Recent content by wyb2

If you don’t have a tool set right now, just get one of those approx 200 piece sets that comes with blow molded case, or approx 300 piece sets that comes in a little blow molded “tool box”. You can keep it in a closet in an apartment, and it will have 90% of what you need without trying to...

That’s hilarious, I wonder how many they shipped out like that. On the upside, you now have a perfectly good 1.75mm nozzle.

These cheap machines exist on a spectrum between a complete working machine out of the box and a kit of parts. If customer service helps you, that’s great. But I wouldn’t rely on it at this price point. The problems being inconsistent, I would look for loose connections and potential EMI issues.

I guess it’s possible. On the way down it would have the weight of Z carriage and spindle helping rather than fighting the motor, so I would think you would be able to see/hear it attempting to plunge. Can you adjust machine settings (max speed) in Easel? That might save you having to...

But didn’t you state earlier that the Z heights seem correct after the failed rapid up? As I think others have pointed out, once you loose steps that were sent to the motor you at screwed, the delta will carry forward. Seems to me like it’s not hardware related and there is a software issue...

You just reminded me of a problem I had with my 3020 where it would randomly freeze mid-program with the spindle still running. It was extremely irritating because it would lose home when this happened, so any variation when I re-zeroed would carry through rerunning the program. This was...

This is a typical Chinese 3018 with the spindle motor clamped in place? If it seems like the bit slipped but it really doesn’t seem like it should have, make sure the spindle is mounted tightly. If you forget to fully tighten the clamp hardware, the whole spindle can jump down under load...

If you don’t want the headache and it’s not too late, return them and just buy the linkable LED fixtures. My garage came with 8’ T12 fixtures. I thought that was crazy for a home garage, but I wasn’t going to fix what wasn’t broken. Until I was trying to remount one to a better position and...

I will add, as others have said, don’t over torque them. It seems a lot of people used to larger or grade 8 hardware grab their 3/8 ratchet, give it a good yank, and complain that “this crappy home-depot bolt just snapped right off” A grade 2 1/4-20 bolt wants like 5 ft-lbs, not 25. You could...

Unmarked would be Grade 1 or 2, with a min material yield strength of 36,000 psi. That strength times the minor area of a 1/4-20 bolt gets your right around 1,000 lbs. To get single shear strength, a typical factor is 60%, so 600 lbs. A safety factor of 3 is generally nice and safe, so we...

Brass or bronze? Color comes off as bronze to me. If so, that would support the idea of some marine appreciation. Edit for clarity: generic bronze is much more corrosion resistant than generic brass in saltwater environments. At least from the perspective of recreational sailing, brass is...

Another vote for headlamp. Rechargeable, get a 2-pack, run them on medium or low. The 2nd will finish charging before the one on your head dies. Ever time I try to use something else, I eventually grab the headlamp for “this one spot.” Once I have it on I sorta forget I have it on, and...

Delrin (aka acetal aka POM), PTFE, (aka Teflon), or UHMWPE (aka … something?) are usually recommended for low friction and wear resistance. Not sure about tapes, but they are all probably available in shim form.

I wonder what the folks that think he’s weird for not wanting to spend $140 would think of the time I welded up a “socket” out of cut up fender washers to get a plastic oil filter housing open … because I didn’t feel like driving all the way to the store. I never did make it to the store...

I think part of it is the water inside has been condensed out of the air, so it’s basically (or just is?) pure distilled water. According to google, the general corrosiveness of water goes down as ion levels go down. I’m sure it’s more complicated than that, but it sounds like distilled water...