Folger Tech Kossel Delta 2020 Full 3D Printer Kit w/Auto-Level

I hang the PanelDue from the top front extrusion of my Kossel. See my autocalibration video for a picture. Not sure whether a Folger 2020 Kossel has enough width to do that though.

What firmware changes are you thinking of making? Very few Duet owners compile their own firmware.

---

Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].

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dc42
I hang the PanelDue from the top front extrusion of my Kossel. See my autocalibration video for a picture. Not sure whether a Folger 2020 Kossel has enough width to do that though.

What firmware changes are you thinking of making? Very few Duet owners compile their own firmware.

Lol I am not your average user, being able to compile my own firmware is a must. I have requirements to enable cameras, leds and more on the printer.

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thevisad

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Koenig
Well the carriages of those are not a direct replacement, the boltholes on the MGN12H is 20*20mm CC apart (Width/Height) and misumis carriages are either 25*20mm or 20*15mm, doesn't matter much though it's easy enough to just drill a couple of new holes in the carriages if you choose to with 20*15mm, otherwise you will have design new plastic parts for the carriages.

EDIT: I was wrong about that seems they have long carriages as well but not when you search for SEBNL20 on their site (European version)

BTW, have you gone duet yet?
I have not come around to it yet, I have had so much trouble getting PETG to print with this printer.

The ones that I selected were 20 x 20 on the mini rails, the long rails don't have them like you indicated. Here is the catalog page for those rails.

But from looking at that catalogue page the measurements for the holes is 15*20 for the carriages that fit the rails that gives the same total build-height as the MGN12 (13mm), look at the B and C measurements.

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thevisad
I got my Duet the other day and was finally able to compile the firmware on my own. DC42 is shipping me a duet screen controller and I should have that sometime in the next week or two. My next step is to determine where to place the screen unit. I am considering designing an enclosure that will sit on top of the delta, in the "front" of the printer.

Did you incorporate the lines for dimension-correction in this as well?

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thevisad
I updated all of the wiring for the printer as well and eliminated the single strand wires with looms. I ended up using all igus wiring, with the following part numbers,
CF240-01-04 (26awg, motor only), CF240-03-14 (22awg, hot end (5 amps max, hotend uses 3.3)), CF240-01-07(26awg endstops and LED lighting). This is the stuff that we will be using in our product, it's shielded, torsion resistant to 3m/s, heat resistant to 80c and can travel unsupported for 50m.

That will surely look real nice, I just sleeved the cables and used cable-wrap like this where there many cables.
For now I have my electronics sitting on the side of the "Z-tower" for easy access my plan is to place it either in the bottom or underneath the top once I have everything dialed in to satisfaction. I would also like to place my PSU underneath the bed.

I ordered some 0.9 degree steppers the other day wich I think is my next step, but I think at that point I will have to go for the duet as well to be able maintain a reasonable high travel-speed of the effector.

I saw that you had thoughts about going for optical end-stops as well which I've seem many others do as well. As I understand it this improves the accuracy of Z-height so I'm thinking of doing something similar but using a capacitive proximity sensor, I remember seeing a video on youtube of a sensor with very high accuracy and repeatablity.
Not sure wich would be most accurate, optical vs capacitive, taking into account ease of installation/configuration.

EDIT: Anyone who can give me a hint of where to get only the short extrusion for a larger size kossel, I would like 2*20X60 and 2*20X20 in the length so I can fit a 300mm bed (I already have 1m extrusions as towers)

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/29/2015 01:59AM by Koenig.

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Koenig
...
That will surely look real nice, I just sleeved the cables and used cable-wrap like this where there many cables.
For now I have my electronics sitting on the side of the "Z-tower" for easy access my plan is to place it either in the bottom or underneath the top once I have everything dialed in to satisfaction. I would also like to place my PSU underneath the bed.

You might be interested in my build, which places the PSU under the mains-powered 330mm heated bed. Details here [miscsolutions.wordpress.com].

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Koenig
I ordered some 0.9 degree steppers the other day wich I think is my next step, but I think at that point I will have to go for the duet as well to be able maintain a reasonable high travel-speed of the effector.

I hope you didn't make the same mistake that Folger did of using 12V low current motors. I've identified a couple of suitable models and bought some. Hopefully I'll get a chance to write up the 0.9deg conversion at the weekend.

