How much resistance is normal on Y-axis carriage?
Hello. I am in the process of building my new MK3 kit. I have just completed the Y-axis carriage. Before attaching the belt, the Y-axis carriage moves very freely, with very minimal resistance. After attaching and tensioning the belt, naturally the carriage has much more resistance to moving. My question is how much resistance is normal/acceptable? The carriage still moves, but it takes much more force now to overcome the resistance of the motor/pulley. It seems much more stiff than I expected, but this is my first 3D printer build, so I don't have much experience to go on. Any insight?
Thanks in advance.
Re: How much resistance is normal on Y-axis carriage?
It is hard to answer because the stiffness you perceive is subjective.
It should not be all that stiff, but there will be more resistance that when it was not connected to the motor. It should move freely with a little effort and the amount of resistance should remain constant through the entire front to back move. If the motor moves it without unusual noise, the belts appear to be properly aligned, and the motor does not get too hot when operating, it sounds like it should be okay.
Re: How much resistance is normal on Y-axis carriage?
Thanks, George. Yeah I realized after I posted it that it's really hard to quantify a perceived level of stiffness or resistance.
Hypothetically, if some maladjustment WAS causing the Y-axis to have too much resistance, how would I know when I put the printer into operation? Would a self test or calibration catch this? If it goes un-fixed, would I end up causing damage?
Re: How much resistance is normal on Y-axis carriage?
Self test specifically checks for this, and after running self test you can verify the belt tension under the Support menu.
Re: How much resistance is normal on Y-axis carriage?
Self test specifically checks for this, and after running self test you can verify the belt tension under the Support menu.
Cool, thx for confirming this.
Re: How much resistance is normal on Y-axis carriage?
Seems as josh mentioned the MK3 can detect this. I do not know yet as I have not yet built mine.
But, it makes sense with the new stepper drivers. As Josef mentions in the vids, the MK3 has no end stop switches like the MK2. The sudden increase in resistance at the end of an axis tells the firmware where to stop. Easy to see how this same measurement could be used to verify that the axis is moving freely enough. Interesting thoughts...