RatRig V-Core 3.1-300 Upgrade

[Penatr8tor]

Time to rip apart yet another printer while I wait for parts for the other printer I recently ripped apart. 

After building a VzBot with CNC'd X-Beam and also adding one to my Voron 2.4... I figured... One for my RatRig would be cool and I wonder if maybe there are other CNC'd parts and well as luck would have it... they also exist. Ahhhhhh the joy of capitalism. Once again, the mere thought of procuring some high precision robot crafted bits of aluminum for a discount price with free shipping has gotten my DIY blood running wild thru my veins.

Plus, I'm bored so why not. 

So, here's where it begins. My faithful old V-Core 3.1-300, bone stock with extruded x-beam and printed ends. I really like the white/black/grey ala Stormtrooper color scheme, but the Polymaker white ASA gave me nothing but trouble. Even after 24 hours in my Eibos dryer did little to curb the excessive shrink this material exhibits... I also have had an issue with VFA on my prints stemming from what I believe to be tightness in the Y axis that I wasn't able to fully remove when I built the printer. Hopefully this new x-beam assembly will help. It has been a solid performer though, in spite of my complaining.

 

Here are the CNC parts. They consist of the x-beam, the two end pieces and two 4mm thick CF plates. The end pieces also came with bearings, spacers and fasteners.

 

There is literally no documentation on how these parts fit together, zip, zilch, nada... It was a bit of a puzzle, but it was fun, and in the end, it went together better than I first expected.

I probably could have fished some nuts into the inside of the x-beam but I thought it would make life a ton easier if I just designed and printed a plug with threaded inserts and yes... those are M5 inserts (a little overkill if you ask me but whatever).

 

Here I have the plugs in and it's temporarily held in place with an M5 flathead. Once again I ordered some screws from Amazon that was same day shipping if I bought 25$ worth of crap so I buy a couple things for the house and low and behold... everything makes it to my house in one day except for the thing I needed. Life has a way of reminding you that you're not as in control as you think you are. 

 

[Penatr8tor]

Oh... you thought I was only adding CNC parts. Not so fast my friends. We bought other stuff. 

A box... From RatRig Hmmmm.

 

Inside are all the things I need to build a new RatRig Toolhead V1.0. it's actually something like the 4th toolhead they've designed but some marketing genius must have thought V1.0 was cool. Me... I think it's dumb. 

So inside we have, a CNC'd aluminum top plate, 3d printed PETG toolhead parts and a bunch of hardware. These parts make up the 3.1 upgrade kit they sell. The toolhead is designed to use an Orbiter 2 extruder and a Rapido 2+ UHF hotend. So, while I was on the page... I also picked up the hotend, extruder and fans.

 

One of the reasons I wanted to upgrade wasn't just the toolhead, it was that they released RatOS 2.0 (probably a different marketing guy came up with that name ). One of the big features of RatOS 2.0 is that it will setup all of the firmware automatically. A bold claim I know but, I have installed the old RatOS on two printers and it was by far the best firmware install experience so far. Of course, you have to play by the rules and that is... Do not deviate from the devices that RatRig supports. You do and things probably won't work and also why my printer is bone stock config. Now among the devices that they support are Beacon H with ADXL input shaping and Beacon Contact and CANBUS. Plug and play CANBUS... Is that even a thing? We will see.  So I bought a Beacon H and I bought their recommended CANBUS board from them, the beacon you have to buy from beacon. 

Toolhead is coming, stay tuned.

 

 

[mvdveer]

Now this will be interesting - something good to come!

[Penatr8tor]

8 hours ago, mvdveer said:

Now this will be interesting - something good to come!

Yes...

And sooner than you think 

[claudermilk]

8 hours ago, Penatr8tor said:

Plug and play CANBUS... Is that even a thing? We will see.  

[Penatr8tor]

@claudermilk Hahaha Yup... We will see. I will give you a view into what RatRig is doing and like a lot of their stuff... it's not hooked up like you would think it would be.