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Koenig
I saw that you had thoughts about going for optical end-stops as well which I've seem many others do as well. As I understand it this improves the accuracy of Z-height so I'm thinking of doing something similar but using a capacitive proximity sensor, I remember seeing a video on youtube of a sensor with very high accuracy and repeatablity.
Not sure wich would be most accurate, optical vs capacitive, taking into account ease of installation/configuration.

I still use mechanical endstop switches, and mine are reproducible to +/- 1 microstep using the 1.8deg motors. Using a Duet you can do auto calibration after homing to eliminate any small variations in the endstop switch trigger points. Even 3 factor autocal would be sufficient if you just want to correct for the endstops.

If you use a capacitive probe, check it for sensitivity to temperature and humidity. Whatever probe yo use, mount it as close to the nozzle as possible, because on a delta it's hard to get the effector staying completely flat as it moves n the XY plane.

---

Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].

Quote
dc42
I ordered some 0.9 degree steppers the other day wich I think is my next step, but I think at that point I will have to go for the duet as well to be able maintain a reasonable high travel-speed of the effector.

I hope you didn't make the same mistake that Folger did of using 12V low current motors. I've identified a couple of suitable models and bought some. Hopefully I'll get a chance to write up the 0.9deg conversion at the weekend.[/quote]

Actually you identified the steppers for me in another thread, ordered some from stepperonline, and I must say they were really quick sending them out, the package was in Sweden on a date before it was sent... (sent out from china on the 29th arrived at customs in Sweden on the 28th)

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dc42

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Koenig
I saw that you had thoughts about going for optical end-stops as well which I've seem many others do as well. As I understand it this improves the accuracy of Z-height so I'm thinking of doing something similar but using a capacitive proximity sensor, I remember seeing a video on youtube of a sensor with very high accuracy and repeatablity.
Not sure wich would be most accurate, optical vs capacitive, taking into account ease of installation/configuration.

I still use mechanical endstop switches, and mine are reproducible to +/- 1 microstep using the 1.8deg motors. Using a Duet you can do auto calibration after homing to eliminate any small variations in the endstop switch trigger points. Even 3 factor autocal would be sufficient if you just want to correct for the endstops.

If you use a capacitive probe, check it for sensitivity to temperature and humidity. Whatever probe yo use, mount it as close to the nozzle as possible, because on a delta it's hard to get the effector staying completely flat as it moves n the XY plane.

Well I didn't mean to use that capacitive sensor as a probe, but as a replacement for the mechanical endstops instead of optical ones.

I can't find the video now but I think he was using a delta with a digital micrometer mounted at the effector and a capacitive sensor as a probe, and the tolerance was just a few microns over the repetitions he showed.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/29/2015 05:06AM by Koenig.

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Koenig
I can't find the video now but I think he was using a delta with a digital micrometer mounted at the effector and a capacitive sensor as a probe, and the tolerance was just a few microns over the repetitions he showed.

That's to be expected. The more important question is what the tolerance is over the range of temperature and humidity likely to be encountered. You don't want to have to recalibrate the sensor every time the weather changes.

---

Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].

Quote
Koenig


Did you incorporate the lines for dimension-correction in this as well?

That will surely look real nice, I just sleeved the cables and used cable-wrap like this where there many cables.
For now I have my electronics sitting on the side of the "Z-tower" for easy access my plan is to place it either in the bottom or underneath the top once I have everything dialed in to satisfaction. I would also like to place my PSU underneath the bed.

I ordered some 0.9 degree steppers the other day wich I think is my next step, but I think at that point I will have to go for the duet as well to be able maintain a reasonable high travel-speed of the effector.

I saw that you had thoughts about going for optical end-stops as well which I've seem many others do as well. As I understand it this improves the accuracy of Z-height so I'm thinking of doing something similar but using a capacitive proximity sensor, I remember seeing a video on youtube of a sensor with very high accuracy and repeatablity.
Not sure wich would be most accurate, optical vs capacitive, taking into account ease of installation/configuration.

