Sorry if this is a really stupid question, but would there be any benefit of installing this to the taz 6?
Not a stupid question at all. The answer at the moment is “some, but less than on a taz 5 because the 12mm x rods flex less” . it also won’t currently fit the taz 6. There is a taz 6 end variant in the works which will be available soon.
The y axis on the other hand will bolt on to a taz 6 and would offer significant benefits since the stock taz 6 y rods are 10mm.
I have a couple sets of acrylic backplates left if anyone else wants one. Also, those that have them installed, let’s see some photos and experiences.
Working on getting all of the parts printed and purchased for the X & Y along with adjustable Tensioner. The shiny strong red parts are looking really nice! See attached. Can’t wait to get all together.
Those came out nice! I think you might be the first person i know of besides myself who has used the printed spacer, let me know how well they go on for you.
Definitely, I’ll let you know! As far as the parts go, I’m going to try to lay out for some pics before diving into so people can see most everything visually to make sure they have what they need for these builds. I myself are more visual and find that I’m going back and forth to the parts list and instructions and double, triple checking myself… I guess that’s the engineer part invading 
Hi Piercet.
Quick assembly of the X axis before I start reassembling the printer. The Y axis came out great too.
With the exception of needing a few different screw lengths, everything was spot on. I had ordered a bunch of different length bolts to have on-hand anyways, so everything worked out.
Nice! I like the color scheme!
Piercet,
The manuals you wrote for the OpenBuilds mods are absolutely excellent, but is there a single compiled list of all the OpenBuilds parts needed (for the X and Y axis mods respectively) available somewhere? I want to be sure I don’t miss something if adding them up manually.
Hi all! Piercet, thanks for all your hard work on these!
I set myself up with the open rail X-axis over the weekend, and I’m having a weird issue I wanted to ask about…
After the install I started up my first test print, and it seemed to be going fine for a few minutes until the Z-axis stepper on the left side started making some really unhappy noise. I turned off the machine and checked the distance between the lead screw nuts and bearings on both sides, and sure enough I was about .5cm higher on one side… weird because I could have sworn I had checked that before turning it on…
So I adjusted it and got them to about .01cm of each other, and tried again. Sure enough, 10 minutes in to the print it started making grumpy noise again, and sure enough, the lead screw nuts were at a different height by about half a centimeter, so for some reason one of them is moving more than the other it appears.
The only issue I had while installing was that the 436 mm turned out to be a little too short, but not so much that I wasn’t able to get the idler endcap to firmly attach… The tee nuts just stick out a little bit at the end of the rail. I ordered a new one just because it will always bother me knowing the gap is there, but just wanted to mention it in case this could be a contributing factor?
I tried loosening the endcap bolts and moving the Z axis all the way up and down to get it to settle, and I did noticed that around 120mm the left side really starts to struggle there too.
Any tips?
Thanks!
Thanks! There isn’t one yet, I’ll see if I can make one after I am done with the Z axis document,
One of the good things, and one of the downsides about the X axis mod is that it requires a high degree of precision to work correctly. If you are off by even a little it will bind. It is less forgiving than the stock rods. But it also maintains much greater accuracy once you do get it dialed in, so I believe it is worthwhile.
If the leadscrew nuts are getting out of sync, you have binding somewhere in the system. Depending on how you installed the x end plates, there are a couple of places it could be. Here is an alignment check procedure that should fix the issue
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Check that the leadscrews are both fully inserted into thee top Z axis leadscrew bearings. They should both be flush with the top of the center piece of the 608zz bearings. If one side is off, check the Z motor mount on that side and adjust it if necessary to ensure the leadscrew is fully seated. These can shift from the factory in shipping.
-
If the leadscrews are fine, measure the z nut height from the bottom of the z nut to the top of the lower leadscrew bearing. This measurement should be identical on both sides, with as much precision as you can attain.
-
Temporarily loosen the Z motor mount bolts slightly to allow motor flex and attempt to run the X axis up and down. if binding occurs still, repeat step 2 and re-tighten the Z motors.
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Check both Z motor couplers for loose or missing setscrews. Installing the X axis modification can knock them out and cause leadscrew spinning.
-
Check the X end plates for 90 degree to the openbuild X rail itself. You can use a square for this, or measure between both plates at all 4 corners and ensure you have an indentical measurement.
-
Check the x end plates for square alignment with the top and bottom plane of the rail. Both plates should be identical and in line with eachother. You can temporarily loosen the 3 bolts that hold the idler endcap plate to the endcap and the idler bolts itself to allow it to seek its own alignment when running it up and own the Z axis. you may also want to completely back the longer idler bolts out during this process to make sure they are not interfering with the fit.
