Maintenance¶

In the following, I'll list some steps for doing maintenance on a regular basis. I won't go into detail about e.g. how to position the v-slot wheels or how to change parts at the hotend, as you'll find notes and instructions about that in the belonging sections about the belonging parts.

Generally speaking, this list is just some sort of a rough guideance you can follow where to keep an eye on.
Due to the fact that parts are moving, vibrances occur and heat is being generated, parts will wear and tear and components may fail sooner or later.
So it's advisable to keep an eye on the whole construction as well as on specific parts especially to avoid any malfunction as much as possible.

The more you're using the printer, the more often and regular you should actually proceed these checks. Sooner or later it'll become a routine for you, so don't be overwhelmed by the following list.

If you're using the machine not that often, you still should pay attention. In this case keep an extra eye on the v-slot wheels and their position and condition, as it may happen that they'll become indented due to resting in the same position over a longer time. You should be able to feel any dents when moving the wheels, but you probably have to be a bit sensitive for being able to tell that.

This is still WIP, so maybe come back another time as well.. ;)

Frame¶

Check if all screws, bolts and nuts are still tight as they should be.
These parts can come loose due to vibrations.
If you encounter loose screws, bolts or nuts, it's a good idea to add some Loctite.
In that case also check if the frame itself is still in the proper rectangular shape, that the z-axis frame is still mounted perpendicular and so on.

Axes¶

Check the axes if any visible damage of the belonging parts hits your eyes.
Make sure everything is as tight as it should be, but still freely to move nice and smooth.

X-Axis¶

You should inspect the wheels and belts and the belonging parts like pulleys etc from time to time to make sure everything is in a good condition and nothing will suddenly break.

Belt

• Check the belt tension from time to time as it might wear out and lengthen a bit.
• Check the teeth of the belt if they are still good looking or if they're worn out or if even some teeth are missing.
• Check if you can see any cracks or other damage at the belt.

Pulleys

• Check the pulleys of the motors which are driving the belts. Are they also looking ok? Did they become loose on the motor shaft somehow?

Wheels

• Check the position of the wheels as well as the bolts and nuts are still being tight.
• Do you see any debris? Clean it off.
• Do you see any signs of heavy wear and tear like in the following picture? If so, check the position and pressure as well as if any damage (besides the wear&tear) is visible.
  
• Check if you can see or feel any dents at the wheels.
• Check if the bearings still move nice and smooth or if you can feel any hiccups during movement.

Motor

• Is the motor still mounted firmly?
• Is the bracket that holds the motor still straight as it should be, or is it maybe not due to too much belt tension being used?
• Is the shaft of the motor still straight as it should be, or is it maybe not due to too much belt tension being used?
• Is the pulley that is pressed onto the motor shaft still in place, in a good condition and is it still sitting tight on the shaft?
• Is the connection of the wire still fine?

Limit Switch

• Is the limit switch still working?
• Is it still mounted firmly as it should be?
• Is the connection of the wire still fine?

X-Axis Gantry¶

You should inspect the wheels at those Y-shaped brackets and check if any sagging of the unsupported side of the gantry occurs.

Wheels

• Check the position of the wheels which are running along the z-axis rails as well as the bolts and nuts are still being tight.
• Do you see any debris? Clean it off.
• Do you see any signs of heavy wear and tear like in the following picture? If so, check the position and pressure as well as if any damage (besides the wear&tear) is visible.
  
• Check if you can see or feel any dents at the wheels.
• Check if the bearings still move nice and smooth or if you can feel any hiccups during movement.

Y-Shaped Brackets

• Check if the brackets are still in the correct position so that the outer wheels rest in the v-slot of the rails equally.
• Check if the screws where the brackets are mounted to the rail with are still tight.

Y-Axis¶

You should inspect the belts and the belonging parts like pulleys etc from time to time to make sure everything is in a good condition and nothing will suddenly break.

Belt

• Check the belt tension from time to time as it might wear out and lengthen a bit.
• Check the teeth of the belt if they are still good looking or if they're worn out or if even some teeth are missing.
• Check if you can see any cracks or other damage at the belt.

Pulleys

• Check the pulleys of the motors which are driving the belts. Are they also looking ok? Did they become loose on the motor shaft somehow?

Wheels

• Check the position of the wheels as well as the bolts and nuts are still being tight.
• Do you see any debris? Clean it off.
• Do you see any signs of heavy wear and tear like in the following picture? If so, check the position and pressure as well as if any damage (besides the wear&tear) is visible.
  
