VzBot 330

[TitusADuxass]

@Dirk the link to the pu shop that you posted doesn't work - it returns a service error.

I've found that there's only a 5-8 € price difference between Amazon and Ali. And ordering from Amazon gives you the ability to (ab)use their return policy.

[TitusADuxass]

Gentlemen, 

Thanks for your input.

I'll go for Pi4 4gb with 64gb SanDisk card.

[TitusADuxass]

@Penatr8tor Thank you, those RSCS files printed well, there's a pint in the barrel for you.

 

 

The Amazon Basics ABS has been good, it prints well and has a good finish.

[TitusADuxass]

9 hours ago, Dirk said:

 When you look around and read between the lines, most of them are ( oldER) men, without time-consuming-kids (anymore) at home, spending time using their intellect and creative talents to build printers and print things. And do not mind to give advise to the next generation(s).

I made a slight change to your text, I'm 62 but I don't class myself as old.

[Buurman]

11 hours ago, Dirk said:

I doubt any of the regulars here are financially constrained. I do not really see a profitable cause for 3D printing, except for the few people that run an online business, but they will not spend their costly time by sharing their opinions here. The men (and a few women) you see here, hang around here to enjoy their time. When you look around and read between the lines, most of them are ( old) men, without time-consuming-kids (anymore) at home, spending time using their intellect and creative talents to build printers and print things. And do not mind to give advise to the next generation(s).
I do not see university students hanging around here to help each other build their printers
So the average advise you get here when it comes to new hardware, is on the better quality, expensive parts. The adagium of difference between boys and men, surely applies here.
Which as you say, does not apply to everyone. That is why when I write about such products, I like to name alternatives to the more expensive components.
And maybe I choose too often for the too cheap ones, because I prefer to do a bit more work to get to the same result. I remember for example @Buurman mentioning in one of his popular threads that he buys ready made cables because his soldering is not as good as the ones he buys. I see it as a challenge to buy loose cables and fiddle around with them until I get it right. This also gives me a new skill in soldering, even I need glasses these days to get things done.

In the case of Beacon / Cartographer, I truly can not see a single reason (not functionally, not qualitatively, not performance-wise) why I should pay 3 times the money to get one that is better popularized, even though it misses a beloved option (CAN-connectivity).

Or in the case of the RPi I have named above, get it from Amazon, for 2- 3 times the price. The people selling the RPi on Amazon, are the same people selling it on AliExpress: the Chinese companies. The only difference is Amazon delivers within 3 days and AliExpress in 10 days. Not worth, even if it is fun, 2-3 times the price.

I think we are all here because we enjoy one or the other about printing. And I have also noticed people see we talk and follow our advise. And I agree with you that it is good to inform them about the alternatives, and the why we like things better. Which you are a king in, by the way

Great summary @Dirk, while I also fall under the grumpy old men category (becoming 50 next month), I do have a 3 year old  Thats probably why I been less active here lately. The mentioned cable buying by me a few years ago have been surpassed by doing CANBUS/Katapult on all builds now, where the high quality cables are less important. (no bending) Because that has been the main reason always, preventing breaking cables in the bendy parts. These days the Formbot kit comes with Canbus from the go, another great update on their part. 

But for me too, I rather choose a CNC carriage for example over a printed one. so yes, thats another 50/80 bucks there, but this part in CNC makes the printer so robust, also when you take the stealthburner apart a few times, and lets be honest, thats gonna happen. 

These things are often optional, they dont directly give better performance often or better quality, although we like to think so  

In my experience, the default Formbot kit is a great way to start and the best choice for the money, everything is in there to start building a good printer. Mods can come later if you like, thats the fun!!

 

PS. and now I realise this is VZBOT topic.. uuuuhhmm, forget the Formbot part  hahaha!

With VZBot you already too kthe more expensive option, but its a cool build!

 

[mvdveer]

4 hours ago, TitusADuxass said:

I made a slight change to your text, I'm 62 but I don't class myself as old.

We are still YOUNG - well I'll be 65 next month - whoooo Hoooo! Let's party!

[Penatr8tor]

5 hours ago, TitusADuxass said:

@Penatr8tor Thank you, those RSCS files printed well, there's a pint in the barrel for you.

 Glad they worked out.

@mvdveer I'll be 65 this November so I guess we're all in good company. 

[Dirk]

As I said, a bunch of boys with their expensive toys 

Show us more VZBOT @TitusADuxass

[TitusADuxass]

50 minutes ago, Dirk said:

As I said, a bunch of boys with their expensive toys 

Show us more VZBOT @TitusADuxass

@Dirk unfortunately, i have a day job so progress is limited to weekends.

But, i have to do at least 2 days a week HomeOffice,  so my v2.4 is busy printing VzBot parts while I'm  doing a maintenance task analysis for a large project. 

[MrSprinklz]

17 hours ago, Dirk said:

I doubt any of the regulars here are financially constrained.

The men (and a few women) you see here, hang around here to enjoy their time. When you look around and read between the lines, most of them are ( old) men, without time-consuming-kids (anymore) at home, spending time using their intellect and creative talents to build printers and print things. 
I do not see university students hanging around here to help each other build their printers

I'm almost 30 with no kids, employed at a university (as an engineer), and married to a graduate student so definitely on a budget. Seems I'm definitely in the minority here but honestly I knew that coming in.

