I've started assembling a Tantillus from self-sourced parts a week ago and have a couple questions. Even without the X or Y motors connected, the carriage movement seems very stiff. So stiff, in fact, that moving the carriage by hand pulls the 5/16" rods through the bearings and breaks the printed corners. (It's a LC case with printed ABS corners.) Installing the motors and connecting the gears seems to confirm that the entire assembly is too stiff, as turning the motor gears by hand causes all sorts of sticking and lurching. The lurching can be resolved by further tensioning the cables, but I imagine the carriage sticking would ultimately cause print artifacts.
Diagnosis and fixes: I've carefully cut the plastic bushings (printed from natural PLA) so they run smoothly across 5/16" rods. I suspect either the carriage bearings are sticking, despite applying white lithium grease, or there's an alignment problem. If the XY ends were somehow twisted, I would think they'd naturally align during squaring and tensioning.
Having never seen a live Tantillus, how stiff should the movement of the carriage bearings be on their 8mm rods? I'm guessing it's pretty smooth when correctly assembled.
Is there any special alignment process I should use during XY assembly?
Is ABS acceptable for the corners, or will they simply flex too much under lateral stress from the bearings?
When the entire assembly is correctly assembled, aligned and tuned, is loctite still needed to hold the 5/16" rods in their end bearings (as I read in the forums), or will they rest comfortably without adhesive?
Thanks!
Diagnosis and fixes: I've carefully cut the plastic bushings (printed from natural PLA) so they run smoothly across 5/16" rods. I suspect either the carriage bearings are sticking, despite applying white lithium grease, or there's an alignment problem. If the XY ends were somehow twisted, I would think they'd naturally align during squaring and tensioning.
Having never seen a live Tantillus, how stiff should the movement of the carriage bearings be on their 8mm rods? I'm guessing it's pretty smooth when correctly assembled.
Is there any special alignment process I should use during XY assembly?
Is ABS acceptable for the corners, or will they simply flex too much under lateral stress from the bearings?
When the entire assembly is correctly assembled, aligned and tuned, is loctite still needed to hold the 5/16" rods in their end bearings (as I read in the forums), or will they rest comfortably without adhesive?
Thanks!