So, take a look at how the CANBUS board is connected to the Pi. Normally you would run 4 leads from the white connector on top 12-24V, Ground, High and Low to a CAN to USB board then to the Pi via USB but, that's not what RR is doing... they're using the USB port on the board for CAN high and low and connecting straight to a USB on the Pi eliminating the CAN to USB board and the power is run separately via the white CAN connector directly to the PSU. I think this is how they're able to automate the setup process. They can flash and run the board without any cable swapping going on.

 

[Penatr8tor]

 

OK... On to the toolhead.

The first thing I learned was...

Yes, there is a cool new toolhead for the RatRig and...

Yes, it supports CAN and Beacon probe and...

Yes, it will work with a V-Core 3.1 and...

No, the version with Beacon support only works for the V-Core 4.

Then depression set in. 

No worries, I have CAD. 

The issue I ran into was that the V-Core 4 has the belts fixed to the toolhead with tension adjuster at the motors whereas the V-Core 3.1 has the belt tensioner in the toolhead and the motors are rigidly attached to the frame.

Below is the rear component of the toolhead for the V-Core 3.1. Right below the zip-tie slot is a square hole with two chamfers and below that is a counterbored hole. The are two rectangular blocks that fit into the hole and an M4 screw pulls the belt tight. One for the upper belt and on the opposite side one below for the lower belt.

The problem I ran into was with the horns. The horns for the Beacon didn't fit the above part... They fit this part, below and that part didn't have the square adjuster holes. Instead they turned the adjuster hole into a belt clamp. Note the ramped gripper inside the hole.

In addition, there's a channel in the bottom to clear the Beacon connector and cable.

So, in Fusion, I inserted the 3.1 part into the 4.0 part and aligned them on top of each other. I then created a few features to block the holes on the 4.0 and recreate the ones from the 3.1 in the 4.0 part. The result is below.

And here are some pictures of the printed and assembled toolhead.

Still need to tidy up wires and waiting on some screws but I should be mounting everything on the printer later this week.

Stay tuned for more exciting developments. 

 

 

 

[Penatr8tor]

@mvdveer Just in case you or anyone else decides to upgrade their RatRig toolhead, I've upload the STL's that work with a V-Core 3.1 or V-Minion.

RR_Toolhead_V1.0_VC3.1_Back_Beacon-H.stl

RR_Toolhead_V1.0_VC3.1_Duct_Beacon-H.stl

and a STEP file of my edits if you want to add any of your own mods.

RR_Toolhead_V1.0_VC3.1_Beacon-H v2.step

 

Cheers! 

[Penatr8tor]

@mvdveer I just noticed that I didn't mention anything about the other printed parts of the toolhead. Apart from the Duct and Back parts, everything else remains unchanged. You can get them here.

[Penatr8tor]

Now the real tearing apart begins...

The Old RatRig V-Core is on the table and under the knife. 

I've removed the old toolhead and x-beam assembly along with the MGN12 rail.

While I have them both in hand... I took a trip over to my metrology lab aka the kitchen to weigh these up and to see just how weight all of this ELS (Expensive Lightweight Sh!t) is saving me.

First up is the old x-beam assembly. Weight = 419g

 

Now for the new x-beam assembly... Weight = 259g

419-259=160

So, a savings of 160g

Not bad ~38% weight savings on the x-beam assembly alone. Actually, I'm surprised it was that much, thought it would be closer to the same weight.

We'll see how the toolheads do. The new one has an aluminum top plate and I've added a Beacon and CAN board this time so it might even come out a bit heavier.

We will see.

[Penatr8tor]

OK, Lets see how the toolhead compare...

The old toolhead clocks in at 379g

 

The new toolhead is a little heavier at 411g. So, if you do the RatRig Toolhead V1.0 upgrade you will be slinging around an extra 30g.

If we do the math... you end up with a weight gain of ~8%

Bringing the total weight loss to ~30%. We also get a weight savings of 130g on the Y axis but have a weight increase of 30g on the X axis.

 

[Penatr8tor]

Just a progress update for today.

X-Beam assembly went in super easy. Basically 4 M3's per side that screw into the rail carriage from the underside. Everything is loose for now. Motion is super smooth at this point. Much smoother than what I had with the original x-beam so fingers crossed this helps with the VFA issue I was experiencing.

