I have a FLSun Cube 3D printer (2017 model) which was working... well, sort of fine. I mean, it prints okay, though it could be better. So I thought, why not use MGN12 rails for the X and Y axes, like someone else had? It should improve things, right?
Well, not for me. It turned out to give me more problems than I started with. I ended up with layer shift on Y-axis due to somehow the Y-motors stalling, even after increasing the VREF on the stepper drivers to account for the dual Y motors. In the end, I even burnt out two of my A4988 drivers... It was fortunate that the Cube came with 5 stepper drivers already installed (but only used 4: X, Y, Z, and E) and I had another which came with the dual extruder upgrade kit. Still, it prompted me to get some spares from Amazon. Who knows when the next driver will fail.
So after days of trying to fix my mechanical problems with the MGN12 rail "upgrade", I gave up. Took the upgrades apart, and started to fix back the original rods. Only problem... some of the rods are best put back in the correct order, as shown in the assembly manual. Removing them was easy; trying to put them back at the same position was not.
It was a big hassle with several hours spent trying to put everything back. And then, the next nightmare: bed leveling. Because the rods were a bit out, I had to tweak the bed leveling and rod positions endless times just to get something that resembles a printable surface. Which resulted in more hours lost.
After close to 20 hours spent just on putting everything back... I finally have a 3D printer that can print again. Phew.
But I also learnt some things along the way.
My Z lead screws, or one of them, was damaged. There is a long scar about 5cm long at one end (originally the top end) which prevented the bed from moving above a certain height. I didn't know why then; now I know. So I turned the rod around. Now the scar is sitting above the Z motor, and should not affect movements unless I am trying to do high prints (above 300mm).
There is a feature in Marlin known as manual mesh bed leveling. It is a mesh bed leveling method that is done manually instead of with a Z probe. This is something that I should try out since my Z probe triggers uneven over different parts of the bed.
I guess it wasn't a total waste of time if I learnt something, right? Or so I try to convince myself... 😄
Well, not for me. It turned out to give me more problems than I started with. I ended up with layer shift on Y-axis due to somehow the Y-motors stalling, even after increasing the VREF on the stepper drivers to account for the dual Y motors. In the end, I even burnt out two of my A4988 drivers... It was fortunate that the Cube came with 5 stepper drivers already installed (but only used 4: X, Y, Z, and E) and I had another which came with the dual extruder upgrade kit. Still, it prompted me to get some spares from Amazon. Who knows when the next driver will fail.
So after days of trying to fix my mechanical problems with the MGN12 rail "upgrade", I gave up. Took the upgrades apart, and started to fix back the original rods. Only problem... some of the rods are best put back in the correct order, as shown in the assembly manual. Removing them was easy; trying to put them back at the same position was not.
It was a big hassle with several hours spent trying to put everything back. And then, the next nightmare: bed leveling. Because the rods were a bit out, I had to tweak the bed leveling and rod positions endless times just to get something that resembles a printable surface. Which resulted in more hours lost.
After close to 20 hours spent just on putting everything back... I finally have a 3D printer that can print again. Phew.
But I also learnt some things along the way.
My Z lead screws, or one of them, was damaged. There is a long scar about 5cm long at one end (originally the top end) which prevented the bed from moving above a certain height. I didn't know why then; now I know. So I turned the rod around. Now the scar is sitting above the Z motor, and should not affect movements unless I am trying to do high prints (above 300mm).
There is a feature in Marlin known as manual mesh bed leveling. It is a mesh bed leveling method that is done manually instead of with a Z probe. This is something that I should try out since my Z probe triggers uneven over different parts of the bed.
I guess it wasn't a total waste of time if I learnt something, right? Or so I try to convince myself... 😄
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