2nd Ridgid router z-axis failed

Funny enough but i’m actually in the process of cleaning up my Maslow designs and converting them to formats that i can share with the community. I was thinking about creating a forum post and linking to a github to make them easily accessible.

Circling back to your bungee. I had a hard time finding the right tension of mine too. I suspected that mine was too tight and was causing the same wear you are seeing. Not everyone has this problem so it must have been something i was doing wrong. I just couldn’t seem to lower the tension enough to stop the wear but keep enough pressure to eliminate the slop. I eventually gave up.

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i might want to pick your brain. im thinking of getting one and am interested in your experience.

@Rick and @jonatpridesleap I’ll be happy to share whatever knowledge and experience I have had with my printers. Just send me a message and I’ll do my best to answer what I can.

As far as filaments, I used this clamp by @ShadyG for the router. That I printed in PETG. I had used other pieces that I had found on Thingiverse, as well as parts that are identified in the wiki for the Me-Z (I need to see if I can find that link) that I had printed in PLA, though I had some failures with (if you read the entire thread that I linked for the clamp, you can see my posts and the failures I had). The first time I had a failure, I did use the wrong size threaded inserts that helped to cause bulging and separation along the layer lines. The next failure, I had the right inserts, but I believe I over torqued them, and again, had separation at the layer lines. So key here is to have tension parallel to the layer lines, not perpendicular (there could have been other issues like the number of walls/shells, and other printing techniques I had not learned yet). Most here will tell you that for strength, you need to print in ABS, but that can be tricky as ABS is very temperature sensitive.

As far as printing in general, PLA is the easiest to print with (and is usually what most people use. There is a lot of info out on the inter-webs that will compare and contrast everything and what is best for what. But for most of them, after printing, they can be sensitive to heat exposure unless you do some sort of post processing with them (resin coating, painting, etc.). The clamp I did has been holding up pretty good, so I can’t complain there. Here is a pic of something else that I have printed and finished in PLA:


Again, hit me up if you have any further questions.

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Nice helmet!! The surface finish quality is quite amazing.

I have an ender 3 and I have printed with PETG primarily because of the strength issue with PLA and if I don’t use the filament quickly, the humidity tends to be a huge factor here for stringyness and bubbling. Last I used it, it was struggling with filament leaking around the hot end, so it has been off for about 6 months. It may be time for a revival.

WRT sled design, the one thing I accidentally did right on that wooden sled was the vacuum port connection being normal to the sled base (sticking straight up from the base). I used a hole saw and an oval 2x6 to allow 2.5" vacuum tube to connect. I have found that most sleds have the vacuum hose at a 90 degree angle and the hose hangs down to the floor. When the sled gets to the bottom of the frame, as it slides sideways for a horizontal cut, it can twist to the limit of the ring and bind so the bit lifts upward on the workpiece creating a wave or notch in your cut line if the vacuum hose is too stiff. Having the vacuum port sticking out from the sled rather than down will minimize that. I need to fix the one I am using because it binds. This is another reason for having the frame be higher than 12" from the floor so the dust collection hose doesn’t drag needlessly.

Thanks…there was a lot of trial and error in the finishing/painting to get it there. I ended up using a clear coat for car wheels, then wet sanded it from 250-2000 grit, then rubbing compound to make it shine. I then used a graphite rub to give it the metallic sheen.

I am with you on this. I need to finish the skirting, but I have my wall mounted frame completed that gives me an 11/5" skirt at the bottom, but also an additional amount of empty space (I haven’t measured that) so there is no interference at the bottom.

Yes, very much a problem when the sled is low. I split the angular difference by using a 45 degree pvc elbow out of the vac port of the sled. It didn’t completly eliminate the proplem but it was enough. The best solution would be to raise the height of my entire frame but I don’t have the headroom since it’s in my basement.

… and I’m going to pick your brain as well. Do you have a link for the “official” Creality website? All I seem to get is the one for the reseller.

Yeah, that would be better than what I did.

