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ORD Hadron Wiggle in Z Supports

PostPosted: Sat Aug 17, 2013 8:45 pm
by Fragmaster
Hello forum,

I've disassembled and reassembled my Hadron in hopes of solving this wiggling that I observe in the Z supports. Tightening all t-nut bolts doesn't eliminate the problem.

The wiggle occurs during y-axis moves and becomes especially obvious at certain frequencies of infill and gap fill. The swaying of the z supports is slight but easily visible. The sway translates into vertical movement of the nozzle which will become more pronounced at greater z heights. I can't be sure if this motion is the root cause of my non-smooth print walls or messed up top solid layers, but I thought I'd ask the community if it has a solution or can assure me these wiggles aren't a serious concern.

My biggest printing problem at the moment is the inability of my printer to make a smooth top solid infil. Holes develop and though a different filament multiplier may solve that issue I thought the wiggling might also be a contributing factor. I've dialed in my extrusion rate so that walls don squish and bottom solid infill is full without piling up on the nozzle, so I'm pretty sure the multiplier is as good as its gonna get.
Any suggestions for a solution for the top solid infill?

My Hadron is driven by a Printrboard Rev D, uses a Wade's Accessible Geared Extruder, and a Ubis 3mm Hot End with a .4mm nozzle.
I'll add some pictures to this post when I get home later.

Re: ORD Hadron Wiggle in Z Supports

PostPosted: Sun Aug 18, 2013 1:30 am
by blah_59
Since it sounds like you're dialed in tight on extrusion, in Slic3r you might play with Print Settings -> Advanced -> Top Solid Infill to see if that might work.

Re: ORD Hadron Wiggle in Z Supports

PostPosted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 5:11 pm
by Fragmaster
Ok, so I got the top solid infil to turn out nice after adding a layer to the top of the parts. It now prints four layers of solid infill on the top of parts.

The shaking is still bothering me though. I just don't get why I can't find any other discussions about the wiggling of the z supports on the interwebs. I would think that someone else had noticed this issue in the past. Maybe what I am diagnosing as z support wiggle is in fact the entire bot shaking? I'll try securing the feet to my table and post the results.

Re: ORD Hadron Wiggle in Z Supports

PostPosted: Thu Aug 22, 2013 12:15 am
by blah_59
I use these: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:58119 by inventaholic and they work great.

Re: ORD Hadron Wiggle in Z Supports

PostPosted: Thu Aug 22, 2013 4:42 pm
by Fragmaster
Thanks for the link, blah_59. Those look like a great idea. If only I had a sturdy table that I could drill into... College students are typically discouraged from defacing the dorm's furniture ;)
Maybe I could use a nice hardwood slab that's not too heavy. I could even incorporate a Plexiglas enclosure with carrying handles if I can keep it light and compact enough. I think that will be my next upgrade project.

I tried holding down the y-axis makerslide by hand and I saw a marked decrease in the wiggling that I had described. So maybe the z supports were never wiggling relative to the y-axis makerslide in the first place :roll:

Re: ORD Hadron Wiggle in Z Supports

PostPosted: Thu Aug 22, 2013 4:58 pm
by TLHarrell
Instead of using hardwood (expensive), go check out Home Depot or Lowe's for a small sheet of 3/4" MDF. A 12"x12" should work well enough as it's fairly heavy, and definitely thick enough to screw the Ord Bot feet into.