Hey folks, I'm having an issue with the Mini V gantry set I got the other day. I got a V slot rail along with the gantry kit for an upgrade to my 3d printer. However, I cannot for the life of me get the wheels to snug up to the rail. I've got the eccentrics all the way down, and there's still quite a bit of slop, visible space between the wheel and the V slot (maybe .5-.7mm). I've even tightened the wheels to the point that they won't spin, and it's still sloppy. FWIW, this isn't my first OB gantry assembly. I've got a universal gantry on another part of this printer, and the wheels snug up just fine. This one is assembled just like the other - screw, spacer, shim, wheel, shim, nut. It feels like one of the parts here is out of spec or something, but I don't really know. Any tips or things I can check to see what's going on?
How do you mean? when you tighten the bolts the wheels won't spin free? Did you forget the washer in between the bearings? if the eccentric cant get the range then the plate might be the issue, get a hold of parts store for a replacement. Pics might help us figure this out if this is not the case. Cheers Gary
There was only 1 washer per wheel kit, and I put that between the spacer/eccentric and the wheel. So, yeah, there's no washer between the wheel bearings. That's not a huge deal though, it can be tightened down to where it's secure...just not what I would consider really tight. Also, in the OB YouTube assembly video (video ID BzoYRvlqy4Y) the guy mentions not to over tighten the bolts and to make sure the wheels still spin. So I figured what I was seeing there was normal. Anyway, I've uploaded some pictures, but it's kinda hard to see the gap I'm talking about with the reflectivity of the aluminum. The first pic shows the eccentrics being set as close to the other bolts as possible. Edited to remove the inline YouTube video. Oops!
Take the washer/shim out from between the wheel and spacer/eccentric and put the washer/shim between the bearings inside the wheel.
How do I get the bearings out of the wheel? Those things are a really tight fit, and a quick try makes me think they're not coming out without damaging the wheel.
Actually it is. Without the shim the inner races of the bearings are pulled together when the screw is tightened quickly causing damage to the bearings. The shim serves as a spacer to prevent this from happening. About the only thing I can suggest is take a paper clip and straighten it out. Blend it back in half with the ends even. Take a pair of pliers and bend the last 3mm at the ends out 90 degrees (opposing each other). Flex it to where it will fit down in the bearing hole and hook it underneath the top bearing. Pull with all you've got. May work, may not but that's about all that can be done shy of cutting the wheel off them. A discussion you need to have with the parts store. There should have been two per kit.
Fair enough. I meant that the missing shim wasn’t causing the issue I was seeing, but I agree with your point. I might suggest that the YouTube instructions be updated, because there’s nothing in there about putting the shim between the bearings, and he does mention that over tightening causes the wheels to not spin. I’ll take my issue to the parts store and get it sorted out.
