Talk:GUS Simpson assembly

Instructions Created By Niggle

GUS Simpson Build Instructions Phase 1 – Install Bearings Parts • 3 Shoulders • 3 Slave Arms • 18 608 bearings Tools • 13 mm socket and ratchet • 13 mm wrench • 12 8mm flat washers • 1 M8 nut • 1 M8x100 screw • 1 M8x55 screw Steps Try to fit the bearings in their sockets by hand. If this works, you are done. Try warming the plastic. Knock two plastic parts together and remember the sound. Now put them in an oven set to 110F or 40C (plus or minus a few degrees) until they are warm to the touch and the sound of knocking them together is markedly different. Start the bearings in their sockets. Don’t try to seat them but make sure that they are square. Return to the oven as needed. Stack all but one washers on the appropriate bolt. Fit the bolt through a pair of bearings. Add the last washer and nut. Use the socket and wrench to tighten the nut until the bearings are seated. Do this while the plastic is warm from the oven and the bearings will seat without splitting the plastic. NOTE: If you want to avoid threading the nylon in a nyloc nut, use a combination of bearings and washers so that you only screw onto the tip of the screw. Remove the nut and add more washers as the bearings seat into the plastic. If you work on the shoulders last, you can use a completed slave arm as the main spacer on the M8x100 screw.

Phase 2 – Decorate the Slave Arms Parts • 3 Slave Arms from Phase 1 • 3 Eccentric Stops • 6 M8x60 screws • 12 M8 Nyloc nuts • 3 M3x20 screws Tools • 13 mm socket and ratchet • 13 mm wrench • 2.5mm Allen key Steps Prethread 6 M8 nyloc nuts by screwing them onto an M8 screw until the screw emerges from the nylon insert. Unscrew them and screw one onto each of the M8 srcews, starting from the nylon side. Once the screw emerges from the metal side of the nut, fit the nut into nut trap on the inside of a slave arm. Wrench on the screw until enough thread appears on the outside of the arm. Add another nut to the outside. Enough thread means that the thread cuts into the nylon of the nut on the outside. Pass the M3x20 screw through the eccentric stop so the head is on the flat side. Screw it into the remaining hole in the slave arm. Don’t tighten it all the way. Phase 3 – Decorate the Motor Arms Parts • 3 Motor Arms • 6 M8x60 screws • 12 M8 nyloc nuts • 3 M3x16 screws • 3 springs • 3 Tuning Pegs (may come with screws) • 3 M2x16 screws (if needed for the tuning pegs) Tools • 13 mm socket and ratchet • 13 mm wrench • 2.5mm Allen key • 2mm Allen key (if needed) • #0 Phillips head screwdriver (if needed) Steps Mount the M8x60 screws as you did for the Slave Arms. Pass the M3x16 through one end loop of the spring and screw into the base of the arm. You probably got a set of 6 tuning pegs, select three that are the same (Give the other three to a friend so that they can build a matching GUS). Fit one to each arm. If they came with screws, use them. If not, use M2x16 screws. Phase 4 – Electronics 1 Parts • 1 Controller Board • 4 Stepper Driver (required for Azteeg, Ramps and similar controllers. Integrated on the controller for PrintrBoard and similar boards) • 4 Nema 17 Stepper Motor • 3 Limit Switch • ANUBIS Hotend • Hot Bed • Wire and Connectors as needed, heat shrink tubing or electrical tape • USB cable (PC to controller board) • Power Supply Tools • Wire strippers • Crimp tool or pliers (or a soldering iron) • Grounding strap • Repetier-Host • Arduino download Steps The goal of this step is to demonstrate that you can make the stepper motors spin on demand. Warning. I used an ATMega2560 with Ramps 1.4 as my controller. Nicholas specifies Azteeg X1 which is more or less equivalent. There are other choices equally more or less equivalent. Thus, I will not go into the details of getting the connections right. If you need to add stepper drivers to your controller, take antistatic precautions first. I.e. ground yourself first and frequently. Add the stepper drivers in the correct orientation and try not to touch the pins or the components as you work. If the drivers came with heat sinks, add them. They may not be needed but they may help. Decision time. Where will you mount your controller? • Separate from the GUS but next to the power supply • Between the base plates, with the power supply • Between the base plates, separate from the power supply If you want to separate the machine from the electronics, you will need long cables between the motors and the controller, and you should consider a multi pin connector in the middle (16 wires to motors, 10 wires to end stops and thermistors, and a separate connector for power to the bed and to the heater core in the hotend). If you mount the controller between the base plates, 12” (30cm) cables will reach the stepper motors. Create the motor cables you need from 22GA wire and connect a motor to each of the X, Y and Z stepper drivers. Create two wire cables for the Limit Switches from 22GA wire (thinner wire will work if you have it). These should be a about 6” (15cm) longer than the motor cables. Add two pin connectors to the thermistors in the hot end and the heated bed. The wires from the hotend thermistor to the controller will need to be at least 3’ (1m) long. The wires from the hot bed thermistor to the controller need to almost as long as the motor cables. For Arduino based controllers On your PC, download the Repetier Host and the Arduino packages. Run the Repetier firmware configuration tool and at the end, download the complete