MadModder

I'm pretty sure that I'm done reprinting grey parts now.  There was enough of a color difference between the 2 rolls of grey filament that I wound up reprinting almost all of the grey parts. I think that I reprinted 58 parts, there were 7 parts that wouldn't be visible so I didn't reprint them.  I wound up with 5 sets of parts that were overnight prints, and several sets that were several hour prints.  The plastic pooping robot was putting in some overtime hours.

I did a test assembly of the heart of the beast, that would be the rotating assembly.  It went fairly well, but initially there was one spot where it would start to bind up. However that has mostly gone away with me exercising it.  I suspect that there were a couple of printer boogers that I missed when cleaning up the parts.  There's only 0.5mm of clearance between the slew bearing outer race clamp and the center post of upper frame.  I kept that clearance small to minimize dirt getting into the slew bearing, that's the only bearing on this thing that isn't either shielded or sealed.  This is what the mostly assembled rotating assembly looks like.


It's only mostly assembled because it still needs to have the slip ring assembly installed right smack in the middle of this thing.  I still need to install the connectors on the slip ring wires.  The only things connected to the slip ring will be the main drive motors and their ESC's.  I'll need to tear everything apart to install the slip ring, and let me tell you that installing the slew bearing inner race clamp is a royal PAIN IN THE BUTT.  There are six M3 x 35mm button head cap screws that hold it in place, and I'm working in a 27mm diameter hole that's 25mm deep. I can see all the bolt holes, but the only one I can actually work on is the one that's directly under a 7mm notch cut in one side of the 27mm hole.  My 20/20 hindsight tells me I SHOULD have made at least 2 notches, oh well...  When I tear it apart to install the slip ring assembly I'll see if I can find, and fix, what was causing the binding.

Next on the agenda is removing all the remaining support material from the rollers, the drive sprockets, and the idler yokes.  The easiest way to do that for the rollers and sprockets will be on the lathe.  I 3D printed several jigs that will simplify the work holding, but I still expect the clean up to take a couple of days.

Don

Superb 

It's so beautiful. I like it.

I like that! Very nice...

Shame that the drawings don't seem to be available any longer...