• Check if you can see or feel any dents at the wheels.
• Check if the bearings still move nice and smooth or if you can feel any hiccups during movement.

Motor

• Is the motor still mounted firmly?
• Is the bracket that holds the motor still straight as it should be, or is it maybe not due to too much belt tension being used?
• Is the shaft of the motor still straight as it should be, or is it maybe not due to too much belt tension being used?
• Is the pulley that is pressed onto the motor shaft still in place, in a good condition and is it still sitting tight on the shaft?
• Is the connection of the wire still fine?

Limit Switch

• Is the limit switch still working?
• Is it still mounted firmly as it should be?
• Is the connection of the wire still fine?

Z-Axis¶

You should inspect the screw and the belonging parts like the anti-backlash nut, the motor coupler etc from time to time to make sure everything is in a good condition and nothing will suddenly break.

Lead Screw

• Is the lead screw still vertically aligned?
• Is there any debris of the POM from the anti-backlash nut in the threads?
• Is the screw still lubed?
  Clean off the old lubrification and add some new, I personally use "Super Lube" for this.

Anti-Backlash Nut

• Is it still tightly mounted to that metal bracket or did the screws become loose?
• Is it still compressed?
• Can you see any visible wear & tear of the POM inside of the anti-backlash nut?

Motor & Coupler

• Is the coupler which connects the shaft of the motor and the lead screw still tight?
• Is the motor still mounted firmly?
• Is the connection of the wire still fine?

Limit Switch

• Is the limit switch still working?
• Is it still mounted firmly as it should be?
  Check both parts: the one at the frame and the little lever at the x-gantry.
• Is the connection of the wire still fine?

Printhead & Extruder¶

You should check the printhead and the extruder from time to time as well.
Also check if the part cooling fan as well as the heatsink cooling fan still work properly.

Extruder

• Is filament still being fed correctly?
• Is the tension of the spring still correct?
• Are the gears still clean or did any debris of filament build up?

Hotend

• Are all screws still tight?
  Pay special attention to the grub/set screws at the heater block which hold the thermistor and cartridge heater in place!
• Are the screws that hold the heatbreak in the heatsink still tight or is the heatbreak somewhat loose in the heatsink?
• Is the whole hotend still rigid and firmly mounted, or does anything appears to be somewhat loose and wobbles? Can anything be moved and twisted by hand?
• Are the thermistor and the cartridge heater still in place?
• Do you see any harmed insulation of the wires of the thermistor or cartridge heater, do you see any bare wires shining through?
  If so, get replacement parts and install them.
• Do you see any melted filament around the top or the bottom of the heater block, right at the threads of the heatbreak and the nozzle?
  If so, then don't start a printjob! You need to check the seating of both parts immediately!
  Best would be to heat up the hotend, disassemble it, give everything a good cleaning and reassemble everything.
  Inspect the PTFE inliner of the heatbreak and make sure it's not melted, deformed or clogged and that it's cut straight. Best would be to replace it with a Capricorn XS tube right away.
  When reassembling and reinstalling the parts, make sure the nozzle and the heatbreak touch each other firmly in the block and make sure the PTFE inliner of the heatbreak sits flush against the bottom of the nozzle. Re-tighten the nozzle after heating up the hotend to ~250°C while holding the heater block in place with an adjustable wrench.
• Is the nozzle clean and not yet worn out?
• Is the silicone sock still ok, does it also still sit in the correct position?

Fans

• Are the part cooling fan and the heatsink cooling fan still working properly?
• Are the screws which hold them in place still tight?
• Are the blades of the fans clean, or did dust build up? If so, clean it off.
• Can the fans rotate freely or is anything (e.g. wires, cable ties) hitting them?
• Do you see any fine strings of filament being caught up somewhere in the fans? If so, clean them off.

ABL Sensor

• Is the sensor still in the correct position, or did the bracket maybe become loose and therefore the sensor sagged?
• Does it still trigger when detecting metal?

Bed¶

Gantry & Plate

• Is the bedgantry still stable, or does it wobble?
• Are the screws which hold the bedplate onto the gantry still tight?
• Is the magnetic foil still sticking fine everywhere, or is it coming up somewhere?
  Are any bubbles underneath the magnetic foil visible?
• Is the PEI plate still fine or is it severly scratched or is the PEI coating severly harmed in a larger area?

Wiring

• Does the wiring still look good, or are any damages visible?
• Is bare wire shining through the insulation?
• Are any dark spots at the insulation visible or is insulation even already melted somewhere (mainly the 24V wires)?