firmware package. Connect the PC to the controller with an appropriate USB cable. Install the Arduino package and it should connect to the controller. Open the Repetier.ino file from the firmware download. Run the Verify and the Upload commands. For Non-Arduino based controllers I need someone else to write this section. Connect the Power Supply The controller can take enough power from the USB port to run the logic but not enough run the stepper motors. You will need to pairs of wires from your power supply to your controller. One pair will carry enough power to run the motors. The other, much thicker pair, will carry power for the heaters. If you decide to do without a heated bed, a 60W laptop power supply will be adequate and can be mounted next to the controller, between the base plates. A heated bed requires a 350W (or better) and will need to be separate from the GUS and need longer wires. Use 18GA or heavier (lower numbers) wires for the motor power. Use 14GA or heavier wires for the heater power. Verify the polarity before connecting to the controller or turning on the power supply. Check the Motors Run Repetier Host. From the menu bar select Configure. Go back to the Arduino tool and check which communication settings it is using, copying them into the Repetier Host configuration. Exit the Arduino tool and then hit connect in Repetier Host. For the window on the right, select Manual Control. This brings up a graphic with arrows for X, Y and Z in both + and – directions. Clicking on a + arrow should cause the corresponding motor to move. The firmware will not let the extruder motor move until the hotend is up to temperature. To test the extruder motor, turn off the power supply and disconnect the USB cable. Now swap the extruder stepper driver with one that you have seen work, also swap the matching motor cables. Reconnect the USB cable, turn on the power supply and check that the last motor and stepper driver is working. Phase 5 – Mount the Spools Parts • 3 Pulley (Plastic) • 6 M3x8 • 6 M3 Nyloc Nut • 3 Nema 17 stepper motors Tools • 2.5mm Allen key • Needle nose pliers or tweezers Steps Use pliers or tweezers to insert the nyloc nuts into the nut traps in the spools, taking care that the nylon insert faces the central hole. Insert the M3 bolts into the bolt hole and start screwing them into the nuts. Fit the spools onto the shafts of the motors. It your motor shafts have a flat spot line up the spool to ensure that one of the bolts is a right angles to the flat. Also take care that you start from the end that does not have the bolts. Check with a motor arm if you are uncertain, as the bolts should line up with the holes in the side of the arm when fitted correctly. Optional Step Print the jig (thingiverse link). Follow the instructions to sand the spool to a more round shape. Phase 6 – Assemble the base Parts • 3 Shoulders from Phase 1 • Bottom Plate • Top Plate • Basalt Bed • Hot Bed • 3 M8x100 HEX Bolt • 6 M8 Washer (Steel) • 3 Plastic Washer (M8) • Standoff (Plastic) (with nuts and bolts as needed) – I assume that Nicholas’ part is for the Azteeg controller. Check thingiverse for an appropriate standoff if you are using some other controller. Optional – Feet for base plate. Insulation between heated bed and top plate Tools • 13mm socket and ratchet • 13mm wrench • Drill and 7/64” or 3mm bit • Wrench and driver for the controller mounting nuts and bolts Steps Mount the controller to one of the plates. My preference is to mount to the bottom of the top plate and also cut a hole in the bottom plate. This permits access to the controller without disassembling the base. It also means using countersunk bolts for mounting underneath the heated bed and covering the heads with some insulation to reduce heat transfer through the bolts to the standoff. Mounting to the top of the bottom plate is simpler but you will need to remove the plate to access the controller for maintenance, you will need longer cables to the controller, and you will eventually wear out the nylon in the nyloc nuts (I don’t know if there is a risk of the machine shaking itself apart in mid print so this may not be an issue). Optionally, attach feet to the bottom of the base plate. Check the fit of the bed heater in cavity in the top plate. Ideally it should evenly protrude, slightly above the surface of the plate, so that it is pressed into contact with the basalt bed. Add layers of newspaper or other insulation below the heater as needed. Attach all of the connectors to the controller. You should be able to unplug the motor cable at the motor end, to make this a little easier. Do and tags to each cable so that you can associate each limit switch with its corresponding motor. Build the base bottom up, i.e. with the bolt heads under the bottom plate and the bolts poking up. Add a washer to each bolt, then a shoulder piece, another washer, the top plate, the basalt bed, the plastic washer and finally a nut. Now move one corner off the edge of the table, remove the nut and drop the bolt (being careful about keeping the shoulder from moving). Now insert the bolt from the top and apply the nut to the bottom. Tighten the nut and bolt until the shoulder is solid, but swivels freely. Repeat for the other two shoulders. Phase 7 – Arm Threading Parts • 3 Motor with Spools from Phase 5 • 3 Motor Arms from Phase 3 • 3 Slave Arms from Phase 2 • 3 M8x55 Hex Bolts • 6 M8 washers (Steel) • 12 M3x6 SHCS • String Tools • 2.5mm Allen Key • 13mm wrench • Scissors • Scotch tape • Tweezers Steps I found this process easier with the motor arm bolted to the shoulder. An alternative is to use a vise to hold the ends of both the motor and the slave arm with the gears meshed correctly. Either way, you will need the motor arm to be securely held. The instructions below assume that you bolted the motor arm to the shoulder (using an M8x55 hex bolt, washers on either side of the should and an M8 Nyloc nut). Begin by cutting off a length of close to eight feet (2.3m) of string. Feed it through the hole in the spool so that one end is roughly six inches longer than the other. Use a bit of Scotch tape to mark the longer end. Without letting the string slip through the spool, wind each end onto the spool working from the outside towards the middle. Make at least four but no more than six complete wraps and give the long end two more wraps than the short end. When done, the ends should be close to the same length and lead to opposite sides of the spool. Use another scrap of Scotch tape to hold the wraps in place. Feed the ends of the string through big hole in the motor arm followed by the spool and then use four M3x8 bolts to mount the motor. Feed the tagged end into the slot between the gears and out through the first arch. [The first arch is the one closest to the motor. Down means towards the flat side where the motor is which makes sense if you flip the arm out from the bed and support the motor on a pile of books.] Leave the other end of the string in the middle of the bed for now. Feed the tagged end under the bolt in the first arch and up and out through the slot between the gears. Now take it around the bolt in the first arch of the slave arm. Resting the slave arm on the motor arm, you should be able make a second wrap around the first bolts easily and with a little help from the tweezers. Finally pass it from the first to the second arch, under the second bolt and then out of the end of the slot. Tape the very end of the string to the underside of the arm. With the ends of the arm together, there should be lots of slack in the string. Now take the free end of the string from the bed. It goes into the slot on the arch side of the existing wraps, out the first arch, under the bolt, back into the first arch and out the second arch, under the second bolt, back into the second arch and out of the slot. Feed the end into the slot in the slave arm and over the second bolt. Drop the end down to the second arch of the motor arm, to fish it out with the tweezers. The end should be getting short by now, so roll the gears to separate the ends of the assembled arm until the slack in the first end is taken up. Build a mountain of spare stuff to support the slave arm in this position. This should give you enough slack in the second end to make the second wrap around the bolts, feed it out of the end of the slot and tie it to the loop on the end of the spring. Untape the first end and pull all of the slack out of the string. If this moves the spool, take the opportunity to remove the tape holding the wraps in place. Feed the string through the hole in the tuning peg and tie it off. Move the arm so that the ends touch, checking that there are wraps at the top and the bottom of the spool. Extend the arm, again checking that there are wraps at the top and the bottom of the spool. With the ends together, tighten the tuning peg until the stings ping when plucked. Open and close the arm a couple of times to balance tension before tightening again. All of the strings should sound the same when plucked. Phase 8 – Filament Drive and Bowden Tube Parts • Filament Drive – Block • Filament Drive – Arm • Filament Drive – Bearing Insert • Filament Dive – GUS Shoulder Mount • 608 Bearing • M3x20 bolt • 4 M3x25 Bolt • 2 M3x35 Bolt • 3 M3 Nyloc Nut • 2 Filament Drive Spring • Hobbed Pulley • Nema 17 Stepper Motor • Bowden Tube • 2 M4 flat nut • Bowden Nut (Plastic) • Base (Phase 7) Tools • 2.5 mm Allen Key • 2mm Allen Key • Pliers • Xacto Knife Steps Fit the bearing insert into the 608 bearing. Bolt the assembly into the arm with the M3x20 and a Nyloc nut. Bolt the block to the motor with the four M3x25 bolts. Two of the bolts go through the shoulder mount first, one of the bolts goes through the block and then the arm before screwing in to the motor while the last one simply goes through the block and into the motor. Press the hobbed pulley onto the motor shaft so that the groove lines up with the filament holes and tighten the set screw. Hang the result on one of the shoulders. Take the Bowden tube and whittle at it to make the ends a little thinner. The goal is to be able to screw an M4 nut on each end. Once you have the first nut screwed on as far as it will go, trim the end of the tube flush with the nut. Add the Bowden nut to the end of the hub screw that does NOT have the nut trap and then feed the tube through the hub screw until the nut seats in the nut trap. Now you can add the M4 nut to the other end of the Bowden tube, again trimming the tube flush with the nut. Fit this end into the nut trap on the top of the filament drive. You can feed a scrap of filament through the block, around the pulley and into the tube to check for fit. Add the tensioning bolts to the arm. Check the fit and tension. The bolt heads should be secure in the block and the idler should force the filament against the pulley so that pulling or pushing the filament moves the motor. You should find tooth marks on the filament but it should move freely in the tube.

