I got it worked out!

 

Honestly, not quite sure what did it. I did not have the FDTI driver initially, but it still didn't work after installing.

Figuring it was my computer and Win10 fighting me, I tried programming the Arduino online, and it gradually began to respond. Ultimately, I gave up for the night, tried it first thing in the morning, and it worked, with the downloaded version of Arduino. I'd guess the driver was doing something in the background, and I was trying to rush it.

Finally got the first successful print last night!

I was trying to run the adjusters on the nylon slides too tight, causing it to rock before lifting, there by- essentially loosing steps, causing the nozzle to drag on the print. I still think I have a little too much drag, as sometimes the z-motor will make noise, like it has not stepped fully. I currently have it turned all the way up on the driver. I'll likely upgrade to your newest version, with the guides, but till then, I'll still do some tweaking

I also had an issue with not being able to get the x-axis belt tight enough, allowing the belt to slip. I filed the adjustment slots, to get a little more range, and good to go.

 

Does this version 2(5/17) BOM include everything to make the Vulcan Maxtrudr?

 

Thanks both of you, for your comments, I was just about to start ordering off the BOM for the Vulcan. Guess I'll do some more looking, this would have been for another printer I have (my TrueUp has been working great since I did the linear bearing conversion). I wasn't necessarily looking for max speed, but interested in running larger nozzle sizes, to cut print time on big prints.

 

Hi Keith,

I decided to build my own printer to achieve a higher quality build than the $200 clones I see all over the place. Your design seemed the most practical and has the best build instructions I've seen around. Most builds I find are incomplete or kind of hack jobs. Kudos to you for documenting it, that's not fun or easy.

One thing I noticed is that the original Trueup design seems to have morphed into new designs over time. It looked like the Trueup Glide BOM was the most complete to me so I ordered all of the hardware from OpenBuilds and Robotdigg from that BOM. It seems very close to the Kit version, minus a few part differences. Is the Glide the same as the kit? I guess I am looking for advice as to which version to build. They seem the same to me. Should I have ordered from the kit BOM? Thanks!

My background is electrical engineering with some mechanical experience, so I am confident in my fabricating skills. I also have mechanical engineer friends at work that can help with anything I may be lacking in experience. The Z axis comes to mind. That seems to be the hang up spot.

 

Will do Keith, thanks! I didn’t print anything yet in anticipation of changing it up.