So early in assembly and testing I had retraction issues that required unscrewing 34 bolts at minimum to access anything in an arm. It was inevitable I would strip the allen head on one of those little bolts. Is there a good way to handle that? I was able to work around the worst bolts but I fear the next time I have to go back and fix anything.
If they’re problematic i’ve just been replacing them as I undo them with 1 of the 100 odd spares included in the bag.
I had this happen on 3 of the four belt end parts where these little bolts cammed out and I can’t get them off to trim down the belts and re-attach.
I have not tried this here, because I’m just going to print them on my 3d printer and cut off the old ones, but I have had some luck in other situations like this taking a thin rubber band and using it between the driver and the bolt to gain grip enough to get the bolt started.
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For sure, I’ve done the same… when I can undo them. Its the ones I can’t undo that I’m asking about.
The rubber band trick that @ronlawrence3 mentioned often works.
The allen wrench you are using may be rounded over itself - if so you should replace it with a good quality allen wrench or driver.
A screw extractor if it is the right size will often fit in the damaged screw and let you turn it out.
If you have a full set of metric and inch size allen wrenches sometimes the next size up, crossing over between inch and metric, will often fit. Is this a 2mm allen? A 3/32" may fit.
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I think my screw extractor was too large. I ended up drilling out the bolt head before I could get enough purchase to extract it.
If you can’t get them out with the allen. a #2 Triangle bit works great for removing them.
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that is a great hint! I have a couple that are rounded off, and sure maybe my allen key might also be a bit worn, but it’s a nice german one that grabs most things fine. Also some of them slip with a brand new key. It’s really easy to strip these little guys.