Looking for a little repair help or replacement advice for the y axis motor on my @Printrbot simple.
When I performed my first print the green wire on the Y axis motor got wrapped around the zip ties on the acme rod and was ripped out of the motor and the connector.
I attempted to re-solder it back inside the motor and to the connector but once reassembled it would not operate normally. It sounds like it is moving but it just sort of vibrates.
If I manually help it along after sending a command to it it will turn a little , but not smoothly. When unplugged it seems to spin freely.
Can I purchase a replacement motor from @Printrbot ? I also found this on amazon but would like to make sure that it is the same motor and/or compatible:
Any help would be greatly appreciated, I am very eager to use my new printer
Dumb question - are you sure the solder joint in the motor is good? The 4 wires form 2 pairs of circuits - I trust you tested them afterwards with an ohm meter to confirm they are both conducting and have very similar resistances.
For others attempting this kind of repair - the wire in the coils is enamel coated as an insulator. You need to clean that off first before soldering. I’m not sure what the correct way to do that is - I use the tried and true red-neck method of burning it off with a lighter. And then lots of flux when soldering to clean it up.
yeah Opening steppers can demagnetize the permanent magnets makign the stepper loose torque. when looking for a new motor you want to find a high torque motor with a much higher current rating than the mercury one you linked too. I’m not sure the ratings on the printrbot motors, I presume they’re using Nima17 motors (which is a standard ‘size’ and screw placement. the motors can go longer on the shaft axis) but that standard does not encompas the torque, current or voltage.
just saw the last picture in your pictures there, that does look like it’s the same motor you linked too, eh looks like printrbot use really low torque motors? wow. do they heat up lots? you’d get away with that on the Z axis, but I’d expect Y would be a problem (I’ve been there done that)
Alex Wiebe, your redneck method is actually the correct method. We usually solder dip the leads to remove the coating. Nick, you might have a bad stepper driver chip. They are very sensitive to being unplugged with power applied. Turn off the power, unplug one of the other stepper motors and replug it into the possibly bad port. If the motor works correctly then your board is okay. Try re-soldering the wire and if you need more wire it’s okay to unwrap one turn.
You probably want to replace all of your printrbot motors. They use some really poorly-spec’d ones. Unfortunately, some of their kits use old stock that they bought from MBI, which were not only poorly-spec’d but had a non-standard shaft diameter, so the pulleys won’t fit a good motor.
Last I knew, Printrbot had burned through the stock of Makerbot 50002 motors last summer, along with the crummy small Wantai that they used in the Jr, and had moved to all Kysan. I recall seeing pictures of skids with what must have been literally tons of Kysan boxes.
Thanks @Brook_Drumm that is very generous of you. I went ahead and sent Dave an email. I really appreciate the great customer service and you taking the time to respond.
Yes @Bill_Owens all the large motors (x, z, and extruder) are Kysan #1124090 . Only the small one was from Mercury motors. I am asuming that was a design decision so that that motor would clear the printr board when traveling on the z axis.
I have bought tens of thousands of motors in the last 2 years. kysan has had problems keeping up with our demand. I have bought from wantai, circuit specialists, Adafruit, ultimachine, sparkfun… From any reputable company with the appropriate motors for the job.
Yes, kysan originally made a custom motor for us to keep the Simple bot small. It used 3 small (x,y,z) and one large for the extruder. I ordered enough for 1000 Simples and thought that would last me a while… We sold many thousands and so the 6-8 week lead time for the custom motors put me in a pickle. I made some small design changes to the Simple’s x and z to accept the large motors instead. Y remains the only small motor due to size constraints. I buy so many large motors I get great deals so the price break I used to get by ordering smaller motors isn’t really an incentive anymore. The metal simple we are working on has the electronics tucked underneath and allows us to use a large motor for the Y if we choose. It would be nice to not have to chase down these smaller motors! ;). I am grateful that I have these types I problems, though. My day to day pain is sourcing parts for the huge sales we have been so fortunate to enjoy.
-brook
+Nick Adams The Y motor needs to be short because @Brook_Drumm has a fetish about keeping the electronics hidden and insists on mounting the Printrboard facing in. It’s a well-known quirk of his Those of us who delight in geeky-looking equipment just mount the board on the outside and enjoy all the extra clearance and easy access. And FWIW all of the motors on our Simple work fine, including the old Makerbot one, because it’s being used within spec.
it’s on me. He’ll need your address