VZBot 330 AWD

[Penatr8tor]

@Madz_3, No worries. I like the chaotic labs square thingy although unfortunately it won't work for a VZBot... The VZBot screws together from the top and bottom so you'd need to bore a couple holes thru the Voron Logo in order to get to the screws. It is cool tho, not gonna lie. 

@claudermilk Hahaha Yup, Logo makes it official. 

 

Edited August 14, 2023 by Penatr8tor

[Penatr8tor]

OK, Now for some real progress...

Frame and gantry assembled.

 

Bed vertical shafts installed. I also installed the 6 corner brackets in the bottom of the frame, they came in silver, I took advantage of some extra satin black spray paint I had left over. The red PLA shipping parts have also been swapped out for ASA printed parts, above are where the new blue parts are located and below the old red PLA parts.

Bearing carriers for lead screws

.

The green parts are to position the bed assembly with respect to the front of the printer.

Massive billet bed platform

Lead srcew pulley.

Bed Z Axis Assembly complete. Every screw needs to be loose to get everything lined up then tighten everything up once you have things moving smoothly. p.s. You want to have the Z stepper and belt installed and tensioned during the adjusting process so that you can pull on the belt to move the bed up and down, checking to make sure everything moves freely before cranking down on the screws. It's not that hard to get things moving nicely.

Next up are the bottom and rear panels.

[Madz_3]

6 hours ago, Penatr8tor said:

@Madz_3, No worries. I like the chaotic labs square thingy although unfortunately it won't work for a VZBot... The VZBot screws together from the top and bottom so you'd need to bore a couple holes thru the Voron Logo in order to get to the screws. It is cool tho, not gonna lie. 

@claudermilk Hahaha Yup, Logo makes it official. 

Well you learn something every day. I didn’t realise that the frame bolted together like that. Anyway at least I have a set of the same clamps when I finally get all the parts together for my self sourced silver Vz330 build that I intend to build after I finish my doomcube2 builds. And yes I am aware that their is now a kit on Aliexpress but I had already started to buy the cnc z-axis bracket kit, WC Goliath, WC cnc hextruder, cnc printhead mount, & now WC cnc water blocks for the steeper motors and soon as I had all of this mellow brings out an awesome complete kit that has almost everything in it. I asked them if they would sell me a kit less the items that I have already bought off them but they said they couldn’t do it…. anyway this made me a little put out and moved my focus over to my two doom builds that I’m just finishing printing everything I will need and hopefully start the frames as soon as I can get the panels I want (it’s difficult to find where I live) 

anyway enough of my woes, good luck with the build and I will be following for sure!

Edited August 14, 2023 by Madz_3

[Penatr8tor]

5 hours ago, Madz_3 said:

I asked them if they would sell me a kit less the items that I have already bought off them but they said they couldn’t do it….

Fortunately, the Mellow Store on Aliexpress sells everything separate or in mini kits like the frame, bed, etc. While it won't be the most cost-effective way to get parts, you are able to get parts so Silver Lining LOL. 

[thegrowingdude]

Pete looking amaze!!!

There are many ways to skin cats, er.. square corners. I used these lots as a fabricator- https://www.amazon.com/WYQYQ-4pcs-Corner-Clamp-Woodworking/dp/B096DX28FC/

 

[fanplastics]

On 8/12/2023 at 2:13 PM, Penatr8tor said:

This weekend I'm working on the supplied aluminum panels. After a good bit of experimentation, I've concluded that trying to get a nice uniform finish from a rattle can is near impossible. Who knew LOL.

I tried satin black, flat black, hammer tone black... they're all fine for painting exhaust pipes and bicycle frames and the like, painting a 500mmx500mm flat panel... not so much. What I finally hit on, and yes, I considered vinyl wrap, was truck bed liner. A light spray from about 12" away nets a really nice uniform and durable finish. I used Hurculiner from the auto parts store. 

 

Looks like you found a solution that you are happy with, and another you brought up,wrapping, is also very effective.  Oracal vinyl for vinyl cutters works well.  But since rattle canning came up, I'll share my ancient chinese american secret

Bumper paint.  VHT rattle can "bumper paint".   It's a godsend.  I've painted high wear auto interior parts, metal of all sorts, plastics, car exterior parts....anything that I need to be black that isn't.   Thanks to some time doing scale car/airplane modeling I know a bit about paint, and have a nice airbrush setup.  I know to do the right prep, mist coats, let it outgas, et cetera.  VHT Bumper Paint dgaf.  Bomb it on.  Then get impatient 15mins later and bomb on some more.   Perfect, every time.  Good satin sheen, not too matte, not too shiny.  And simply amazing in its longevity and resistance to marking.  No handprints, you can even drag fingernails across it and it doesn't mark.  

