Hi!
Gonna vent and ask for ideas, cause I’m furious and struggling to think straight.
See my x gantry has issues when the chamber get’s hot. It snags and well, that’s not good. Look it up!
Fine, over a year old so I decided I’d just replace it. Ordered the part and had all my ducks in a row. Decided do some maintenance while in there, re-route my bento box wiring, you know, fun stuff.
All is going fantastically until installing the belts. No actually getting the belts on wasn’t a big deal. The belt tensioners though, they got me.
While trying to put one back in and get a screw into to hold it in place while finishing it up, suddenly it gave way.
The belt that is. Like completly no tension. I looked and guess what. Go on guess. Nope!
On the tool head are anchor points for the belts. That part of the tool head is part of the gantry, so to replace it you have to replace the gantry. $89. Which I had paid. Then it broke. Not happy. The anchor point broke. While pullilng on the belt with the tensioner. Broke clean off.
So I’ve put in my support ticket and am ready for BL to tell me to go pound sand. I like to think positive. I now have a printer sitting still in pieces because it has to be in pieces to change the gantry. Looks like a P1P again.
So if any of you are familiar with what I’m talking about and have an idea, a BIG idea, maybe even a medium one, please share. I don’t want to spend $89 again, and I don’t think BL is going to help me soon enough to keep me sane, Xmas is coming and I need it going. I’ll buy another but I won’t be happy about it and I’ll share that.
Post mortem - no idea on how to fix it.
Just a hint for next time assuming I understood what you are describing:
You need to insert and snug the four screws on the ‘anchor points’ slightly before applying any tension on the belts, otherwise the belt tension will spread them of the carriage and snap them off at the ‘root’.
Can you share a picture? I’m trying to visualize where the break happened. I’ve had a bit of experience repairing PC cases that had thread and sheet metal damage, I might be able to offer up a trick that one can use but I’d have to see what the failure looked like.
It’s a pure plastic part, that has space on all four sides. the belt has a “head” if you will that slots into one of the slots and should be behind it, or to the other side.
I did put the screw into them, but guess I didn’t torque it enough.
So I took apart the old gantry to salvage the extruder motor and some other little parts.
If you were to look at the tool head there are three layers not counting the cover. The extruder/hot end are mounted to the 1st layer. Between the first and second layer the carbon rods run through and there are bearings, followed by the extuder mounted on the backside of the second layer. The 3rd layer sandwiches the extruder and has the TH board mounted on it. The anchors are on the second layer, that only comes with the gantry.
As coincidence would have it. I am in the midst of working through my own tribulations with fault “door fell off” messages with Bambu tech support and the repairs necessitate servicing the front part of the assembly so I already have my P1P partially disassembled to look at the area you’re speaking of.
Just so that I am clear, we’re talking about this segment having broken off, correct? These photos are from my P1P so may not match perfectly.
Well… since you appeared to have resigned yourself to the notion that this is beyond repair and ordered a new part but since the title of the post says “brainstorming”, if I had to let’s say approach this as an Apollo 13 moment where there is no option for failure and limited resources. Here’s the approach I might consider.
Reattached the broken pieces using acrylic cement, NOT crazy glue. I’ve post about this welding cement before. It will melt the two pieces back together. The surrounding melted material will be stronger than the original plastic. But that won’t fix the compromised material, it will only serve as a scaffold for a reinforcing material to be added next.
I would find a piece of spring steel that can be ground down to shape. Something like this might work but also may be too thick. You’ll have to experiment. Hopefully, you might find some kind of metal plate that was tossed into the inevitable household junk draw that can be machined or ground into place, perhaps some hold mounting hardware from a picture frame might serve that purpose. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BDM44MQJ/
Would firm up the gaps in this section with any kind of acrylic material just to make it solid. One might use JB Weld or an epoxy but I never liked that material, too soft. The point is you want to fill in the gaps in an attempt to make a solid piece of plastic for which the next and final step will apply.
After you have a piece of plastic that is as solid as you can possibly make it, now you want to do a “press fit” brass inserts, not a heated one unless you are confident in your skills. A more sure way is to drill out the hole through the solid plastic and then press-fit the brass insert into the hole. I would not attempt this without access to a drill press. I have one for my Dremel which is what I would suggest. I’m pretty sure the Hotend covers use M3 screws but they may also use m2.5. The link I gave you is a kit for all sizes.
The goal here is to mount the steel plate that you machined/ground to size onto the carriage and use it for strength. In theory, one could add a second piece from the inside too but that’s probably overkill. The only possible wrinkle is that I believe the back cover is too flush to allow for more material thickness. But in truth, that cover is more of a dust cover than much else. I’ve actually operated my machine without the cover temporarily for diagnostic purposes. If you think it wouldn’t fit then you could always Dremel down the surface material and reduce the material thickness.