You should theoretically get no more binding at that point. If you are still getting any, try leveling the base that the printer is sitting on with a bubble level el and shims, and then use that level to span across both X end plates and level that way. The base itself has to be completely level or that method will not work as well. Also consider posting pictures of the top, front and rear views of both endcap joins to the plate here, I may be able to see something that needs adjusting.
The gap in the rail on the idler side is intentional to allow you to adjust in or out as needed. You can certainly cut a new rail longer, but that is intended for alignment to allow for variances in endcap part thickness from printer over or under extrusion when printing the endcaps.
Hope that helps!
Tim
That would be excellent - cheers!
discojon has a fairly complete parts order for x,y, and z open rail modification: https://forum.lulzbot.com/t/discojons-taz-5-open-rail-conversion-build-log/2546/1
I finished my x,y,z and bed cable chain upgrades and all is printing great! I also am running the Titan extruder with E3D hot end. See pics on thingiverse here.
X axis: http://www.thingiverse.com/make:240972
Y axis: http://www.thingiverse.com/make:240974
Bed Cable Chain: http://www.thingiverse.com/make:240975
E3D Titan Extruder Mount: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1695388
One of the good things, and one of the downsides about the X axis mod is that it requires a high degree of precision to work correctly. If you are off by even a little it will bind. It is less forgiving than the stock rods. But it also maintains much greater accuracy once you do get it dialed in, so I believe it is worthwhile.
If the leadscrew nuts are getting out of sync, you have binding somewhere in the system. Depending on how you installed the x end plates, there are a couple of places it could be. Here is an alignment check procedure that should fix the issue
Check that the leadscrews are both fully inserted into thee top Z axis leadscrew bearings. They should both be flush with the top of the center piece of the 608zz bearings. If one side is off, check the Z motor mount on that side and adjust it if necessary to ensure the leadscrew is fully seated. These can shift from the factory in shipping.
If the leadscrews are fine, measure the z nut height from the bottom of the z nut to the top of the lower leadscrew bearing. This measurement should be identical on both sides, with as much precision as you can attain.
Temporarily loosen the Z motor mount bolts slightly to allow motor flex and attempt to run the X axis up and down. if binding occurs still, repeat step 2 and re-tighten the Z motors.
Check both Z motor couplers for loose or missing setscrews. Installing the X axis modification can knock them out and cause leadscrew spinning.
Check the X end plates for 90 degree to the openbuild X rail itself. You can use a square for this, or measure between both plates at all 4 corners and ensure you have an indentical measurement.
Check the x end plates for square alignment with the top and bottom plane of the rail. Both plates should be identical and in line with eachother. You can temporarily loosen the 3 bolts that hold the idler endcap plate to the endcap and the idler bolts itself to allow it to seek its own alignment when running it up and own the Z axis. you may also want to completely back the longer idler bolts out during this process to make sure they are not interfering with the fit.
You should theoretically get no more binding at that point. If you are still getting any, try leveling the base that the printer is sitting on with a bubble level el and shims, and then use that level to span across both X end plates and level that way. The base itself has to be completely level or that method will not work as well. Also consider posting pictures of the top, front and rear views of both endcap joins to the plate here, I may be able to see something that needs adjusting.
The gap in the rail on the idler side is intentional to allow you to adjust in or out as needed. You can certainly cut a new rail longer, but that is intended for alignment to allow for variances in endcap part thickness from printer over or under extrusion when printing the endcaps.
Hope that helps!
Tim
Thanks for the advice! I have been tearing down and rebuilding this printer over and over this weekend to try to get it working properly, measuring everything over and over and it will seem to work perfectly for a while, and then suddenly start binding… It seems to have something to do with heat cycling, because when I get it working I can run the Z axis all the way up and down repeatedly with no trouble, then after a couple of prints it starts to bind again. Has anyone else had this type of problem?
The tools I am using to line it up are a tape measure, digital calipers and a carpenter’s square. Are there any other tools I can look in to so I can take better measurements or something? I pulled it off and am going to give it one more shot before going back to stock rods, so I’m willing to try anything!
Once its lined up and then tightened, it shouldn’t start binding. The only thing I can think of would be the rail itself expanding due to heat inside a heated enclosure, and the relief cutout on the idler side should make that a non issue. Some pictures of the area around the x end plates, the rail ends, the leadscrews and the overall frame uploaded here would help me spot what’s going on if you like. I use those same tools to set mine up. There are also a set of 3d printed rail to lower frame rail alignment rods that you can print that may help.
Does this mod change the taz maximum z height? Can you still move z up to 250mm?
The maximum height remains unchanged. If you do the Y axis mod as well you actually gain 5mm. The center carriage is slightly taller than the stock unit, but it moves in areas that are not obstructed all the way up and can travel full x distance without hitting anything or even coming close. Even adding the optional X maximum limit switch doesn’t take any available travel away from X.
that’s nice, I am thinking about upgrading to titan with volcano, which is longer than the stock hot end.