[TitusADuxass]

Okay, let us begin.

[mvdveer]

23 minutes ago, TitusADuxass said:

Okay, let us begin

Looking so forward to this build and your assessment at the end of it all.

[TitusADuxass]

So that's the main frame loosely assembled.  So far it's relatively straightforward. The manual is about as much use as a chocolate teapot. 

I'll strip it all down tomorrow and reassemble it with some thread locker.

I really don't like these corner joints, they're not a good fit, look naff and probably don't bring much to the party.  I'll have root through my gash box and see what I can find.

[Penatr8tor]

@TitusADuxass On their own they're not as strong as corner plates but you have to factor in that the bottom and rear sheet metal panels will dramatically increase the rigidity of the structure. The changes I did to mine were to hit them with a coat of semi-gloss black spray paint, I used button head screws with a washer underneath, and I also moved the screws as far as I could to the outside of the corner bracket. 

[TitusADuxass]

30 minutes ago, Penatr8tor said:

@TitusADuxass On their own they're not as strong as corner plates but you have to factor in that the bottom and rear sheet metal panels will dramatically increase the rigidity of the structure. The changes I did to mine were to hit them with a coat of semi-gloss black spray paint, I used button head screws with a washer underneath, and I also moved the screws as far as I could to the outside of the corner bracket. 

Washers were the first thing on my list.

Painting them black is something that I'll also do, as well spreading the screws as wide as possible. 

[Penatr8tor]

Count how many of the corners you have left. When I built the enclosure top hat, I wanted to use more of them, 3 per corner, than I had so I ended up ordering some additional ones on Amazon. They were cheap, I think something like $1 each, and they were already painted black so if you're not in a big rush... you can just order some.

[TitusADuxass]

11 hours ago, Penatr8tor said:

Count how many of the corners you have left. When I built the enclosure top hat, I wanted to use more of them, 3 per corner, than I had so I ended up ordering some additional ones on Amazon. They were cheap, I think something like $1 each, and they were already painted black so if you're not in a big rush... you can just order some.

The kit only had 6, which were all needed for the frame.

[Buurman]

On 4/26/2024 at 3:50 PM, TitusADuxass said:

The manual is about as much use as a chocolate teapot.

[TitusADuxass]

A bit more progress today.

I took it all apart again and applied some blue thread locker to the screws that go into the 4020 rails.

Then it was onto the bed frame, rods and lead screws.

I have found a better online manual on the VzBot documentation page, the pdf documents were a bad mish-mash.

It's a fun build, but relatively easy. It does take me back to when I used to do things with my hands, now I just sit in front of a screen doing maths.

No tinkering or fettling for the next few days, I'm off fishing, I'm going to see if I can drag something out the Donau (Danube).

[TitusADuxass]

Back panel rattle canned (it came out a little to glossy despite the label saying silk finish).

Cable Chain, Z motor.

@Penatr8tor these look much better. I still think they're mainly cosmetic, but it had to be done.

Button head screws (known here as Linsenkopf (lentil head) and washer add that finishing touch.

 

Edited May 2 by TitusADuxass

[TitusADuxass]

@Penatr8tor @mvdveer I'm going to fit a Cartograph Probe when it arrives. Can I fit it to the duct after I've installed the toolhead or is it best to wait?

 

[Penatr8tor]

@TitusADuxass The build is coming along nicely. A little spray paint does wonders LOL.

I don't think it matters as far as mounting the probe goes. I just think it's easier to mount it before. 

I will say this though... Pay attention to which side of the tool head the hotend wires exit and will also determine how the umbilical is routed. Myself and others have it exiting on the right side, and it's been working without issue so far.

[mvdveer]

8 hours ago, TitusADuxass said:

Can I fit it to the duct after I've installed the toolhead or is it best to wait?

Yes it can, but a bit more fiddly - the bed needs to be right down to give you the space to fit it. And as above - wire from hotend exit on the right.

[Dirk]

12 hours ago, TitusADuxass said:

Cable Chain, Z motor.

No idea what you are all summing up...but I think this already looks like it is a vz bot

good job. Now electricity motors, lights, panels and go

 

About the cartographer, I know of some vzbot users that have a very noisy x beam that gives a lot of troubles with meshing, but also later with input shaping and artefacts on prints.

Does the Mellow kit dupply this carriage that is so sturdy that 2m/s acceleration doesn't even shake it?

I believe this one also is able to hold the cartographer probe and it's usb cable.

 

 

 

 

[TitusADuxass]

3 hours ago, Dirk said:

No idea what you are all summing up...but I think this already looks like it is a vz bot

good job. Now electricity motors, lights, panels and go

About the cartographer, I know of some vzbot users that have a very noisy x beam that gives a lot of troubles with meshing, but also later with input shaping and artefacts on prints.

Does the Mellow kit dupply this carriage that is so sturdy that 2m/s acceleration doesn't even shake it?

I believe this one also is able to hold the cartographer probe and it's usb cable.

 

Yes the Mellow kit has this carriage.