EDIT: Anyone who can give me a hint of where to get only the short extrusion for a larger size kossel, I would like 2*20X60 and 2*20X20 in the length so I can fit a 300mm bed (I already have 1m extrusions as towers)

Dimension correction is already in the firmware, the guys have done a pretty good job on it so far. (;M556 S78 X0 Y0 Z0 ; Put your axis compensation here)

I am going to put the electronics under the build plate like before. With the metal corners there is additional space under there that we don't have with the Folgertech plastics. I am going to design an enclosure for the Duet that will allow for all of the wiring to be fed through and keep it neat underneath.

I like the way the wires look with that wrap, but I ended up going with the press fit ribbed looms originally. Igus had sent me a couple of samples of wire and when I threaded it through, it just popped.

I have gone back and forth on using 0.8 motors, I found some that would go in this perfectly and be an upgrade.

I have changed out the mechanicals for opticals in this build. They are smaller in size (about 1/2 the space) and will eliminate any potential slop that is in the mechanical switch. I need to drill and tap some holes, but I will send over a picture when it's built.

For extrusion, you want to buy directly from Misumi. They will custom cut any size for you and give you price breaks on the overall length you buy. 2 pieces will be cheaper then 1, etc. Search the site for part number HFS5-2020-SIZEYOUWANTINMM (ie HFS5-2020-350 is 350 mm). That is series 5 20-20 which is what we use.

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thevisad
I am going to put the electronics under the build plate like before. With the metal corners there is additional space under there that we don't have with the Folgertech plastics. I am going to design an enclosure for the Duet that will allow for all of the wiring to be fed through and keep it neat underneath.

It's nice to have the electronics under the bed, but here are some points to watch out for:

1. Make sure you can access the USB and Ethernet ports and SD card socket without taking the printer apart. Although accessing the SD card socket is rarely needed after commissioning.

2. Preferably, make the Erase and Reset buttons accessible too. This is more difficult, because the buttons are on the face of the board. I added a gcode command for preparing the board for firmware upload (M999 PERASE) to avoid the need to press Erase, but occasionally it seems to leave the flash in a locked state and I have to press the Erase button. I am told that there is a Bossac command to unlock the flash, but I haven't tried it. The Reset button is less important, because you can power the board off and on again, or use software reset.

3. In a confined space under a heated bed close to motors and perhaps other heat-generating components, fitting a small fan to blow air over the electronics would be wise.

---

Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].

Quote
dc42

Quote
thevisad
I am going to put the electronics under the build plate like before. With the metal corners there is additional space under there that we don't have with the Folgertech plastics. I am going to design an enclosure for the Duet that will allow for all of the wiring to be fed through and keep it neat underneath.

It's nice to have the electronics under the bed, but here are some points to watch out for:

1. Make sure you can access the USB and Ethernet ports and SD card socket without taking the printer apart. Although accessing the SD card socket is rarely needed after commissioning.

2. Preferably, make the Erase and Reset buttons accessible too. This is more difficult, because the buttons are on the face of the board. I added a gcode command for preparing the board for firmware upload (M999 PERASE) to avoid the need to press Erase, but occasionally it seems to leave the flash in a locked state and I have to press the Erase button. I am told that there is a Bossac command to unlock the flash, but I haven't tried it. The Reset button is less important, because you can power the board off and on again, or use software reset.

3. In a confined space under a heated bed close to motors and perhaps other heat-generating components, fitting a small fan to blow air over the electronics would be wise.

I am making everything modular with this build, so I have panel mount USB headers and sd card extensions to put at the 2020 side. The heat shouldn't be an issue, I was testing last night and while the plate was 90, directly underneath it was 31 due to all the insulation I have. Then again that was bed only, on for 20+ minutes with no motors running.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/29/2015 02:16PM by thevisad.

Alright guys from my post earlier about the ramps board missing the 20 pins for the lcd display. I contacted Folger about it and they told me I needed an adapter that was supplied, but I have the adapter. The adapter is not the problem the missing pins are.
I emailed "I see the 20 04 adapter for the lcd but the ramps board itself does not have the pins.(pic)"
Folger response was "The location of where you hook up your LCD screen is up to you
The LCD was a separate purchase, we do not support it."

So Im confused because I purchased the lcd from them, and from everywhere I've seen selling ramps boards they all have those pins.