The 'soft touch' interior trim coating in my 997.2 Carrera is de-laminating, as all that stuff always does.   When it's bad enough i'll rattle can it all without a shred of shame, and will consider it an upgrade.

[Penatr8tor]

Some more progress.

I installed the bottom panel with printed feet. I used dop-in t-nuts for the bottom panel.

I also set the rear panel in place so that I could arrange some of the major electronics components and get an idea of where things go and how they affect assembly and wiring.

Rear panel installed as well as the 24V and 48V PSU's, and hinge blocks. The hinge blocks on top and the two blue bottom skirts mechanically fasten to the frame with hammerhead t-nuts and the screws on the sides, top and bottom, I have used drop in nuts. The rear panel install has literally no instructions other than a picture of the panel on the frame and... well, see below. I guess they want you to use all slide in or drop-in t-nuts, I did a hybrid approach.

Here's a couple views of the drop in hinge parts for the top hat cover for the enclosure.

 

[mvdveer]

5 hours ago, Penatr8tor said:

I also set the rear panel in place so that I could arrange some of the major electronics components and get an idea of where things go and how they affect assembly and wiring.

In my original build I opted to install the electronics the "Voron way" - under the printer, rather than the back. Was mainly done due to space constraints. Other than accessibility, is there an advantage to the rear install?

[atrushing]

13 hours ago, mvdveer said:

Other than accessibility, is there an advantage to the rear install?

When wiping to clean the inside of the printer, I have actually had an instance where it created static electricity with the lower plastic panel and caused the Pi mounted below it to reboot.. Maybe this means that my system isn't grounded well enough but now I power off the printer before cleaning it out.

[Penatr8tor]

19 hours ago, mvdveer said:

Other than accessibility, is there an advantage to the rear install?

I would say there's a couple advantages... One being better cooling as heat can rise up and away unrestricted unlike underneath where the heat can get trapped under the printer bottom plate or in certain areas and of course, as you've already stated, easier accessibility.

It's definitely better for building too, that CNC bed assembly with 4 stainless rods, two lead screws, etc. makes for a really hefty printer and not one that I'd want to flip over every time I have to insert a micro SD or check a connecter, etc.

[Penatr8tor]

Moving right along...

Installed the CPAP fan and hose adapter onto the rear panel.

I got my CNC X Beam in the mail... Looks pretty sweet IMO!

Here's the X Beam installed onto the gantry. I think that it might weigh a few grams more than the CF beam, but I like it and that's what really matters, right? 

Toolhead frame mounted onto the X rail. LOL, I just noticed I have some support material on the X endstop mount LOL. 

OK, lets run some belts... Here's the first belt installed. Installing was pretty easy. There's a good amount of room to feed the belt behind things and route around the motors, etc. The belt attachment methodology is simple, effective and easy to install and adjust.  I pulled the assembly all the way to the front and held it in place with a zip tie to get proper pre-tension on the belt since I didn't have the other belt on.

Here's the second belt installed. Belt assembly wasn't as difficult as other printers I've built so that's a win in my book. The final tensioning is achieved by loosening 4 motor mount screws and then adjusting with a set screw and jam nut inside of a knob (Shown here next to the CPAP fan)

 

[claudermilk]

Look at all those speed holes! How rigid is that X beam?

[Penatr8tor]

1 hour ago, claudermilk said:

Look at all those speed holes! How rigid is that X beam?

That is a really good question. Of course, we'd have to destructively test or do an FEA analysis on a CAD model but without those two I would have to give one of the typical layman answers like... Dude, it's stiff as sh!t or that thing ain't going nowhere LOL. I can say with confidence that the linear rail is the stiffest component of the X-Beam assembly and to be honest... you could probably get away with a couple end pieces and just use the rail as your structural member.

