to the test.

Earthbound wrote:Ball end CF rods and rod kits are available at http://www.tridprinting.com and while I've never purchased from them, I think that is about to change. They don't have a Rostock Max stock length of 269mm, but I think the 288mm would be fine. Would need to update some eeprom values. I think going to 288mm might actually yield a true 280mm diameter usable build area. Might lose a few mm of build height, but it will be a long time before I ever put max height to the test.

The length would be 269mm from the center of the ball to the center of the of the other ball.

Check out TrickLaser's ball end carbon rods and trick trucks (and other upgrades). I ran the magnetic ball carbon rods for some time but with a 4 extruder Kraken setup it has a difficult time staying "stuck". Many times this would show up as odd little anomalies in layer which one may brush off. Then I did a slow speed video (magic of iPhone!) and saw what was happening. The balls were momentarily detaching from the socket.

I've been running my mini Kossels with the ball end rods and they work fantastically. I can't tell any difference in layer registration with the mag ball ends and they will never jump off.

The Trick Trucks increase print radio by about 4mm.

NOTE: I've ordered the trucks and ball ends and they shipped yesterday but based on other's experiences here and the interactions I've had with Brian over the years, I expect them to be marvelous!

cheers,
Michael

Earthbound wrote:Ball end CF rods and rod kits are available at http://www.tridprinting.com and while I've never purchased from them, I think that is about to change. They don't have a Rostock Max stock length of 269mm, but I think the 288mm would be fine. Would need to update some eeprom values. I think going to 288mm might actually yield a true 280mm diameter usable build area. Might lose a few mm of build height, but it will be a long time before I ever put max height to the test.

I have the 288 ones from trid. I initially ordered the premade ones but I didn't like how they were assembled, so I exchanged them for the kit. Can't beat the price. Turned out great, and yes now I can easily get to the full bed. With the stock arms the trucks would hit the top plate, not to mention the slop and uneven length.

http://forum.seemecnc.com/viewtopic.php ... =25#p53484

rpress wrote:
I have the 288 ones from trid. I initially ordered the premade ones but I didn't like how they were assembled, so I exchanged them for the kit. Can't beat the price. Turned out great, and yes now I can easily get to the full bed. With the stock arms the trucks would hit the top plate, not to mention the slop and uneven length.

http://forum.seemecnc.com/viewtopic.php ... =25#p53484

Can you confirm that other than making/installing the new arms, the only adjustments needed then were setting new Arm Length and new Z-max (after new Z=0)? Maybe need to recalibrate the radius again, too.
So you got the 288mm light wall kossel arm kit, then? I was thinking of getting the 12" strong wall kit. Thanks.

Earthbound wrote: Can you confirm that other than making/installing the new arms, the only adjustments needed then were setting new Arm Length and new Z-max (after new Z=0)? Maybe need to recalibrate the radius again, too.
So you got the 288mm light wall kossel arm kit, then? I was thinking of getting the 12" strong wall kit. Thanks.

Yes I had to redo my arm length (somehow I ended up at 293mm), my delta radius (it got closer to "ideal"), and Z height (I have autoleveling sensors). And yes it was the light wall Kossel kit, it is plenty stiff, but perhaps a bit wimpy looking. Technically I don't see any reason to go with the longer 12" arms, it'll just eat more Z without much benefit.

rpress wrote:

Earthbound wrote:Yes I had to redo my arm length (somehow I ended up at 293mm), my delta radius (it got closer to "ideal"), and Z height (I have autoleveling sensors). And yes it was the light wall Kossel kit, it is plenty stiff, but perhaps a bit wimpy looking. Technically I don't see any reason to go with the longer 12" arms, it'll just eat more Z without much benefit.

Thanks for the info. I will cut the 12" tubes down a bit. Just long enough to handle the full plate. If the thicker wall provides any added stiffness I would like to take advantage of it. Same price, too.

Hi rpress, I'm really curious about that kit, I've been looking at the trick laser arms but if the kit is the same, I think I might do that. A few questions though..
How difficult was the kit to put together?
Does it come with everything needed? If not, what else should I buy to complete?

Earthbound wrote: Thanks for the info. I will cut the 12" tubes down a bit. Just long enough to handle the full plate. If the thicker wall provides any added stiffness I would like to take advantage of it. Same price, too.

You'll want them a bit longer than needed to handle the full diameter. Additional length greatly increases the stiffness of the effector platform at the maximum radius. Try moving your existing arms to their max and see how floppy the effector becomes.

jram wrote:Hi rpress, I'm really curious about that kit, I've been looking at the trick laser arms but if the kit is the same, I think I might do that. A few questions though..
How difficult was the kit to put together?
Does it come with everything needed? If not, what else should I buy to complete?

It's not hard to put together, a tap and some glue is all that's needed. Something I didn't do and wish I did was to cool the spheres and heat the plastic before assembly, I think this would end up with a tighter joint.

The kit is just the arms. You'll also need M3 allthread rod and some nuts. I used some heat-shrink tubing to shim the allthread where it mounts, as the old rod is slightly larger at 3.175mm.

rpress wrote:You'll want them a bit longer than needed to handle the full diameter. Additional length greatly increases the stiffness of the effector platform at the maximum radius. Try moving your existing arms to their max and see how floppy the effector becomes.

Appreciated the info, thanks. Just ordered a 12" kit.

Just got the pre-made arms in, and measured them up to make sure they're all equal length. But... the ball ends don't fit over the Rostock's arm pins, doh!

Since I got the E3d V6 kit also, I'll be swapping out the effector mount and putting new 'pins' (M3 threaded rod right?) in the carriage arms, I thought I might as well swap out the entire effector for this awesome looking beast: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:502986

I hope I don't have to swap out my cheapskates too... spent so long setting them up that taking them out would feel wrong