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Jason Tibbitts
(@jason-tibbitts)
Active Member
Spun nut

I'm trying to assemble an old Mk3 kit plus a MMU2S upgrade, though my issue is kind of general.  I'm on that step where you mate the extruder to the X-carriage (with the two screws that sort of go behind the extruder).  While checking that nothing was binding, I realized that somehow I managed to spin one of the nuts in the extruder body that anchors one of the 40mm bolts which holds together the two halves of the extruder.  I think I may have initially had a crossthreading that I fixed, but that put too much stress on the plastic.

So I can assemble the part but if I try to tighten down, it just spins instead of letting me tighten it properly.  And the nut is set pretty deeply down in the part; I tried to get it to "bite" by using a battery powered screwdriver but that just heated up the plastic and let the nut bed in a bit more without actually binding it.

Any ideas how I might save this without ordering another part?

Posted : 01/05/2019 7:13 pm
vintagepc
(@vintagepc)
Member
RE: Spun nut

If you don't particularly care about getting the nut back out in the future (hex nuts are easy to find, the square ones a lot harder outside of Europe)... superglue, or melt it in more by heating it with a soldering iron? Even if it doesn't adhere to the PETG, it should act as a filler and at least stop it spinning enough that you can get far enough to print a new one yourself.

Posted : 01/05/2019 7:27 pm
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(@)
Illustrious Member
RE: Spun nut

I used rubber cement to help hold the nuts in place while assembling.  But if you are already at that place where the nut is buried - something less viscous would be better. Keep the screw in place, but loosened a bit, and try dabbing finger nail polish or an enamel paint into the slot. Let it dry and try again.

Posted : 01/05/2019 9:17 pm
Andybx
(@andybx)
Eminent Member
RE: Spun nut

I had exactly the same issue with a new mk3s kit so contacted support who are sending a replacement part.

 

Posted : 03/05/2019 10:29 am
Jason Tibbitts
(@jason-tibbitts)
Active Member
Topic starter answered:
RE: Spun nut

So in the end I figured out that I could use a shorter screw and slowly tighten things down quite a bit so that the nut bedded in.  Then I gently loosened the screw and by some miracle the nut stayed in place.  I quickly assembled the part and went on.  It doesn't appear that anything was improper afterwards.  If I have to disassemble the extruder in the future (which I'm sure I will) then I'll have to hope that the nut doesn't spin again, but by that point I should have been able to figure out PETG and print a spare set of parts.

Posted : 03/05/2019 7:32 pm
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