Galileo 2 Z drive

[xyleth]

Not sure if this is best placed here or in the Voron 2 section, but as it’s not a question about an active build (yet) I thought I’d go with here.

Can someone please explain to me what the benefit of the G2 z-drive setup is for something like a 300mm 2.4?  I get the extruder is supposed to be an improvement over the stock CW2, just not sure what it adds to the z drive.  I’ve read the GitHub description but I guess I lack enough knowledge of the 2.4 to have a frame of reference as to if it’s relevant or not.

i guess the tl;dr would be: is this a genuine improvement or more of a ‘pimp my ride’ kinda thing?

edit: and now I’ve read the manual and it explicitly says for 250mm and smaller 2.4 style printers.  I guess the question still stands for them, and may be of help to others thinking the same thoughts.

Edited March 7 by xyleth
Reading!

[ChicagoKeri]

As I understand it, the main benefit of the Galileo2 Z drive is to save space.  

On a V2.4 / 300 or larger, there is plenty of space for the larger stepper and belt reduction of the standard configuration. 

In addition, the G2 uses a 9:1 gear ratio by a planetary gearset instead of the standard 5:1 belt drive. So, it should offer finer control of the Z axis.  

 

[Dirk]

Well... @ChicagoKeri nicely summed that up.

However, if you still want to consider something else for your Z drives, instead of the boring stock Z drives and want an extraordinary flying saucer like feet on your voron, I will suggest you check out the Galileo 1 Z-drive, which was originally the predecessor of the Galileo Z-drive 2, which is actually meant for the Micron (and other printers for ants). If you wonder what the Galileo 1 version of the extruder was, it was actually the Orbiter.

 

 

[jetcat]

I used the G2Z drives on both my Voron 2.4's. It freed up enough space for an additional 48V 150W power supply underneath. They do look cool as well. The drawback is the rear droops when you disable the motors. I run the toolhead to the front door to minimize that. 

[Dirk]

14 hours ago, jetcat said:

rear droops when you disable the motors.

That's why they are not recommended on the 2.4. Cool that you did it anyway

I wonder if having the GE5C mod would reduce that dropping.... It is a popular mod in the Printers for Ants (also standard in the Micron).

I also wonder if something like a Keyback would help... What they did in the Switchwire... I have seen a Direct Z drive that recommends that.

 

[jetcat]

7 hours ago, Dirk said:

That's why they are not recommended on the 2.4.

It was designed with the 2.4 in mind. However, not recommended for the > 300mm versions. I do use the spherical bearings. It actually exacerbates the droop since they don't have as much friction as the printed parts. They do look cool .

 

[Dirk]

It sure does look great!

[chrisalbertson]

On 3/7/2024 at 1:15 PM, xyleth said:

 

Can someone please explain to me what the benefit of the G2 z-drive setup is for something like a 300mm 2.4?  I get the extruder is supposed to be an improvement over the stock CW2, just not sure what it adds to the z drive.

You do not want to put G2 the z-axis of a V2.4 printer especially you do not want them on a larger 300mmm or 350mm V2.4 printer.  It is not powerful enough.    It was designed for the smaller "ant-size" printers.

 

BTW, the CW extruder works well, except some people were having problems printing soft TPU.  IN that case the Orbiter 2 seems to be the way to go.

[claudermilk]

I'll have to dry out my spool of TPU and try again now that I switched from CW2 to G2