Nema 23 Questions

wilriker

There's only so many places in Canada to get printer stuff.

I cannot comment on that but as @TimVukman pointed out Gates belts are mostly used in automotive and I guess there are more shops based in Canada to get these kinds of parts.

deckingman

@timvukman I've been using generic (non-Gates) belts for many years and never had a problem. That's moving a very heavy print head (around 1.5 Kgs) around at high speeds and accelerations. Other users, on other forums have reported that they can't really tell any difference between generic and Gates belts in terms of any print artefacts. I'm not saying that all generic belts are good and maybe there are some cheap Chinese ones around that have issues, but I've never come across any in my own personal experience.

TimVukman

@phaedrux

Thanks for the Canadian distributor list. I have not dealt with Filamensts.ca yet. I'll go check out the products they carry.

Tim
edited to fix spelling

TimVukman

@deckingman

Thanks. Good to know feedback. I'm not sure how much use one would have to have to stretch them. I would think that it would take a while. I know from cutting mine that there is a layer of fiber inside the belt for reinforcement, so it may last quite some time without issue.

TimVukman

@deckingman
Sorry, I missed this in the bunch that came in since I last checked the board. Thanks, that's the one I ordered!

deckingman

@timvukman Yes. They are timing belts. Their function is not to stretch.

I've read several of posts on various forums from people who have tried steel cored belts, thinking that they would be better from a stretching point of view. Then they fail because the steel cores break through being bent around a small pulley, the straightened, then bent - etc etc. Then when the steel core breaks, thee is no support for the rubber so the belt stretches which completely defeats the object of having steel cores.

I think its the tooth profile and what the teeth are made of that is the important thing. If these aren't right, they will wear because of the bad material itself, or because the teeth don't mesh properly with the pulley. If there is a build up of black dust around the pulleys, that's a good indication that something is amiss.

Having said all that, I consider belts to be consumable items which should be replaced periodically - just as one replaces can belts on cars.

Phaedrux

@timvukman said in Nema 23 Questions:

@phaedrux

Thanks for the Canadian distributor list. I have not dealt with Filamensts.ca yet. I'll go check out the products they carry.

Tim
edited to fix spelling

They have a lot of harder to find specialty stuff. And the house brand they use is pretty decent.

TimVukman

@deckingman
That's not a great ad for steel core belts, but I am not surprised. I wonder if they would be a good target for 60 tooth wheels. The bend arc would be much more relaxed.

TimVukman

@phaedrux
Well, that was quite the education on what is available in the filament market. I had no idea there were so many choices. Thanks!

TimVukman

Hi
In going back to belt drive, I've had some issue with skipping, but they seemed to be mechanical. My X axis is mounted inside the printer frame although it is a 20x40 mounted vertically with half of it above the frame. It's been a challenge to find a way to mount the motor so that the gear with the teeth is at the end of the axis.

I'm at a point where the first layer tends to wander around a bit on X. It seems to eventually decide where it wants to be while still in the first layer and then it starts printing properly. I'm only using a fairly small arc of the gear motor so I suspect I need to increase the number of teeth that I am engaging.

I think I will end up mounting the motor to the outside frame and extending the belt.

wilriker

Finally I came around to create the online calculator. See this thread.