Trouble shooting my Creality Ender 5 Plus

Man-o-man it's been a journey working with my Creality Ender 5 Plus, but I see the light at the end of the tunnel.  You see, my Ender 5 Plus is my first 3D printer and my first major dive into the world of 3D printing.  I'm a tinkerer/engineer, so I'm no stranger to have to trouble shoot and fix things, but when you're unaware that there is a problem in the first place, that's a different story.  I have just realized that my prints have been leaning in the Y direction, like all of them!  Many of my first prints were short in height, so I didn't pay that much attention to it, but as my prints became taller it has become more apparent that there is a huge slant to my prints.  So I just spent the last couple of days and a newish spool of PETG trying to figure out what was causing this slant.  I am now prepared to share my findings with you.  

** SPOILER ALERT check for smooth Y travel**

When I originally purchased the Ender 5 Plus and assembled it I recalled feeling a very noticeable "bump/stop" in the Y axis travel.

I didn't do much at that time to try to resolve it.  Now that I'm aware of the leaning prints I understand that the "bump" is causing the Y stepper motor to lose a fraction of a step periodically during the print.  

**Check the POM bearings and eccentric nut compression.**

So I loosened the compression on the eccentric nut until I could just barely make the POM rollers spin without making the Y axis move (I did this in attempt to make the Y axis move smoothly without any "bumps"). 

I noticed great improvement in the vertical straightness in the print that I was making and thought that the problem was solved.     
I've gone back to check the smoothness of travel on the Y axis since the print and I see that the "bump" has come back.  I know that it's the "bump" that is causing the loss of steps in the Y, but I don't know exactly what is causing the "bump".   I suspect the POM bearings, but there could also be some defect in the extruded AL. I will keep you posted. 

Mouse Mover 2 Pre-Order

 Well it's finally here, the Mouse Mover 2 Pre Order List.  So if you're here, then you've more than likely have seen the video of the Mouse Mover 2.  So in order for me to make this product available to you I need to have a minimum amount of 100 orders.   Send an email to trsrobots@gmail.com with your Name, address, and contact number (US only).  The time window for the Pre-Order list will be from Sept 6 thru Oct 31st at 11:59 am.  Please feel free to share the video so that we can get the minimum order quantity.  

If you're here and you haven't seen the video check it out below

The Journey Begins

So hear we are again, doing a robot build against the clock.  I have a deadline to have a drive-able robot chassis before August 25th 2018. Parts started to arrive at the end of last week somewhat to my surprise.  Now that they are here the real work must begin.  Prior to me actually doing any assembly, the components of the chassis need to be machined and It looks like I'll be doing it the old fashion way, without a CNC. 

I'll be documenting the build process right here on the blog.  Hopefully, manually milling the components won't be as daunting a task as it may seem.   

Introducing Hazmat Beta

Project:  Hazmat Beta
Event:  Robot Battles @ DragonCon 2018
Weight Class: 30LB

Well here you have it folks, my first official robot project in several years.  It's been a long while since I actually built a mobile robot and this marks the fist time ever that I'll be building one for my very own personal use.  You see, ever since Battle Bots 1999, I've been wanting to build a new Battle Bot in order to return to the competition, but the numerous twist and turns of life have steered me far away from that goal, until now.  So I thought, because a Battle Bot is so expensive to make, why not make a robot to compete in Robot Battle instead.  Robot Battles, for those unfamiliar, is the oldest fighting robot competition.  It has been running since the 1980's and is currently being held every year at DragonCon in Atlanta, GA.  So this year I've invested in the software/tooling that I need in order to design and build this robot from scratch.  This is great for several reasons.  First I have a chance to get my feet wet again in designing and building a mobile robot at a much lower cost than building a 250 LB Battle Bot.  Also, this gives me something for the students to experience at the STEMS fair that I attend every year.

About the robot:
This is a 30 LB omni-directional robot designed for maximum mobility.  It has a drive train unlike any I've ever seen before.  Currently, the primary weapon is in the vein of a bulldozer blade (not shown) that is attached to a linear actuator.  Right now the robot is a bit over weight, so I have much tweaking to do to get the weight down prior to fabrication.

Stay tune to this blog for updates and coverage of both the STEMS fair and the actual Robot Battles event in Sept.

Coming Back

What's up everyone.  I know that I've been gone for a long while, but now it's time for me to return here.  So be on the look out for new content coming soon.

Here's a present to all you Robotech Fans!

Well look what I've found this morning.  Engadget has made a post saying that Sony Pictures is planning a 'Robotech' live-action film franchise.  AWESOME!!!  Well, hopefully it will be.  If you're from the 80's like me then you might have grown up on these Japanimation series like Voltron, Tranzor Z, and Robotech.  I watched these show religiously after school and even went on to purchase the DVD collection as an adult.  My sincere hope is that if this movie is made that they will use as many practically special effect where possible and that the CGI will be excellent.  Here's to high hopes!

http://www.engadget.com/2015/03/26/sony-pictures-is-planning-a-robotech-live-action-film-franchis/

Hat's off to team ROBONINJA for a 3rd Place Finish!

I'd like to say congratulations to the students who make up team Roboninja for their great effort on tonight.  I've gotten word that they were able to bring home 3rd place.  Considering that they only had two opportunities to program the robot for missions, this is a great achievement.  Be on the look out for these young men in the future.  Hopefully I'll have the opportunity to work with them again.

Team ROBONINJAS!

Mission Testing