Sorry for not having a simpler idea but that’s the best I can come up with for now.
Well I have to give you credit, I think that might work.
However, as much as I appreciate it and I do, I think I’ll wait to hear from Support (lol) and then buy another. I have it in the cart, just figure IF i order they’ll replace it. If I don’t they’ll laugh and send me packing.
To be fair, it’s a ■■■■ design. The belt is hella hard to get in there. I don’t think I’m strong enough to break that, but I suppose physics, belt, me Hulk.
The very worst part. Sitting here looking at my printer. It’s a P1P again, but worse, and a pile of parts and screws beside it.
Bo worries on that. That would be my plan A if it were me too. As I mentioned, the route I suggested was only brain storming if… and only if… one was stuck in a space capsule, running out of air and had no chance of rescue. But sometimes it takes a little bit of Yankee Ingenuity to get the job done.
No, that was my photo and he got me worried. That was a scaled-up JPG which was why there was so much noise in the photo. But he got me worried so I had to back in and look with a pair of binocular loupes. Thankfully, it’s just part of the mold. Here’s a better shot with the camera in Macro mode, close up. It should be noted that this is an M3 screw so I’m guessing this is 30x magnification. That hole section is no more than maybe 7-10mm wide but I did not measure it but I know that the screw head is about ~3.5mm
Impatiently I’ve already ordered a replacement. I’m hoping Support and I can work something out.
I have a plan with the next one. Will use a little Super Lube on the end to insert it easier, and bolt it down securely.
I’m also replacing the belt tensioners, I’ve replaced the filament buffer, re-routed my bento wires to be invisible and shortened the wires to the flush barrel plug in the back I mounted, going to replace the Extruder board, lube all rails and screws, replace the display cable (I have a pin slipping), and do a good cleaning.
I’m replacing parts becasue I have more than one, and I’m “in there”. May replace the AUX fan while I’m at it, dusty and been running quite a bit over the past year and a half.
The printer was printing fine. Last time I ran a few ABS prints back to back the x axis started to bind. The rods something was flexing in that assembly so I decided to replace it. In my Panda Touch ordeal I pulled a pin in the display cable. I could push it back in but it popped out if I looked at it funny.
My buffer was filthy. I have 2 extra so why not. PTFE tubes will be replaced as needed too while I’m at it.
OH, and a point if anyone is interested. Flip the printer on it’s top if you can or the side. Take a cleaning qtip like thing and get under the bearings on the screws. Filty with grease and bits of filament. As well get in the pits where the guide rods are on the z axis. Use tweezers or qtip.
This is a heavier maintenance than I usually do. It’s been a little bit and to keep it working in top shape I decided to replace parts that I could.
Considering the size and scale and ambition of some of your past prints and the fact that you’ve had to add some significant modifications for thermal management, you would be exactly the kind of person that the new Qidi X plus 4 at $799 was targeted for.
YouTube is buzzing with all of the talking heads going nuts over this new printer. As of now, the only thing that it does not have is the AMS unit but that supposed to be in Q125.
This one review really caught my eye because he really tore into what he liked and didn’t like. He used that magic phrase “Appliance level” unit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKtu87oJ75I
In this video review, fast forward to 3 minutes for the meat. The guys admits that the printer was sent to him for free but he’s comparing it to over 60 other printers he owns.
All I can say is at 305x305x280mm build plate, 10mm rods all around, AMS ready, and heated chamber and it seems to be the first competitor that could easily challenge Bambu. It also runs Orca.
I need to replace the extruder gears on three P1S printers. I have hardened ones and some of the new-fangled ASA CF, soon to be joined by others in the CF suffix family.
I think you can handle it physically Malc. Extruder would be 5 screws to remove and another 4 to open. The connectors you know.
I suggest you print an extruder removal tool. I’d link but there are a few that might suit you better.
@Olias It’s a nice printer, but it’s too big for my area. I could use the added space but I don’t have the added space.
I’m becoming a firm believer that the X1 and P1 don’t need a heater unless you’re going full on high performance filaments. 60ish isn’t hard at all with just a little modification. I printed some small ABS-GF files with the door and top open. Wasn’t intentional but it worked.
I’ll leave those bigger printers for you guys. I’m brand loyal when the brand is loyal to me, and BL has been so far (knock on my head). CheeHee (sorry, always think of a Jawa when mentioning their name) seems to be on track. I will say that I don’t like how they look. Kinda like if a microwave and a washing machine had a love child but neither wanted to claim it. To each their own.
