Ye Olde Rocket Forum - View Single Post - 3D printing for EVERYONE

Quote:

Originally Posted by nerys

[QUOTE=teflonrocketry1]When I got my Ender 2 3D printer the first thing I did was print the 3 modifications that everyone seems to suggest; a 1mm shim for the Z axis motor, a Vrail stabilizer for the Z axis lead screw

get rid of this. it will only cause you pain in the long run. the lead screw should never be locked down. ie do not "fix" the top end of the lead screw.

in a perfect world.... not a perfect world $200 printer.

by locking down the lead screw you turn your kinematics into "framing" since the lead screw is rigid. this means if the lead screw is not "PERFECTLY" straight and "perfectly" aligned with the vertical rail you will have 2 forces acting in opposition as the lead screw shimmies around and pushes and pulls on the vertical rail and by extension your X arm and carriage assembly

IE z banding. you can install the little bracket just make sure the hole for the lead screw is large enough that it can wiggle around a couple of mm's if it wants too this way it won't transfer force to the rest of the printer and therefore your print.

its one of the easiest mods to make to a tevo printer (tornado, michealangelo, flash) remove the 2 screws remove the bearing. leave the lead screw "free"

much better prints. this is why if you look on creality printer the lead screw appears restrained but if you touch it you will see it can "wiggle around" in that mount. that is good.

Chris,

I drilled out the V-rail stabilizer with a 3/8 inch bit. It is now just an open ring (essentially a bracket as you suggest) that limits the maximum deviation of the vertical z axis lead screw. I learned the hard way not to restrain the Z-axis lead screw. I can't believe there are so many people who have posted this useless modification that actually ruins the print quality of the Ender 2. I think I downloaded at least 5 different designs of these from Thingiverse.

I think the electrical wires that hang off the Ender 2 gantry get too heavy at about 20 inches into the print and over torque the Z axis drive motor. I am trying to figure out how to overcome this issue. I have attached pictures of the modified Ender 2 printer alongside an unmodified one (yes, that is a yard stick taped to the V-rail Z axis). On the picture with the 30 inch long nosecone 3D print in progress you can see the wire harness that is hanging down along the printer. The print was practically flawless until the nosecone fell off the printer bed!