LaserCutZAxis
General
This page and its peers should guide you through assembling a RepRap Lasercut Mendel from the TechZone kit, or from parts you have lasercut which are the same as the TechZone parts. It is a work in progress, and needs some help, feel free to edit this document to add comments of you your own, or contact us [here] and send us messages asking us for better clarification or details.
I am starting by posting the pictures I have, and over the next few days, I will fill in the instructions and detials (6 April 2011)
Thanks,
Lambert (TechZone R&D/Support/Documenter)
You can access this page and it's peers (for the other parts of the Lasercut Mendel assembly from the TechZone Lasercut Mendel Page
The Z Axis should be put in after the frame and Y axis have been squared, and trued. Information about how to do that can be found here. You should have tightened all nuts and used threadlock on them if you are going to (I recommend that you use threadlock). If you perform the following steps before squaring and trueing up the frame and Y axis, it will be in the way and will make that process more difficult.
Drive Rods
On the left is a picture of the parts used to assemble and prepare the drive rods for the Z axis. On the right is an assembled and prepared Z Drive rod
Install the X Axis onto the Z axis
You will need the Frame, the assembled X Axis, the two threaded drive rods from above, the drive cogs, and two smooth bars, along with the 3mm bolts, nuts and washers.
When you are done with this step, your machine should look something like the top right picture of this section.
Aligning the Z Axis
Aligning the Z axis can be a little tricky, because the assembly of the X axis is affected.I start by measuring the distance between the Z smooth bars at the bottom. I want to adjust the Z smooth bar clamps, until the top of the bars are the same distance apart as the bottom. If you left the X axis smooth bar clamps loose enough they should slide to allow this adjustment. If the X axis is too tight you may have to adjust its spacing at the same time to keep from bending the bars. You want to adjust both clamps in or out the same amount to keep them equal distance from the vertice. After you have the distance correct check and make sure that your clamps are the same distance from the vertice on both sides. If not adjust them both together until the spacing is equal. Check the distance between the bars one more time to make sure you didn't get them off while adjusting the clamp to vertice spacing.