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EdwinCal
Alright guys from my post earlier about the ramps board missing the 20 pins for the lcd display. I contacted Folger about it and they told me I needed an adapter that was supplied, but I have the adapter. The adapter is not the problem the missing pins are.
I emailed "I see the 20 04 adapter for the lcd but the ramps board itself does not have the pins.(pic)"
Folger response was "The location of where you hook up your LCD screen is up to you
The LCD was a separate purchase, we do not support it."

So Im confused because I purchased the lcd from them, and from everywhere I've seen selling ramps boards they all have those pins.

You definitely need those pins. I just installed the lcd they sent, and while it does come with an adapter, that adapter requires a single row of pins that you're definitely missing.

Edit: If you're ok with a soldering iron you could buy some pins and solder them on, that might be quicker than trying to get an RMA...

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/29/2015 02:46PM by wrangellboy.

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wrangellboy

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EdwinCal
Alright guys from my post earlier about the ramps board missing the 20 pins for the lcd display. I contacted Folger about it and they told me I needed an adapter that was supplied, but I have the adapter. The adapter is not the problem the missing pins are.
I emailed "I see the 20 04 adapter for the lcd but the ramps board itself does not have the pins.(pic)"
Folger response was "The location of where you hook up your LCD screen is up to you
The LCD was a separate purchase, we do not support it."

So Im confused because I purchased the lcd from them, and from everywhere I've seen selling ramps boards they all have those pins.

You definitely need those pins. I just installed the lcd they sent, and while it does come with an adapter, that adapter requires a single row of pins that you're definitely missing.

Edit: If you're ok with a soldering iron you could buy some pins and solder them on, that might be quicker than trying to get an RMA...

Thanks for verifying there should be pins there.
Im not great at soldering, I can really only solder two wires together. I'm confused by their response as I like you bought the lcd from them when I bought the kit. So for them to say they dont support is well weird. I already bought some 2 pin connectors because I was short from the kit.
Almost at the end of the road with this kit :/

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EdwinCal

Thanks for verifying there should be pins there.
Im not great at soldering, I can really only solder two wires together. I'm confused by their response as I like you bought the lcd from them when I bought the kit. So for them to say they dont support is well weird. I already bought some 2 pin connectors because I was short from the kit.
Almost at the end of the road with this kit :/

These are the ones you want If you have amazon and don't want to wait you can order these from amazon with prime (if you have it).

There should be several questions asked before buying a kit. If you answer no to any of these questions then you should question your desire to buy, assemble and run a "kit" printer and instead purchase a pre-assembled unit. While they also have challenges, the level of these is completely different then the ones that arise in a "kit" printer.

1. Are you comfortable with soldering and assembling various electronic components?
2. Are you comfortable with compiling and installing your own firmware from the Arduino platform?
3. Are you comfortable around a toolbox? Meaning the tools in it, screw drivers, wrenches and how to properly use them?
4. Are you capable of understanding and diagnosing issues that arise with your printer or have access to those who can? This includes using forums like this to support you.
5. Would you buy furniture at Ikea and assemble it?

All that being said, this does not solve your issue you have at hand. If you like (and live in the US/cover postage to the 48170 zip code), you can ship the item to me and I will solder the items for you and make sure the screen/ramps/arduino are configured and built properly.

Wow, that's Chinese quality control at it's absolute finest! Largish parts missing, but what the heck . . . ship it! Pretty sad that Folger missed it as well, but then again, a reseller shouldn't need to inspect every part they pass through . .

If you were in my neck of the woods, I'd take care of this for you as well . . . it's 5 minutes tops . .

- Tim

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EdwinCal
Alright guys from my post earlier about the ramps board missing the 20 pins for the lcd display. I contacted Folger about it and they told me I needed an adapter that was supplied, but I have the adapter. The adapter is not the problem the missing pins are.
I emailed "I see the 20 04 adapter for the lcd but the ramps board itself does not have the pins.(pic)"
Folger response was "The location of where you hook up your LCD screen is up to you
The LCD was a separate purchase, we do not support it."

So Im confused because I purchased the lcd from them, and from everywhere I've seen selling ramps boards they all have those pins.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/29/2015 06:31PM by tadawson.

