I kind of suspected something like this. Thanks so much!

 

Is the control box fan intended to be blowing air into or out of the control box?

 

Great design, got parts ordered and printing plastic. Question - for the lead screws, can I use Diameter: 8mm, Pitch: 2mm?

 

Witbot T8 500mm Stainless Steel Lead Screw+Copper Nut+Coupling Shaft+Mounted Ball Bearing Block Set for 3D Printer Parts Witbot T8 500mm Stainless Steel Lead Screw+Copper Nut+Coupling Shaft+Mounted Ball Bearing Block Set for 3D Printer Parts: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

Had that set from Amazon/Witbot. Also have a set from the other TrueUP BOM from Tacoma Screw -M8 (5/16")-1.25 x 1 m Metric Threaded Rod — Type A2 Stainless Steel, Coarse. Am I better off going with one or the other? Thank you by the way

 

I am going to be decommissioning my CoreXY printer and was planning on using the V-Slot for this. However, this printer mainly uses 20x20 but my CoreXY used 20x40. I have done a mock-up of the frame using 20x40 v-slot, placing the extra 20mm on the outside of the frame. I know because of this, a lot of the parts will need to be redesigned, but that shouldn't be too big of a problem. I'm posting a picture of the mock-up for everyone to laugh at.

I will be using a Duet 0.8.5 for the controller and a silicon heater for the bed. The bed is 305x305 and the height is the same as the standard TrueUp.

Anyone see any issues with this?

 

Thanks for that suggestion. Will add some of those to my order.

 

Witbot rods returned without any issue, Tacoma rods arrive tomorrow. Printing the extruder parts from the glide BOM tonight, noticed all parts but the knurled knob are raised up above the bed - is there a reason for the stl being laid out like this? I dropped them all down and made a new stl to get them to print without supports.

 

I was noticing that the BOM only lists a generic 8mm threaded road from the hardware store. Did you not include the Tacoma screw source for a reason?

 

Okay. Might want to add the link anyways just to help in case someone can't find it locally.

 

I'd like to share this repository which represents my build of this printer:
GitHub - loglow/TrueUp-Glide-Mod

I'll keep updating it as things continue to progress.

 

On my build, I have gotten all the extrusions cut and have put the basic frame together. I mounted the bed today and found that when I slide the bed to the rear, it tips over because there is more weight in back than front. I know when you add the power supply and the controller, it will add some weight, but does it add enough to compensate for when the bed is all the way in the rear? I won't be using as big of a power supply you did so I'm thinking I might end up with some issues here.

 

So far the added weight of the PSU has been enough for me, but I'm using the recommended size supply. Keep in mind there's also the control box and the associated electronics up front as well.

 

I wanted to share a detail that I encountered. The MKS Gen v1.4 often comes with one of its two power screw-terminal blocks missing. Mine did. And the vast majority of photos of the board in product listings are also missing the second terminal block. See attached image for an illustration of what I'm talking about. In fact, I could only find one listing (out of hundreds) that showed the second block populated (4 layers PCB controller board MKS Gen V1.4 integrated mainboard compatible Ramps1.4/Mega2560 R3 support a4988/DRV8-in 3D Printer Parts & Accessories from Computer & Office on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group).

Things might be fine with only one set of power inputs from the PSU. I don't know, and I haven't tested it. But Keith's assembly guide describes two sets of power cables going into two sets of terminal blocks, presumably to accommodate the necessary current. You could solder wires to the board directly, or you could install a second block, which is what I felt like doing. The spacing is tight, it's designed for a matching terminal to interlock with the one next to it, so you'd either have to remove the existing one and install a new 4-position 5 mm block, or find a compatible 2-position block.

So, if you want to install a second terminal block on your board, I did find one on Digi-Key that is compatible. It's not exactly the same, probably because it's not made by the same manufacturer, but it's extremely close to the original, so much so that it even mates correctly with the two little existing interlocking grooves. Here it is for 92 cents: https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/OSTVJ020152/ED2755-ND

 

Do you get the stainless steel, zinc, or A193 B7. from Tacoma? is there a benefit to any and do all perform the same as far as nylon/abs compatibility goes?

 

Have you done any testing with PETG? I have never printed it before but just ordered some to try out. Seems like a good meld of ABS and PLA. I wonder how it would hold up threading M8 for the glide bodies..

 

The glide is moving along - really enjoying this build. Looking forward to seeing how it prints. Cutting the Tacoma rod tomorrow, see how far I get with it this weekend. May need to redo the build plate, hand drill may not have been accurate enough in drilling the 5 and 7 mm holes for the solid v-slot wheels. Seems solid in front to back movement but if I mangle it I get some slop. Got the eccentric spacers maxed out.