I admittedly have no need for such a thing but that’s not going to stop me form admiring it… WOW. When I think of what someting like that would have taken to make in the pre- 3d printer days…

If you go to Creality’s actual page, they will want you to talk to a consultant first, but waaaaay down at the bottom, they had a link to the official online store which is the link provided above. YOu can also find them on the Amazons. Creality also has a few vendors they sell through. Comgrow and SainSmart are the 2 most popular I know of. My original E3 is a Saminsmart, and I can’t remember who we got the E3Max from. I think it was also SainSmart, but the wife got it through a Woot deal, so I am not 100%.

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How are your fiberglass skills? that is mainly how they did it back then, and the finishing process probably would have been similar. I was also using rattle-can paint. I know now-a-days, there is a lot of airbrush work that makes this a little easier, and back in the day, I am sure they had them around, it just wasn’t as easy (or cost effective) for the rest of us minions to get our hands on.

I was thinking it would either have to be fiberglass or vacu-forming over forms. There weren’t many compositing techniques available to the hobbyist. Model-makers for sure.

I never really got into the whole 3d printer thing becasue I come from a machining background. I just didn’t have an interest in it. I have been way more into the CNC router side of things and Maslow has opened my eyes to the 3d printer processes and their utility though.

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Thank you very much !

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I kind of started both at the same time, and I have seen the way they can work together. Because of that, I also found the MPCNC from V1 Engineering. Don’t get me wrong, I really like the Maslow and the capabilities that I get with it, but there are a few things that I think a benchtop CNC machine can provide that the Maslow is more limited on (mainly the 2.5/3D relief carves. I’ve been lurking on their forum pages, and (in line with part of this topic thread) they have a pretty good discussion on what type of filament to use in the build of the MPCNC (Mostly Printed CNC). The highest recommendation is to print it in PLA. Carbon Fiber infused filament would ultimately be the best, but the designer of the MPCNC (as well as his Low Rider), and those that have been making the machines state that through various testing) hands down, PLA is just as strong if not stronger than ABS or PETG. I know scientifically there is info to state otherwise, but that is their conclusion and it has lasted through numerous machines that have been built and documented. I really think it will boil down to personal preference, as well as a bit of trial and error, as well as the intended use for what ever is being printed. As I stated, the failures I have had with printed parts I have used on the Met-Z, were more form user error, as well as the printing process and how physical forces affect the print during use.

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Whew, because when I ordered that printer, I ordered 4 rolls of PLA.

I was gonna start cutting pieces today via bandsaw for the MetZ, but only have a inkjet printer, so the 8.5 X 11 is my best bet with 1:1 template. Unfortunately only the clamp is 1:1 on 8.5 X 11 paper…lol so I am just gonna wait and cut it with the maslow. -19 below here this morning.

Rick

19 below here this morning

I was at -15, where are you?

Hayward, WI…where you at?

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Even when my original Ridgid Z-axis was brand new, it was unacceptably sloppy. Sure, try the bungee/tension approach, but I think you’ll be a lot happier if you build or buy a double lead-screw gantry. I’m very happy with mine. If you can’t afford the upgrade, I’d suggest always keeping the Ridgid “Z mechanism” clean and lightly lubricated, and making sure the G-code always approaches each new Z position from the same direction (i.e. retract before plunge) to avoid gear backlash, etc.

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are your templates in pdf? you may have the option to span your print ofver several pages and then tape them together to get the full size print. Most CADprograms will let you do this as well.

An option is to take the PDF’s to a UPS store or Kinko’s to get them printed on larger formats.

An alternative is to use this:
https://woodgears.ca/bigprint/

He has a free evaluation copy available for download. I also highly recommend his gear generator program for when you get your Maslow up and running. I normaly don’t like to throw money at minor problems but Matthias Wanddel can take my money for all the entertainment he has given me over the last six years.

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For our metric overlords this is -28C and -26C respectively.

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.dxf looks like autocad…all the pdf files I see are for the dust collection…

regardless…that is just too dang cold!!! We were at 30 this morning (-1C for you Jon!)