I appreciate your guys offers I may take you up on it. In in TN 37040. If someone is close enough and doesn't mind having me for an afternoon, heck Ill drive there. with the printer. Maybe learn a few things from ya too

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EdwinCal
I appreciate your guys offers I may take you up on it. In in TN 37040. If someone is close enough and doesn't mind having me for an afternoon, heck Ill drive there. with the printer. Maybe learn a few things from ya too

There is a Makerspace in your zipcode, you can run up there with it and see if someone there can help. those places are kind of cool and is something I have been considering opening in my town. http://www.perfectfab.com/

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/29/2015 07:34PM by thevisad.

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thevisad
..............
1. Are you comfortable with soldering and assembling various electronic components?
2. Are you comfortable with compiling and installing your own firmware from the Arduino platform?
3. Are you comfortable around a toolbox? Meaning the tools in it, screw drivers, wrenches and how to properly use them?
4. Are you capable of understanding and diagnosing issues that arise with your printer or have access to those who can? This includes using forums like this to support you.
5. Would you buy furniture at Ikea and assemble it?
......

Buggers, I failed on the last one (I boycott IKEA because of the nasty habit to steal good design form small companies who can't afford a court fight.)

Hi all!

A few days ago I placed an ordered for a Kossel Delta 2020 kit from Folger.
I'm a mechanical engineer located in Sweden and been doing 3d modeling since the mid '80. In my work I have designed and built a few robots for various product testings.
Since 4 months back I am the frustrated owner of a Velleman Vertex K8400 3d printer. It works but the mechanic components are very crappy and I just got kicked out of the official Velleman forum for being a bit too outspoken about it. Faulty settings in the makers firmware is not a new thing to me either.
Point 2 above is not my strong side so I will pester you with a lot of questions when I get that far and probably sooner too.

Cheers!

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SlowFoot

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thevisad
..............
1. Are you comfortable with soldering and assembling various electronic components?
2. Are you comfortable with compiling and installing your own firmware from the Arduino platform?
3. Are you comfortable around a toolbox? Meaning the tools in it, screw drivers, wrenches and how to properly use them?
4. Are you capable of understanding and diagnosing issues that arise with your printer or have access to those who can? This includes using forums like this to support you.
5. Would you buy furniture at Ikea and assemble it?
......

Buggers, I failed on the last one (I boycott IKEA because of the nasty habit to steal good design form small companies who can't afford a court fight.)

Hi all!

A few days ago I placed an ordered for a Kossel Delta 2020 kit from Folger.
I'm a mechanical engineer located in Sweden and been doing 3d modeling since the mid '80. In my work I have designed and built a few robots for various product testings.
Since 4 months back I am the frustrated owner of a Velleman Vertex K8400 3d printer. It works but the mechanic components are very crappy and I just got kicked out of the official Velleman forum for being a bit too outspoken about it. Faulty settings in the makers firmware is not a new thing to me either.
Point 2 above is not my strong side so I will pester you with a lot of questions when I get that far and probably sooner too.

Cheers!

Lol, welcome fellow Velleman hater, I have a few Velleman products and every single one of them is junk. With a little elbow grease this kit can turn out some really nice prints.

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SlowFoot

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thevisad
..............
1. Are you comfortable with soldering and assembling various electronic components?
2. Are you comfortable with compiling and installing your own firmware from the Arduino platform?
3. Are you comfortable around a toolbox? Meaning the tools in it, screw drivers, wrenches and how to properly use them?
4. Are you capable of understanding and diagnosing issues that arise with your printer or have access to those who can? This includes using forums like this to support you.
5. Would you buy furniture at Ikea and assemble it?
......

Buggers, I failed on the last one (I boycott IKEA because of the nasty habit to steal good design form small companies who can't afford a court fight.)

Hi all!

A few days ago I placed an ordered for a Kossel Delta 2020 kit from Folger.
I'm a mechanical engineer located in Sweden and been doing 3d modeling since the mid '80. In my work I have designed and built a few robots for various product testings.
Since 4 months back I am the frustrated owner of a Velleman Vertex K8400 3d printer. It works but the mechanic components are very crappy and I just got kicked out of the official Velleman forum for being a bit too outspoken about it. Faulty settings in the makers firmware is not a new thing to me either.
Point 2 above is not my strong side so I will pester you with a lot of questions when I get that far and probably sooner too.

Cheers!

Hi there!

I'm a Swede as well.