Phase 9 – Assemble the Hub Parts • Hot End • Hub Bottom • Hub Screw (Phase 8) • Hub Center • Hub Top • Hub Washer • Lock Nut • 4 6702 Bearings • 2 M3x25 • 2 M3 Nyloc Nuts Steps Set the M3 nuts into the appropriate nut traps in the hub bottom. Slide the hot end into the hub bottom and use the two M3x25 bolts engage the groove. Add two 6702 bearings to the hub center and to the hub top. Screw the lock nut onto the hub screw, starting from the flat side, until it gets to the far end. Slide the hub screw through the hub top, the hub washer and the hub middle. Screw the hub bottom on as far as it will go (without damaging the threads). Push enough filament through the Bowden tube to check that it slides into the hot end. Tighten the mounting bolts when you are sure that the alignment is correct. Tighten the lock nut and check that the hub top and hub center rotate freely with respect to the hub bottom.

Phase 10 – Attach the Hub Parts • Arms and Base (Phase 7) • Hub (Phase 8) • 3 M8x55 Hex Bolts • 6 M8 Washers (Steel) • 3 M8 Nyloc Nuts Tools • 13mm wrench Steps Add an M8 bolt to each of the hub bottom, hub center and hub top so that in each case the bolt goes through the part and the bolt head is fitted into its hexagonal socket. Add a washer to each bolt before sliding the bolt through the bearings of a slave arm. Add a second washer and a nyloc nut, tightening it with the wrench. There should be no slop in these joints. Phase 11 – Electronics 2 Parts • GUS (Phase 10) • 6 M2x16 • Zip ties Tools • A suitable driver for the M2 screws • 2.5mm Allen Key • Pliers Steps Arm Names You should have sets of wires labelled X, Y, Z and E. The ‘E’ set goes to the filament drive and you should hang the filament drive on the shoulder conveniently close to the E wires and plug it in. The other sets of wires need to be arranged so that they are in alphabetic order, anticlockwise, when viewed from above the bed. Otherwise, all of your prints will be mirror images of what you designed. Limit Switches/End stops For each arm in turn, connect a motor cable to the motor and screw the corresponding limit switch to the motor arm. Fit a zip tie in the slot next to the tuner and use it to secure the wires to the limit switch. {A similar slot in the shoulder would be a nice addition.} Loosen the bolts through the eccentric stops. They need to be able to be moved but hold the position they are put in. Move the hub up, extending all three arms. The goal is to leave the hub at what will be the home position. There should be 300mm between the centers of the bolts at each end of each arm, but perfection is not required. For each stop, rotate it clockwise until you hear (or see) the limit switch make contact. Use the pliers to hold the stop in place while you tighten the bolt for the stop. Motor Direction Move the hub halfway down towards the bed. Plug in the USB cable between your GUS and your PC. Launch Repetier Host and connect to your GUS. Select the manual control tab. Touch the X+ arrow. The X arm should contract. Repeat for Y and Z. Enter the G-code ‘M119’. You should see a report that X, Y and Z are L. If any report H, activate the switch with your finger (holding it in place) and enter the code again. If the state changes to L you need to invert that switch. If it doesn’t change, something is broken and needs to be fixed. If they any of them extended or any limit switches need to be inverted, disconnect from Repetier Host. Launch Arduino IDE and edit your configuration.h file to make the necessary changes. Upload the modified firmware, exit Arduino IDE and repeat the test. Initial Calibration Go back to Repetier Host, Connect to your GUS, go to Manual Control and touch the HOME button. Watch the rise to the top center position and dance.