 

The bottom portion of the toolhead is now installed. Still need to attach the extruder and CAN board but belts first as the toolhead upgrade kit also came with new GT2 9mm Gates belts. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with the belts that came with the V-Core kit when I built it but, after a bit of digging I found that people had complained about the low quality and stretchiness of the no name belts the kit came with so, I'm figuring this is the reason for adding it to the upgrade kit.

 

And a look at the rear electronics bay. The wires routing is in a much better state than my Voron was, but I still had a big bundle of stepper motor wires hanging on the back that I will now shorten with my newly acquired crimping skills. I'm also going to run out of USB ports on the Pi. Three of the four ports are being used for printer stuff, CAN, Controller and Beacon, which only leaves me one port left. Since my Klipperscreen is connected via HDMI, I also need to have a USB run to it for touch screen functionality. And I also need a USB for the web cam I have so I guess I'm shopping for a Pi USB hub today.

 

 

[PFarm]

Nice upgrade! I love the idea that the electronic bay on the RatRig is at the rear, makes access to it a lot easier.

Edited July 12 by PFarm

[Penatr8tor]

9 hours ago, PFarm said:

Nice upgrade! I love the idea that the electronic bay on the RatRig is at the rear, makes access to it a lot easier.

And the AB steppers are not in the heated enclosure. Pretty cool design.

 

[Penatr8tor]

Spent last night running new belts. I think I found the source of my VFA artifacts on my prints.

This is what I'm talking about. Both printers have been setup to the best of my ability with input shaping, etc. Purple is from my VzBot and red is from the RatRig V-Core.

 

And this is what I found when I pulled the B motor.

 

Here's the belt. Not good. Obviously, some misalignment going on.

 

There are only two places where the vertical height of the pulleys can be adjusted, the A and B motors so, I rigged up a topless AB motor setup temporarily so that I can adjust the height of the motor pulleys with the belts in place and lightly tensioned.

Right and left sides are below.

 

 

 

[Penatr8tor]

Pulleys and belts adjusted.

Toolhead installed and CAN board wired to all essential components.

I need to design and print a new Y endstop bracket as the old one no longer has a contact point, i.e. the CNC part is hollow where the printed part was a solid surface. After that I will clean up the electronics bay wiring and then run the umbilical. Sadly, it will still be a multitude of cables.

Umbilical wires will consist of:

2 leads for 24V and Gnd,

USB for CAN high and low,

2 leads 12v and Gnd for the 4028 part cooling fan (Fan is 4 wire, V+/G to Octopus, PWM to CAN PCB and Tach is N/C.

And lastly USB for Beacon H.

So still a pretty good bundle of wires/cables and I think you'll agree it's a nicely designed toolhead with good zip-tie locations making for a very clean install.

[Penatr8tor]

OK... It's been a journey. Isn't it always though. 

Here's the electronics bay. Everything is wired up except for running a USB for the webcam and screwing on the MCU fans. Much cleaner than before.

And with the fans installed.

Here's a view from above. Techflex over the umbilical wires and everything routed and secured. I found some grey zipties in my stash that match the toolhead pretty well.

 

Printer front

And the final burning question... Does it print? Of course, just not that good                                 Yet 

1st print

I also ran the belt tension macro. I think I got pretty close for just going by feel. My finger calibration must still be pretty good.

And my input shaper results. Bear in mind that this is the first test with ant optimization using touchy feely belt tension.

[Penatr8tor]

The RatOS 2.1 Dashboard

[Penatr8tor]

So now the fun is beginning.

Check this out... This is a vid of my PC screen and I'm running RAT Realtime Analysis Tool from mainsail. I'm printing a Calicat and I'm getting realtime resonance data onscreen. Crazy...

 

[mvdveer]

21 minutes ago, Penatr8tor said:

Check this out...

Impressive - Enough reason to switch to RatOs on other printers? I only have a V-minion as you know running RatOs and love it. Awaiting the RatRig V-Core 4 end of the year. 