I bought this kit as my first 3D-printer, if I had known then what I know now I would have sourced all the parts my self, but since it was my first and I had zero knowledge about 3D-printing I see as part of the learning.
I'm about half way through one roll of PLA (1kg) and about the same with one roll of PETG and still haven't got a real usable part from it yet...

I looked at buying a Velleman before I ended up buying this kit, maybe I did the right choice there atleast.

But half the fun is in tinkering and upgrading.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/30/2015 03:38AM by Koenig.

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Koenig
...........
Hi there!

I'm a Swede as well.

I bought this kit as my first 3D-printer, if I had known then what I know now I would have sourced all the parts my self, but since it was my first and I had zero knowledge about 3D-printing I see as part of the learning.
I'm about half way through one roll of PLA (1kg) and about the same with one roll of PETG and still haven't got a real usable part from it yet...

I looked at buying a Velleman before I ended up buying this kit, maybe I did the right choice there atleast.

But half the fun is in tinkering and upgrading.

Hi Koenig!

I think you made the better choice, much because of the possibility for upgrading. The Vertex is pretty much a dead end. For instance, the filament cooling is pretty bad and it is very hard to improve The printer is a so compact build that there simply is no room to do anything. And the Vertex is a knock off of a printer that cost almost twice as much as a kit. To get that price they have cut too many corners too hard. But it prints and I have had a lot of fun together with all the frustration.
I just got a message that Velleman wants me to send the printer to Belgium because they can't manage to find 4 LM10UU bearings that don't bind. So far I got a total 12 from them and 3 have been good. A Dev. on the Velleman forum said that those bearings are "a nice balance between price and quality". Just so you know some of the fun the you been missing. You will not find the post on the forum any more btw because the sub-forum for "part issues" was closed and all posts deleted, it was bad for the business I guess. Not to mention the rods that come a bit too long and too long rods makes the printer jam badly or the aluminum build plates that are so deformed in manufacturing that they bend the glass plate you build on. and... Well, I have plenty more if anyone still is tempted to get one.

I know I would get a better printer if I sourced the parts myself but it is a lot of work and I am a bit lazy. Next one maybe...

Cheers!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/30/2015 05:43AM by SlowFoot.

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thevisad

There should be several questions asked before buying a kit. If you answer no to any of these questions then you should question your desire to buy, assemble and run a "kit" printer and instead purchase a pre-assembled unit. While they also have challenges, the level of these is completely different then the ones that arise in a "kit" printer.

1. Are you comfortable with soldering and assembling various electronic components?
2. Are you comfortable with compiling and installing your own firmware from the Arduino platform?
3. Are you comfortable around a toolbox? Meaning the tools in it, screw drivers, wrenches and how to properly use them?
4. Are you capable of understanding and diagnosing issues that arise with your printer or have access to those who can? This includes using forums like this to support you.
5. Would you buy furniture at Ikea and assemble it?

Worth pointing out that several kits on the market come with pre-made leads that don't require any soldering or crimping, so electronic assembly is limited to fitting the controller board in place and connecting the wires. Also some kits don't require you to compile and install firmware from the Arduino program, either because they use controllers with firmware normally distributed in binary format, or because the controller board has the firmware pre-installed. So (1) and (2) apply to some kits but not others. (3) certainly applies to all kits, and (4) not only applies to all kits but probably to most ready-made printers too.

I like your Ikea test!

---

Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].

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EdwinCal

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wrangellboy

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EdwinCal
Alright guys from my post earlier about the ramps board missing the 20 pins for the lcd display. I contacted Folger about it and they told me I needed an adapter that was supplied, but I have the adapter. The adapter is not the problem the missing pins are.
I emailed "I see the 20 04 adapter for the lcd but the ramps board itself does not have the pins.(pic)"
Folger response was "The location of where you hook up your LCD screen is up to you
The LCD was a separate purchase, we do not support it."

So Im confused because I purchased the lcd from them, and from everywhere I've seen selling ramps boards they all have those pins.

You definitely need those pins. I just installed the lcd they sent, and while it does come with an adapter, that adapter requires a single row of pins that you're definitely missing.

Edit: If you're ok with a soldering iron you could buy some pins and solder them on, that might be quicker than trying to get an RMA...

