X axis rattling and bearing alignment
Hi guys,
Just printing my first print after some test prints. Note: this is my first ever 3d printer. Got it as a kit.
Calibration was perfectly perpendiculair. Test print came out fine. Now I'm printing a spool holder to hold the spool next to the printer instead of on top of it.
Couple hours into the print the x axis makes noise at certain speeds. It's a slight tapping noise almost rattling. I can even see the whole extruder assembly jitter up and down a tiny bit. It doesn't matter if it moves left or right.
I can see it comes from the bearings or the rods. The X axis rods have draglines on them, can't call them scratches just yet.
I tried a bit of lithium grease on the rods, doesn't help.
Then I remembered that on the Y axes the 2 bearings on the left had to be aligned in a certain way. The bearings on the inside had to line up.
I did not do this with the X axis bearings. Common sense (now) tells me I should've. Am I right?
Re: X axis rattling and bearing alignment
Not sure this is the exact problem, but let's just say it wouldn't hurt having them aligned (so gravity is perpendicular on one line inside the bearing). How easy/hard is it to move the extruder from the left to the right when the printer is off (or the steppers disabled)? Did you ensure the pulley is a bit away from the stepper's front? Is the belt bearing free to move or did you squeeze it? Did you ensure the X axis belt can't rub or get stuck somewhere (one end has to be completely hidden)?
Re: X axis rattling and bearing alignment
I aligned the top bearings in de X axis and it is better now.
I also noticed the belt on the right side of the X axis is touching the side of the roller. Will adjust the belt a bit so it kan move more freely.
Just thought of something else. The tapping might also be the teeth on the belt rubbing on the side of the roller. I'll get into that later this weekend.
I managed to calibrate the extruder with Mattercontrol (thanks to 3DNoob YouTube page). Such an easy to use software.
Now when I ask the printer to extrude 100mm of filament (PLA) is extrudes just that. Is was of to 96mm at first.
I printed a cilinder 105mm tall and came out 105.25mm tall. So I recon that's quite impressive. That's like 0.2 % off over 100mm. I'll take it!
Re: X axis rattling and bearing alignment
Try printing another cylinder, e.g. 52.5mm. If it's once again 0.25mm off, you might want to try to adjust your z offset a bit. 🙂