May be a project on one of the other printers if you think it is viable.

[Penatr8tor]

19 minutes ago, mvdveer said:

May be a project on one of the other printers if you think it is viable.

Installing and setting the printer up is impressive enough to just run the new RatOS 2.1 to see how it works. Even on a V-Minion with a pinda probe and no ADXL. It's worth the experience and it makes things easy to add/change. 

I will upgrade mine after I get my Voron done.

BTW... I've been printing and optimizing the printer today, it's running really smooth and quiet, fans are noisy but fans are noisy so there's that. Anyway, I'm feeling good about the upgrade and you're right about the Beacon H, awesome device... Contact is soooo good. And the RatOS has adaptive scan. Once homed and up to temp, it does a contact average of 3 taps, and since I've been printing Voron cube sized stuff the scan is this quick little Z shape. Parks the head in the back and heats up the nozzle, I think the old Rapido was a bit faster, then you're off to the races. Really impressive.

[mvdveer]

2 minutes ago, Penatr8tor said:

Beacon H, awesome device... Contact is soooo good.

I think so - love it and just knew you would.

Will add RatOS conversion to my TO-DO list - getting very long. (I have to fit the CNC Z-Kit to my VZBot and the AB Motors and XY-joint CNC to the Voron 300 - this may be the time to see if Voron will play nicely with RatOS.  

Currently building a shed to house the Casa and Milo 1.5. Did NOT realise how big that thing is. (Enclosure dimensions L: 1.2m W:0.9m H 0.9m (4 ft x 3ft x 3ft). Cannot get it through the door of my basement - even disassembled.  

Love your work though!

[Penatr8tor]

32 minutes ago, mvdveer said:

this may be the time to see if Voron will play nicely with RatOS.

That's pretty gutzy  Actually, if you use a new SD card then it's only a couple hours of farting around and it's pretty easy to go back if there's not hardware changes. Might be best to try it on the printer as is and if you don't run into an impasse... then swap out whatever hardware. 

I extremely happy with how it worked out. I'd like to say that it was a pain because I really got stuck on a few things, had a faulty wire going from the Octopus always on 12v fan port to the part fan. It a 4 wire 4028 server fan. I couldn't get it to work and then I went back with the tester and you find stuff. There were some things I had to search and learn and figure out so I can't blame the RatOS folks. I guess it's like building a Voron or a VzBot... once you've built one... you've learned how to avoid most of the pitfalls. 

And here's the little Calicat. From Left to Right, Vzbot, RatRig before, RatRig after. and that polymaker silk PLA shows every flaw.

For the 4th print, I'm calling that a win.

[Penatr8tor]

After ~24 hours of print time, I can confirm the build as a success. 

A wifi problem surfaced where part way thru a print, I wasn't able to access Mainsail from any browser it would just hang at the initializing mainsail prompt. It got to the point last night where I just shut everything down and turned in for the night.

This morning, I powered up the printer and Mainsail came up. I printed a benchy and about halfway thru, same issue.  Of course I've already lived with this Pi4B since 2018 and it's always been flakey. I used that Pi on my old Tevo Tornado running Octoprint and it was flakey and the same with the old RatOS 1.0 it would hang on occasion. When Pi's started to become available... I bought a few extras so... Installed a brand new Pi4B 4gig. So far, it's running smoothly. As for the old Pi... I did a little research and looked up the memory chip on it, turns out it's a 16GB chip and I remember seeing a warning when flashing RatOS 2.1 where it stated that it's built on rpi32 b/c of some 64bit issues and even if you have a high memory Pi it's 32 bit.

In conclusion, I think the flakiness that I've experienced is more memory related than WIFI related. So, a note to any RatOS installers out there... a 4GB Pi4B is the ticket. 

We will see how this new Pi performs and one thing I'm extremely happy about is that all I had to do was unplug everything, swap out cards, plug stuff back in and Bob's your uncle.

 

[Penatr8tor]

The new Pi4B is working great! No issues so far. Last night I decided to print one of those lithophane moon prints.

Looking really good IMO. 10hr 45min print.