Thanks for verifying there should be pins there.
Im not great at soldering, I can really only solder two wires together. I'm confused by their response as I like you bought the lcd from them when I bought the kit. So for them to say they dont support is well weird. I already bought some 2 pin connectors because I was short from the kit.
Almost at the end of the road with this kit :/

I would definitely get a hold of Folger Tech, that is pretty bad. Much worse than my bent components and single broken pin.

I love how people so passively dismiss these defective/damaged parts as a fact of life. I feel for ya, hang in there. I think I'm up to 8 missing items and two broken, I'm nearly at the end and still discovering things. trying to get a full list to send to Folger Tech.

Good to know on the LCD screen support.

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fattmann

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EdwinCal

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wrangellboy

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EdwinCal
Alright guys from my post earlier about the ramps board missing the 20 pins for the lcd display. I contacted Folger about it and they told me I needed an adapter that was supplied, but I have the adapter. The adapter is not the problem the missing pins are.
I emailed "I see the 20 04 adapter for the lcd but the ramps board itself does not have the pins.(pic)"
Folger response was "The location of where you hook up your LCD screen is up to you
The LCD was a separate purchase, we do not support it."

So Im confused because I purchased the lcd from them, and from everywhere I've seen selling ramps boards they all have those pins.

You definitely need those pins. I just installed the lcd they sent, and while it does come with an adapter, that adapter requires a single row of pins that you're definitely missing.

Edit: If you're ok with a soldering iron you could buy some pins and solder them on, that might be quicker than trying to get an RMA...

Thanks for verifying there should be pins there.
Im not great at soldering, I can really only solder two wires together. I'm confused by their response as I like you bought the lcd from them when I bought the kit. So for them to say they dont support is well weird. I already bought some 2 pin connectors because I was short from the kit.
Almost at the end of the road with this kit :/

I would definitely get a hold of Folger Tech, that is pretty bad. Much worse than my bent components and single broken pin.

I love how people so passively dismiss these defective/damaged parts as a fact of life. I feel for ya, hang in there. I think I'm up to 8 missing items and two broken, I'm nearly at the end and still discovering things. trying to get a full list to send to Folger Tech.

Good to know on the LCD screen support.

For me it's not passive dismissal so much as impatience. If my choices are wait weeks for an RMA or fix it myself, I'm likely going to fix it myself. That said I'm debating contacting them now about a bad linear rail. One of mine sucks despite my best efforts to fix it and it consistently ruins prints by overheating the stepper and/or binding. The part price on the rails is too high for me to just suck it up and order a new one (not to mention Amazon doesn't have them...)

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fattmann

I love how people so passively dismiss these defective/damaged parts as a fact of life. I feel for ya, hang in there. I think I'm up to 8 missing items and two broken, I'm nearly at the end and still discovering things. trying to get a full list to send to Folger Tech.

Good to know on the LCD screen support.

I don't recall anyone passively dismissing defective/damaged parts at any point in here. If you are missing parts or receive bad parts, you should get them replaced, period.

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wrangellboy

For me it's not passive dismissal so much as impatience. If my choices are wait weeks for an RMA or fix it myself, I'm likely going to fix it myself. That said I'm debating contacting them now about a bad linear rail. One of mine sucks despite my best efforts to fix it and it consistently ruins prints by overheating the stepper and/or binding. The part price on the rails is too high for me to just suck it up and order a new one (not to mention Amazon doesn't have them...)

I am the same way, I have spares of most of the items in the kit, including blank 2020 and 1515 extrusion. So for me, it's pretty easy to just swap something out and contact the company to send a replacement. There are a few things you can do if you want to eliminate the rails. One is switch to these wheels (3 per plate minimum) and a plate on the 2020 extrusion. You can then mount your carriage to that and have the whole length of the extrusion to run up and down.

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dc42

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thevisad

There should be several questions asked before buying a kit. If you answer no to any of these questions then you should question your desire to buy, assemble and run a "kit" printer and instead purchase a pre-assembled unit. While they also have challenges, the level of these is completely different then the ones that arise in a "kit" printer.