In all seriousness though, I don't think it's as strong or as light as the CF square tube that it came with. That being said... There are some things that are, IMO, better than the CF tube. It's flatter, more precise, has threaded holes for every screw in the linear rail and I could have just skipped every other hole, but I went full RatRig and used a screw in every one LOL. Side note... I think you'd get closer to the weight of the CF tube skipping holes BC you'd save the weight of 10 M3x8 screws, there are 20 in total.

In the end... I paid $35 for it and for 35 bucks... I like it. Is it better, probably not, but as far as cool factor goes... it checks all the boxes. 

[Penatr8tor]

Worked on the toolhead yesterday, just taking my time, trying to get things assembled correctly and triple checking to make sure nothing is left loose or missing.

I wanted to make sure that the part cooling duct was set to the correct Z height, so I opened up the CAD model of the toolhead in Fusion 360 and created a sketch to determine the tip to duct distance. I tried using the measuring tool but there wasn't a vertex on the duct BC it was a spline, so I had to make a sketch.

...and here's the result. I like that you can adjust the height from the rear of the toolhead.

BEACON PROBE!!!!

LOL, Beacon probe is mounted and looking good.

Toolhead in its current configuration. I opted to install the hotend with the wires exiting to the right (stock is to the left, but it just didn't route as nicely, so this is where I'm going to leave it).

 

[Penatr8tor]

Been a while since I uploaded an update to this build.

First up, Installed the bed. No need to show pictures of a heating pad and magnet sheet stuck onto a slab of aluminum... we've all been there and done that. That being said, it went smoothly and without issue.

I found a use for a few of the hundreds of 20mm test cubes I have... Use them as height blocks for initial bed leveling. 

Here I've installed the drag chain. Install was easy enough. The toughest part was the total lack of any kind of instructions for mounting the chain, I mean not even a photo or anything on CAD. You've got a drag chain and the CNC bracket mounted to the bed plate. After some fiddling around I found what appears to be the correct placement as it works pretty well and looks like it's in the right place.

Next, we're on to the top cover. All of the extrusions and panels still in the box were crying out to me so I had no choice but to answer the call. Hahaha. This is another area of the build with zero instructions... you get parts... you figure it out. The 1st thing I figured out was that there's no way to attach the short vertical extrusions to the frame. It was only when I watched one of Simon Vez' videos that I realized, I need to buy some 2020 corner brackets so... off to Amazon to order more parts that didn't come with the kit, Yay. I ended up buying both the hollow and solid corner brackets and thought that the solid ones looked better. I had to use an M3 socket head in one of the holes as two M4 button heads would run into each other. I picked the M3 socket head because it uses the same size allen key and I don't have to swap tools. 

The Cover turned out really nice. I'm considering adapting a couple of gas struts into the top to help it open up, like the rest of this printer... it's pretty heavy.

I had to design and print some better DIN rail mounts as the VZBot ones are a total fail. If you watch the last ModBot/Steve Builds VZBot stream... Steve had the same thing happen to his mounts as I did.

Finally... I'm working on the two RSCS (Remote Static Cooling System) modules that live on the side panels. That'll be in the next update for now, here's the preliminary test fit.

And a nice picture of the toolhead and sexy CNC X Beam with Beacon probe. I'm still on the fence as to what the best position for the Goliath hotend needs to be. The Nichrome heater wires are super stiff but bendable. I've seen a few setups, most are clocked so that the wires exit to the left but I've also seen them exiting out the front so... the jury is still out on this one. I think I'm going to re-clock it so it exits on the left as it could interfere with the extruder tensioner.

Edited September 2, 2023 by Penatr8tor

[mvdveer]

On 8/19/2023 at 2:24 AM, Penatr8tor said:

Beacon probe is mounted and looking good.

Which stl did you use for the probe - did a search and did some discord trolling and found four possible solutions, Another, Another, Another, but from your photo it looks like this one. (UHF/Volcano ducts).

7 hours ago, Penatr8tor said:

I had to design and print some better DIN rail mounts as the VZBot ones are a total fail.

Would you mind sharing those please?

7 hours ago, Penatr8tor said:

This is another area of the build with zero instructions.

And the CAD files are not much better either - not much detail in those - basically a fully assembled part that you cannot disassemble in CAD. (Not that I am an expert)

Looking good so far

[Penatr8tor]

On 9/2/2023 at 5:59 PM, mvdveer said:

Which stl did you use for the probe - did a search and did some discord trolling and found four possible solutions, Another, Another, Another, but from your photo it looks like this one. (UHF/Volcano ducts).