 

Here are a few early questions I have regarding the firmware:

Why is the following defined:
#define MOTHERBOARD BOARD_RAMPS_13_EEB //****Don't change this
When this build uses a RAMPS 1.4 board with one extruder?

Also, why is DEFAULT_AXIS_STEPS_PER_UNIT defined with the values 99,99,1600 and not 100,100,3200?

Finally, I decided to try a quick test of the latest Marlin release candidate (1.1.0-RC8) but receive an error & disconnect whenever the hotend is instructed to heat up. Is there a particular reason to be using an older Marlin release (1.1.0-RC3) from several years ago? The newer release has some nice features like minimum Z homing height, extruder parking location, nozzle cleaning routines, etc.

I did just successfully (sort of) run the first print (the calibration object) on my finished build! Bed adherence was poor so it lifted off after about 4 layers, but hey, it's a start, and it proves that all the motors, the endstops, the heaters and temp sensors, and extruder & hotend are all basically doing what they're supposed to do.

So, next steps are looking into adjusting print bed offset (the print was much too far forward on the bed), Z0 & bed temp re: warping/adhesion, and tweaking the firmware settings...

Have a nice night

 

I'm getting tired of waiting for these nylon nuts to show up so looking at switching to the ACME rods I have. I have 40 tooth 8mm bored pulleys and found a 20 tooth 5mm one for the motor. 2:1 so should be the same thing. Have to redesign the glides now.

 

Just wanted to confirm that the nuts in this listing (Metric Black Nylon Hexagonal/Hex Nut, M2 M2.5 M3 M4 M5 M6 M8 M10 M12..... | eBay) ARE in fact coarse (1.25 pitch) thread. They took a while to arrive, but they were indeed the correct parts.

 

I'm going to reply to my earlier post here, for the benefit of anyone else who might be interested

I successfully got he latest Marlin release (1.1.0-RC8) working. I'm still not sure why Keith decided to use the BOARD_RAMPS_13_EEB setting with the MKS Gen V1.4 board. The newer Marlin release does some fancier auto-checking to determine the EEB/EEF/EFB (etc.) wiring (see "Augmentation for auto-assigning RAMPS plugs" in pins_RAMPS.h) which is why the newer version still wasn't working even with the original motherboard setting. Anyway, I set the board to BOARD_RAMPS_14_EFB and rewired the control box to match up with the MKS Gen V1.4 spec, which is (from top to bottom):

• D7 = E1 (not used)
• D10 = E0 (extruder)
• D9 = FAN (print fan)
• D8 = HEAT BED

Coincidentally (or not) this also matches the markings on the PCB. This got everything working fine with the latest Marlin. My configuration file is here (customized Marlin configuration file · loglow/TrueUp-Glide-Mod@85b6a07 · GitHub) and I committed the default one first so that all the customizations are easy to see with diff highlighting.

Anyway, I have to say, this build is just awesome. My first full print came out better than anything that I ever "successfully" printed with the little M3D Micro that a friend lent me, even after months of tweaking the calibration, settings, and build surface. All I have left to do now is fine-tune all the calibration and settings stuff (temps, speeds, slicing, etc.) in order to get perfect prints. Below are some photos of the finished build and of the control box wiring.

Thanks Keith!

 

I'm considering buying the kit for this printer for use in a dorm at college. I was curious how noisy the machine is while running. If I buy it I already plan on changing the stepper drivers for the TMC2100 SilentStepSticks and making a ventilated enclosure to place around the machine, but I don't know how loud the linear motion is.

Also, how how do you connect an LCD display/SD card to this machine to run it independently of a computer?

 

You will definitely be aware of the machine when you're in the same room while it's printing. The fans make constant noise, and the motors make their special kind of musical/chirping/whining sounds (which I find kind of pleasing). The loudest thing is straight-line moves, which are also higher pitched. The PSU fan is also loud and is automatically controlled by the PSU's board itself (not the printer's firmware). It usually comes on once every 5-15 minutes and it seems to stay on for 10-20 seconds at a time.

The following measurements were taken 1 m (one meter) away from the machine while it was actively printing. There was no other significant ambient/background noice in the environment.

• With PSU fan off:
  • Average: 52 dB
  • Maximum: 59 dB
• With PSU fan on:
  • Average: 57 dB
  • Maximum: 63 dB

The MKS Gen board has headers specifically for this purpose. See: MKS GEN - RepRapWiki (Smart Controller section)

Alternatively, you can use a Raspberry Pi (preferably a 3 since it has onboard Wi-Fi) running OctoPrint. I like this method since you can then use any other computer with a web browser as a monitor & control interface, and you don't need to fiddle with awkward little menus or buttons.

Hope this helps!

 

Looking forward to your github being updated! I love your integrated Octopi box. I want to do the same thing but modify it to 300x300x400. Do you think the changes to the outside dimension will affect your mods very well?