1. Are you comfortable with soldering and assembling various electronic components?
2. Are you comfortable with compiling and installing your own firmware from the Arduino platform?
3. Are you comfortable around a toolbox? Meaning the tools in it, screw drivers, wrenches and how to properly use them?
4. Are you capable of understanding and diagnosing issues that arise with your printer or have access to those who can? This includes using forums like this to support you.
5. Would you buy furniture at Ikea and assemble it?

Worth pointing out that several kits on the market come with pre-made leads that don't require any soldering or crimping, so electronic assembly is limited to fitting the controller board in place and connecting the wires. Also some kits don't require you to compile and install firmware from the Arduino program, either because they use controllers with firmware normally distributed in binary format, or because the controller board has the firmware pre-installed. So (1) and (2) apply to some kits but not others. (3) certainly applies to all kits, and (4) not only applies to all kits but probably to most ready-made printers too.

I like your Ikea test!

Yeah, I generalized a lot of the kits, it would be nice if the kits were rated by a 1-10 difficulty based upon things that needed to be done.

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thevisad
For extrusion, you want to buy directly from Misumi. They will custom cut any size for you and give you price breaks on the overall length you buy. 2 pieces will be cheaper then 1, etc. Search the site for part number HFS5-2020-SIZEYOUWANTINMM (ie HFS5-2020-350 is 350 mm). That is series 5 20-20 which is what we use.

Would 350mm suffice to fit a 330mm bed?

I see it varies between the the different kits out there, Robotdigg (haver their corners) as an example uses 360mm but a 300mm bed, my thought is to fit a 330mm heated bed and a 300mm glass on top of that.

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Koenig

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thevisad
For extrusion, you want to buy directly from Misumi. They will custom cut any size for you and give you price breaks on the overall length you buy. 2 pieces will be cheaper then 1, etc. Search the site for part number HFS5-2020-SIZEYOUWANTINMM (ie HFS5-2020-350 is 350 mm). That is series 5 20-20 which is what we use.

Would 350mm suffice to fit a 330mm bed?

I see it varies between the the different kits out there, Robotdigg (haver their corners) as an example uses 360mm but a 300mm bed, my thought is to fit a 330mm heated bed and a 300mm glass on top of that.

The printable area also depends on how close the effector can get to the towers. I use 355mm horizontals and a 330mm aluminium bed with a mains powered heater. Using a standard Mini Kossel effector, that gives me a little over 300mm printable diameter. I use 330mm glass so that the bed clips at the edges don't impact the printable area. See my blog entry at [miscsolutions.wordpress.com] for details.

---

Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].

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thevisad
For extrusion, you want to buy directly from Misumi. They will custom cut any size for you and give you price breaks on the overall length you buy. 2 pieces will be cheaper then 1, etc. Search the site for part number HFS5-2020-SIZEYOUWANTINMM (ie HFS5-2020-350 is 350 mm). That is series 5 20-20 which is what we use.

Seems I as a private person cannot shop from Misumi-Europe... "Please enter only the company address, private addresses are not accepted."

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thevisad

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wrangellboy

For me it's not passive dismissal so much as impatience. If my choices are wait weeks for an RMA or fix it myself, I'm likely going to fix it myself. That said I'm debating contacting them now about a bad linear rail. One of mine sucks despite my best efforts to fix it and it consistently ruins prints by overheating the stepper and/or binding. The part price on the rails is too high for me to just suck it up and order a new one (not to mention Amazon doesn't have them...)

I am the same way, I have spares of most of the items in the kit, including blank 2020 and 1515 extrusion. So for me, it's pretty easy to just swap something out and contact the company to send a replacement. There are a few things you can do if you want to eliminate the rails. One is switch to these wheels (3 per plate minimum) and a plate on the 2020 extrusion. You can then mount your carriage to that and have the whole length of the extrusion to run up and down.

I am in the middle of replacing all the ball bearings with stainless steel ones (just ordered) to see if that helps on my rails. They seem to work fine if the are dripping with Super-Lube, but there are a few occasions when printing things with a lot of stop and starts that the rails will "studder" at a certain spot and the print will have a noticeable line where the layers are all moved over .5 to 1.5 mm in one direction. If this doesn't work I was going to look at using the plate and wheels as my final stab at the elusive "buttery smoothness"

So that being said, anybody try the plate and wheels yet? Any pros or cons? I am interested to hear any information - and Thanks Again - this forum is a wealth of information and if nothing else, a place to share the pain