New year, new rods, new problems

Actually, same quality rods, just smoothed out with a metal sponge. I might need to go back to the other rods and do the same.

Y Axis Assembly

Fastening the final nut for the right-hand bearing is quite tricky, since there's limited space, not even enough for a hex wrench. But I got it fastened. It doesn't move very smoothly, but reasonably so.

The hole for the Y idler was too far back - I must have cut the belt too short. Drilled a hole further in and fastened with a 4x20 wood screw. I'm a bit concerned about the idler slipping over time, though, and also that the belt is somewhat far out on the motor pulley.

The ribbon cable for some reason is way too long. I must have cut it wrong - looking at this example, there shouldn't be any spare length at all. But that's not critical, merely messy, so I'll leave it like that for now.

X Axis Assembly

Using a good metal saw is really a lot faster, easier, and more accurate than a Dremel. And doesn't eat the disks, either. And hammering the ends a bit make them nice and rounded for going into the linear bearings.

Re-did the Z axis smooth rods to be smoother. So nice and shiny now!

Tightening the X axis clamps, I hope they're meant to bend a little. Only enough to be visible when seeing a reflection on them. This is the first time I've had a reason to use three hex bit extenders in series:)

Again, the belt is too short. This time, the only solution is to have fewer teeth showing at the ends.

Turns out the adapter holder on the extruder motor was on the wrong side, so had to flip that. At least that allowed me to add a washer I'd forgotten.

Why am I surprised anymore that FabLab doesn't have any M4 wing nuts? Anyway, something is odd: There is a nut trap on the underside of the X carriage, yet the other side gets wing nuts. I guess I have to run a bolt through from the nut trap side. Weird, and not clear from the manual.

I hope I haven't damaged the wires from the hot end by all the manipulation and schlepping around.

My extruder is a slight variation in design from the one the manual expects. I'm going to have a bit of overhang of wing nuts over the edge of the carriage, about 2cm. I should add a bit to make the microswitch trigger earlier.

Current state: