Makerbot #000284 - part 3

"There is no spoon"...

Unlike 'Neo' you probably can't straighten your Z rods by sheer will. It is however very important to have straight rods. A wobble on your Z axis will cause your walls to be irregular and far from a smooth build. It most likely won't compromise integrity of the object, but it won't be as smooth as it can be.

Straightening the rods is a simple thing. Put the rod without the nuts or bearings on a flat surface - glass makes a good surface - and roll the rod around. You'll immediatly notice if there's a wobble in it. On my rods i found the exact spot of the bend by pushing one side down, and looking for the point on which it tilts. If you know where to bend it, slightly curl the rod - do it with minimal force - and repeat it untill the rod rolls flat. You could also opt to just buy a new rod.

The user 'TwoTimes' on thingiverse came up with a brilliant addon to eliminate any form of wobble (Wobble Arrester). Aside from the bushings i have all the parts prepared to add this to my bot. I'll post pictures and configuration as i go along - check the blog archive for the link.

Makerbot #000284 - part 2

"Keep your bot close, but your parts closer..."

During the build of my bot i repeatedly dropped bolts, nuts, bits and bobs everywhere. Use cups to keep your parts from falling and sorted by dimension. Eggholders are good, or the cut-outs from the plywood come in handy aswell.

When assembling the Plastruder (MK4), pay attention when you bolt the 'Heater Barrel' on to the 'Filament Drive Mechanism'. Two washers need to be used in that connection, and when you don't use them there's a chance that one of the inner parts might break in the Filament Drive Mechanism.

As soon as you get the hang of printing with your bot, a good idea is to start printing parts for a printeable head. There are several (Printruder II, Printed Extruder, Really Strong Filament Drive) that are worth having a look at.

Makerbot #000284 - part 1

I operate bot number #000284 and below you'll find some of my findings while assembling the mechanical and electronical parts.

To be honest i never had allot of problems assembling the bot, but there are some minor things to keep in mind! Things that aren't always explained or even obvious.


First things first: you're going to assemble the casing with nuts and bolts. The wood is simple plywood, and can't have allot of strain on any point. Tighten the bolts by hand and only tighten them with the hex screw by 1/4 or 1/2 turn. Wiggle the parts to asses if they're tight or need perhaps another 1/4 turn. On my bot i overtightened some of the bolts which will make it very hard to reassemble if i ever have to take it appart.

Take your time assembling everything. Mine went surprisingly fast - although i've read people building it in one or two weeks time, i spent perhaps half a day - but i have experience building machinery. So don't rush it, and don't build by low lighting.

The bot does rattle quit allot, i've seen people design feet (link) for it, but an important tweak to reduce quite allot of the rattle is by putting a tiny piece of soft material (cloth, foam - stuff like that) between the X stage rods and the square plywood piece you bolt to the side of the bot. When the X stage moves (sideways) the shafts tend to clatter against the wood and make quite a bit of noise. Just insert something thin in between to help reduce the noise, and also help keep the shafts even more firm in place.

to be continued...

intro

I'm starting this blog from my experiences as an average Makerbot Cupcake CNC user.
The initial learning curve can be very steep, and wrapping your head around the IMMENSE amount of homebrew and confirmed settings can be quite a task.

Hoping to share my findings, and compile a hands-on newbie approach to the machine.

The goal is to compile a lexicon from all the scattered stuff out there, a resource if you will with practical and USEFULL data.
My personal opinion is that there are far to much valuable settings out there that drown in between schematics and total tech stuff. New users need simple and easy to follow articles that explain the basics.

hope you find use for it,
and happy printing!

Kling3r