Would you mind sharing those please?

Nope I used this one... The files are too large to attach in a reply (maybe I just don't know how...) so I'll create a post in the downloads section. I also have a really cool adapter for the CPAP muffler in case you're interested. I did modify one thing from the original. I filled in the 3 cut-outs in between the horns. I was having trouble printing it with the areas open so I made a little web to fill the voids. You can see them right behind the two small holes in the top.

[Penatr8tor]

It's been a fun, busy and exciting weekend...

As for the VzBot... I saw a video from Simon Vez regarding the noise generated by the CPAP fan. His solution was to create an intake muffler, problem is... The muffler was designed for a 235 VZBot which has the CPAP at an angle and the 330 I'm building the CPAP fan is mounted horizontally. So, I designed an adapter.

Here are the 3 parts from top to bottom. Cover (stock), Adapter and Muffler (stock). Everything uses M3 screws and the short Voron style inserts.

Muffler is double wall with perforations inside to promote muffling LOL

Muffler installed into cover. I had to find an M3x5 screw for the tab.

Here's the bracket mounted to the rear panel. My first design centered the cover between the CPAP mounting screws, but a quick test revealed a number of interferences that prevented it from working so, back to the drawing board. What evolved was and offset design that shifted the muffler left and down enough to clear everything. Adapter is held onto the rear panel with the CPAP mounting screws and the inserts are for the cover.

And here it is... Mounted in all its glory. 

And a close up of the corner with adapter poking out. It'll be interesting to see how or if it works.

Lastly... Sorry for the crappy looking prints. The print quality of my Voron 2.4 has been declining over time. So much so that I executed a highly detailed and scientific test regimen to determine the cause. Basically, I grabbed the toolhead and pulled and twisted it to determine if it was loose. And guess what? It was! So, I disassembled everything and the 3 screws that hold the rail on had come loose. So, a little tightening, some loctite and I was back in business. Except for one thing... I'm now getting a "probe triggered" error. A little investigating, aka pulling and yanking on stuff, I determined that the distance required to trigger the sensor was almost non-existent. I could easily trigger the probe by hand and if I let the head down slowly... I could get the head to rest while leaving the sensor still triggered. Of course, a light tap on the top and it was open again. I remember some people having this same issue when TAP first came out so if anyone can point me in the right direction it would be much appreciated.

 

 

[Penatr8tor]

Did a little searching and found this... Mvdveer TAP triggering issues

Now I just need to determine if I need more material on the top of the tab, file some material off the tab or I might just need to bump the PCB up or down by whatever screw clearance is built in.

[Simon2.4]

2 hours ago, Penatr8tor said:

3 screws that hold the rail on had come loose

[claudermilk]

The latest revision of the Tap mounting plate has been revised to address that. In the meantime, yes, adding a bit of material should fix it; the tab is a bit too short. I taped a tiny chink of filament to the top of my old one and that resolved it.

[Penatr8tor]

@claudermilk, I bought a cheapo 3D pen off Amazon for 30 bucks. Figured it would be good for the occasional printed part repair. Today, I'll pull stuff apart and add a little blob ala @mvdveer.

@Simon2.4 Yep, I hear ya, and the fact that I have to occasionally tighten the toolhead tells me that there's a design flaw and also why I'm waiting on my Mellow CNC TAP to arrive. Once I get that installed it will be LGX Lite extruder and CNC TAP and it should be good to go for a long time. 3D printed stuff is good but as you said... you need to go back and tighten every so often. If I can eliminate that need... I'll be much happier. 

[Penatr8tor]

1 hour ago, claudermilk said:

I taped a tiny chink of filament to the top of my old one and that resolved it.

TAPE? 

Protip: Get a bottle of this stuff... Solvent bonding is stronger than layer adhesion ever will be. Only works with Polystyrene, ABS/ASA tho.

 

[claudermilk]

Yes tape. Because I only needed it long enough to print the updated part. I could have used some of my Gorilla Glue or E6000, but the tape was expedient and less messy. I now have the current revision part on there and it works as it should.

[Penatr8tor]

@claudermilk OK you win LOL. No worries, I've had to cobble together things a couple times to print a part on the same printer with the broken part. It was a Bltouch mount for a Tevo Tornado. With that said... it's good to have a bottle of solvent glue around.