And so it begins

[Pappy3831]

Inventoried my formbot kit. Few missing screws but most importantly no micro switches.  But that’s an easy fix. Got started and I have built a cube. Looks like I’ve got my Ender 5 pro dialed back in so I can get back to printing my parts again. Once I’m done with that I don’t think I’ll ever print abs again. Hope all are having a great day. 

[Simon2.4]

8 minutes ago, Pappy3831 said:

no micro switches

The Formbot kit has hall effect sensors instead of micro-switches for X and Y. As for Z, it is soldered on a little PCB.

[Pappy3831]

I accounted for everything on the build list. What do the sensors look like. Forgive my lack of knowledge. I’ve only been into printing a couple of months so I’m in a lot of new territory. 

[Simon2.4]

https://docs.vorondesign.com/community/electronics/120decibell/hall_effect_endstop_setup.html

[Pappy3831]

Made a little progress today. Made sure the cube was square. It was. So proceeded on with the build.  Note to self:  don’t misplace the rail centering guides you already had printed up.  This will cause a minor delay while you wait for your functioning printer to complete its current job so you can print new ones.  After that’s done I’ll probably find the original ones.

[Pappy3831]

Another day and a little further. I’m at the end of the beginning. To all who are reading this and contemplating building one mental note.  Put the thread lock on the grub screws after you have the prices positioned where they need to be. Not after you’ve put that particular piece of the puzzle completely together. Did that on the first z drive. The other three were much easier doing them before I encased the pulley system in the upper and lower. 

[Pappy3831]

Not much accomplished last night. I had to reprint one of my z idler tensioners. One just wasn’t up to standards. It would have worked but with the time and investment in this build I want it to be as perfect as possible. Having got that done I got all the z idlers built and installed. Now I have to change filament to reprint a couple of pieces for the a and be drove mounts. Again the pieces would work but cosmetically flawed. 

[Pappy3831]

Well making progress. The new build instructions are awesome. Looks like a second rail on the x axis is no longer part of the plan or am I wrong. But for now printed parts are the hold up. So I’ll go clean the barn while the parts I need are printing. 

[Simon2.4]

2 hours ago, Pappy3831 said:

Looks like a second rail on the x axis is no longer part of the plan

I just went over the new manual and I think you are right..

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/VoronDesign/Voron-2/Voron2.4/Manual/Assembly_Manual_2.4r2.pdf    Page 141

The new version with 1 rail has a different carriage so make sure you assemble for the parts you have. Unless you printed the new carriage, put 2 rails.

[Pappy3831]

Haven’t got that yet. But it’s coming soon.  What does everybody think about just the one rail bs two rails?

[Simon2.4]

23 hours ago, Pappy3831 said:

What does everybody think about just the one rail bs two rails

I like the 2 rail design but I have not tried the 1 rail so I can hardly judge, however, the principle behind 2 rails is to constrain movement of 2 axis on respective rails. removing a rail means that one of the axis will be constrained by torsion on the one rail, which is not ideal from an engineering stand point. this said, torsion loads should be very low if the head is balanced vertically: same g loads applied above and below the rail during accelerations.

If I was to choose the 'one rail' option or should I say:  If I choose to build the V2.4r version, I would cherry pick the stiffest rail of my lot to put on the x axis and make sure it's super clean and well greased with high quality grease.

Removing 1 rail has the huge advantage of weight reduction. This probably outweighs the disadvantages so they chose to implement it. Along with the new print head that uses a pancake motor, the gantry should weigh a few 100 grams less, which is huge.

[Pappy3831]

I’m just about done putting the gantry together. I’ve built it to this point on the new 1 rail design. I’m not at the point of no return can still go either way. Guess I could try one way and before I get too far along change my mind. Haven’t decided yet. Still have to print the x carriage so I’ll have to think about it while I install the remaining z parts on the gantry. I see the benefits of less weight. In Thomas salanders video he mention the possibility of the dual rails binding if they’re not aligned right. I see that point too. Decisions decisions. They give me a headache. 

[claudermilk]

Misaligned rails causing binding is one of the reasons I've heard given for the design team adopting the single MGN12 rail mod as official standard. The little time I've had my Trident (mostly) running, it seems solid enough. The only time I saw any flex was when the Z endstop was malfunctioning. 

[Pappy3831]

I posted in my question but I’ll post it here as well. My formbot kit was bought before the revision with no mgn 12 rails, all mgn 9. So it sounds like I need to go with the dual rail sustem or buy an mgn 12 rail. Does this sound correct?

[Simon2.4]

48 minutes ago, claudermilk said:

single MGN12

ohh I didn't catch that  thanks @claudermilk

[Pappy3831]

The gantry is done and installed. Added the second x rail. Then installed the gantry backwards. Easy fix. Took the bottom apart and flipped it. Already had the z belts installed so this was the easiest option.   X axis goes good until I move it towards the back then it binds up. Not sure what could be causing this. Frame is square. Could I have tightens the y rails too tight?

[Pappy3831]

Is it possible that I have my z joints too tight causing the gantry to bind up in the back?

[Pappy3831]

Found the problem. The back end of my gantry was 5mm narrower than the front end. Fixed that and now the x axis glides oh so smooth.  Want to take a moment to thank all of you who have given me tips suggestions and advice so far in this build. Also to those who have posted their builds on you tube. This fix came from watching Scott corns part 7. Thank you to all!

[Pappy3831]

Just a mental note for those first timers like me who bought their kit before r2 came out. If your kit is like mine, it came designed to run two rails on the x axis which takes a different carriage.  So I had to dig my r1 files out of the recycle bin so I could print the proper carriage. 

[claudermilk]

13 hours ago, Pappy3831 said:

Found the problem. The back end of my gantry was 5mm narrower than the front end. Fixed that and now the x axis glides oh so smooth.  Want to take a moment to thank all of you who have given me tips suggestions and advice so far in this build. Also to those who have posted their builds on you tube. This fix came from watching Scott corns part 7. Thank you to all!

That was one tip I picked up from watching the Nero videos. Leave the gantry parts slightly loose until everything is together, then move it around and let things find their home. THEN tighten down. Also, make certain the base frame is as square as you can get it.

[Pappy3831]

Yes. I need to finish watching all the other videos cause it seems like everybody has their little tips and ways of doing things. I try to get the best ideas from all. 

[Pappy3831]

I also need to remember what was left loose or left to install at a later time. Guess the best thing to do is go over every screw before pressing on. 

[Simon2.4]

Just now, Pappy3831 said:

every screw before pressing on

after a few dozen hours of testing, my printer had many loose screws. So before you get too deep into tuning, remember to go over your screws a few times. Once all the parts are settled, it shouldn't be necessary.

[Pappy3831]

Thanks. Good to know. Probably need to do that to my Ender as well. 

[Pappy3831]

Minor setbacks yesterday and today. Yesterday couldn’t get the x and y belts routed so I took the gantry off and got the belts on. Today was going to put the second belt clamp on the carriage and had to replace it. The insert had bad threads and just turned in the clamp. Then noticed one belt was inside the gantry so had to pull it out completely to get it out. Now all I have to do is reroute it and then reinstall the z belt and I can finally get started on the hot end and extruder.