ABP Conveyor Belt Issues

Summary:

ABP Conveyor Belt gear seems to bounce and does not stay enmeshed with the other gear. Conveyor belt also seems very tight.

ABP Conveyor Belt Issues

Renosis 07 Jan 2011 14:54

Please Help!

I just received my MakerBot Thing-o-matic kit. I have finished building the Automated Build Platform or ABP. First I must say that the conveyor belt seems awfully tight. I don't think it is going to be able to move easily, but maybe it is supposed to be like that?

So it seemed like it was too tight, so I thought I should test it, to make sure it is going to work so I won't have to take it apart later to fix it. I applied power from 4 AA batteries to the motor. What happens is, the gear seems to hop and not stay enmeshed with the motor's gear.

What could be causing these issues? Am I getting too far ahead of myself? I am really worried that this motor is not going to be able to spin this super tight conveyor belt.

Thanks,

Renosis

Re: ABP Conveyor Belt Issues

makeme 07 Jan 2011 17:18

Mine did that when I first put it together because it was spinning backwards. If the gears spin such that the top one turns CCW if you're looking directly at it, it will try to lift itself out of the retention hole. If the top one turns CW (so things go off the front of the platform) it will try to pull itself into the retention hole. All I did was turn the connector around.

You can also do the paperclip fix. http://makerbot.soup.io/tag/paperclip

Re: ABP Conveyor Belt Issues

Renosis 07 Jan 2011 18:09

Ahh… OK! Yeah, I tried it again this morning with reversed polarity and it no longer hopped :) …. Thanks so much for your reply!

Also, about the conveyor belt tightness. Is it supposed to be super super tight? Should I be able to easily push the conveyor belt with my hand and make it move, because right now, it takes a considerable amount of force to make it move manually?

Re: ABP Conveyor Belt Issues

FodderMan 07 Jan 2011 18:19

Mine is pretty darn tight. It was difficult to slide both rollers into position when I first put it together. I felt like I might break something at first, but you need that surface to be as flat as possible with no "play". In my opinion, as long as the motor can move the platform well you're good. I've also noticed that the belt expands slightly when the bed is heated, so things do move a bit easier at the end of a build.

Re: ABP Conveyor Belt Issues

Ron Wensley 07 Jan 2011 18:59

I have started having problems with the belt delaminating. Once the ABP gets hot the belt develops places that are puckered where the belt is lapped. I try and set the belt to relatively flat spot prior to printing.

MBI tells me they will have replacement belts for sale soon on their web store.

Re: ABP Conveyor Belt Issues

Rixus2 25 Sep 2012 13:28

I know its not what you want to hear, but everyone in my group gave up on the ABP and dropped the aluminum build plate on there with kapton tape. It will just keep failing/wrinkling on you, often within the first week or two of use.

Last edited on 25 Sep 2012 13:34 by Rixus2 Show more

Re: ABP Conveyor Belt Issues

artbot 15 Oct 2012 19:40

I've found a titanium belt is a great improvement (made my own up) coupled with the belt tensioner mod - thing:13896. The titanium is pretty tough and won't pucker from heat.