Rev D to E Upgrade?

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jprochnow
Posts: 113
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2015 3:22 pm

Rev D to E Upgrade?

Post by jprochnow » Mon Nov 28, 2016 7:21 pm

Is MakerGear planning on releasing a Rev D to E Upgrade? I realize this would require the user to replace the firmware on Rambo for relocating the z end stop and reversing the z motor direction. Is this something that is in the works?

Developer69
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat May 02, 2015 7:35 am
Location: VA

Re: Rev D to E Upgrade?

Post by Developer69 » Fri Dec 02, 2016 1:41 am

I just ordered the Rev E spider bracket upgrade kit. The package contained the plate, belt and new switch/bracket. Cost was $150. Just got it today and looked at it, but no instructions!
Got the metal bracket also. - No instructions!
And v4 hot end upgrade kit. - No instructions!

No instructions really disturbs me, but I hope I can read around on this great community and find out how to do things. I mean it did not even say if I need to do a firmware upgrade?!?

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Jules
Posts: 3144
Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2015 1:36 am

Re: Rev D to E Upgrade?

Post by Jules » Fri Dec 02, 2016 3:18 am

The instructions for the V4 Upgrade are here:

http://www.makergear.com/pages/upgrade-guides

As far as the Rev.D to Rev E. upgrade - there are several guys who converted them on the forum - I believe the thread for that was this one:

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=3072

Not much actually in it since the guys tested it individually, but those are the experts to hit up with questions.

(And yes, it needs a firmware upgrade....last thing.)

creativedex
Posts: 28
Joined: Thu Oct 15, 2015 8:32 am

Re: Rev D to E Upgrade?

Post by creativedex » Tue Dec 06, 2016 3:14 pm

Upgrading the bed is fairly straight forward and was done in 20min or so taking my time (minus the firmware!!)... Finally got to changing it out last week after having the bed for a month or two!

Loosen the y motor and remove the belt. With heated plate and glass off, remove the 3point spider and the loosen and remove the 4 screws that hold the steel bracket to the bearing block/glide/carriage (its called many things, but its the part that moves on the rail)

Mine arrived with a new belt already attached to the new spider and all I had to do was put the longer screws provided through the spider and into the bearing block and reattach the belt.

It can be used without adding the new z switch or firmware, however if your bed homes at 0,0 like mine does then it will hit the front left bed clip soo you have to remove it. Perhaps the gcode could be changed but I have 6 other printers and over 60 print profiles and dont want to have to remember to use the correct one, let alone double my profiles to manage for one printer) So....

*** the catch is getting the firmware for the Z***
Ive not got it yet even after asking 3 times for it last week with another ticket. So Ive put in a ticket just for it, hopefully I will have that soon. Once before Ive updated an older printer and they needed to know the specific serial number as there were several versions of the firmware at one time (from my understanding) thus you may need a different update which is why they dont listed them so no one accidentally uses the incorrect version (from what i was told)

Once I have the firmware updated all I'll need to do is install the z switch and reroute the wires for it.


Notes/thoughts on leveling the bed...

-Do not tighten down the bed clips! (just touching is a good starting point and make sure the bed is sitting on the leveling screws and not caught on the rubber) you will probably break them when adjusting or even worse, I could see some one striping the set screws/spider (would hope the bed clips break first... they do send extras and are an easy print) If you make your own for say a thicker bed surface, you cannot make them wider as they will hit the x axis rail nuts (could possibly remove those two nuts)

-If you remove the bed surface frequently the bed clips will loosen, when you tighten them down snug is what your looking for. If you over tighten one over the others they can change the bed level.... if your looking for that perfect first layer print after print.

-Sometimes the leveling software times out (no idea why, seems to happen randomly) So keep moving along through the steps as the longer it takes the more likely you will be starting over. I would really suggest if you havent done it before to click through all the steps without changing anything so that you better understand it any you will get it done quicker.

-The software opens in a small box that can be difficult to read even up close (using windows 10) But if you enlarge it to full screen it seems to scale correctly. No idea if anyone else would even have this issue

-If you try to use a cordless mouse and read the screen from across the room you will most likely miss a step as they look very similar visually from more then 5 ft away. The good thing is that leveling the bed doesnt need to be done often especially if you remove the bed surface before removing stuck parts.... the bad thing is that even with 6 printers, I dont do it often enough to notice or remember everything!

One thing I would like to see is the option to level with a hot bed.... glass may not change much but other surfaces can change more then you would ever expect. Each has its useful properties for printing but the software doesnt allow it to be even warm so getting it right means you've got to do it manually

Overall the 4pt bed is certainly worth it, better prints right from the start particularly with glossy filaments that often show every flaw of the mechanical process. :D

To: Developer69 The v4 hot end is easy to figure out by looking at a few photos... one thing to note is to have the thermistor and heater core wires come out the right side (when facing the printer) Also know that the wire harness that your printer came with may not be long enough to use the sweet looking new box they have for it (particularly the fan wires, if you use the new box the fans thin wire gauge will break if moving them around very often... which I do often but soldering skills could easily fix this.

I also put something flat on the top of the aluminum plate and push the hotend up to that before tightening, this makes maintenance easier to get it back to the correct height once the bed is level

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