Small screwdriver stl anyone?
I am forever tweaking the drivers and it scares me to stick my screwdriver into the guts of my controller, when things suddenly go buzzzzz. And the forces applied are actually minimal, so I thought - maybe there is a small screwdriver model somewhere? PLA should be able to withstand the use I intend for it.
Can’t find one by myself though, only hex adapters.
This would be a great time to learn one of the 3D modeling programs. You wouldn’t even have to start from scratch; I know there are screwdriver type handles on Thingiverse, so just model the shaft and the flat tip to your specifications.
If you really don’t want to learn one of the several free modeling programs, I could whip one up for you. But, trust me, you open up tons of uses for your 3D printer when you design your own objects.
http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:127348 That is my OpenScad scewdriver i made for just that purpose, you can adjust the inner hex size (there is a bug in the script, the units are not right at the moment) i have made dozens of these in all shapes and sizes for friends.
@Carlton_Dodd , learning 3D modeling is what comes next - but for now I am concentrated on 1) making it work right and 2) having fun with it!
Between Kisslicer options and Repetier settings my head is already bulging in places, so there is not much space left to fill with yet another completely new knowledge. Thanks for your offer - I’d prefer to learn and do it myself though. That’s the whole point of my excercise 
I may take @Camerin_hahn 's handle tonight, and add a screwdriver tip suitable for the little SMD potentiometers on the motor drivers. I’ll post the result if I do make it.
@Camerin_hahn
Thanks! I saw your design on Thingiverse. What I am wondering about is why there aren’t any small adjustment screwdriver models published - PLA seems strong enough for the task. Or is it not?
@John_Ridley
yeah, these are the ones I am thinking of - problem is, we are so early in the year, delivery from China will not happen unti mid-february or something, that with their Christmas backlog et cetera. And that while the printer I will adjust it with is theoretically able to provide me with the tool!
I would want my small screwdriver you have a nice thin tip, the problem is that means a really small contact area, so adhesion may be questionable. i purchased the cheap metal screwdriver heads and use these handles (the heads are too small for my fingers)
@John_Ridley
far from that! 0.5 is more my kind of size for the moment and I see what you mean - the tips in my Swiss Army Cybertool knife are small enough to be impossible to reproduce with that kind of nozzle. Well, that probably answers my question about designs - there aren’t that many because it requires rarely available hardware… Alright, DX here I come!
@Igor_Larine Look for television adjustment screwdrivers. Small, plastic, and usually really cheap.
I was able to improvise with a stick carved out of some maple scrap from the basement woodshop, but it didn’t last. As @John_Ridley suggested, the ceramic screwdrivers are the way to go. . . just don’t drop them 
Besides printing one, you could probably coat a metal one in abs juice or melted plastic
Ceramic screwdrivers!? I must have them!
Good luck finding the right settings for your stepper drivers. If you have to keep tweaking them, I would guess there is something wrong.
@NathanielStenzel
yeah, well, wish me luck finding out what it is - it’s the X axis, I tune the driver a bit lower and the motor starts skipping steps (after a while, to make it interesting). I tune it a bit higher and it starts overheating even on idle. Rods lubricated, almost parallel (1 mm difference between the sides) - the whole thing rolls on its bearings without any resistance when the belt is disconnected. I might as well give up and disassemble the axis altogether - want to make a bunch of changes to it anyway.
@Bill_Owens I actually thought of printing out something rough in PLA then filing it to the right shape. The main concern though is whether such a screwdriver will last any time at all - I suspect the material of the tip must be much harder…
@Brook_Drumm
RepRapDiscount includes a ceramic screwdriver in every one of their RAMPS kits, so I suspect they’re fairly cheap in quantity. . .
@Igor_Larine
I would not rely on tweaking the stepper drive that way. I’ve tried it and been very frustrated, the same kinds of symptoms you’ve described. Then I switched to adjusting the pots by measuring voltage with a digital voltmeter, and everything runs just fine. Motors are warm but not hot, axes don’t skip.
As for a printable screwdriver, I don’t think you could make one that would work at all. TV adjustment tools are fiberglass filled plastic for strength and even they tend to have tiny steel inserts for the really small tips.
@John_Ridley , Bill Owens - I think it’s not the motor but the driver. One of these has failed already, and this one seems to be failing as well. Motors are the same all over my printer - I got a set of 5 from the same source, and there is only one axis where it gives me problems. And it’s not cranked up that much! Voltage on that driver is about 0.53 while on Y next to it it. s 0.5, Z is 0.36 and extruder is 0.9 - all perform well, extruder heats up a bit but I cranked it up after it has skipped a couple of times on me. The motors are also quite cool - Y is almost cold to touch, so are Z motors of course, and extruder is of ambient tempereture on idle and about +50C while printing. X is +50-60C on idle and +70C while printing - and skipping steps!
Just today I have spent a while disassembling the whole X axis and reassembling it again to make sure there are no obstructions - enlarged a bit the path for the X belt, made the X rods as parallel as I can (37.75 mm on one side and 38.30 on te other) and generally tightened things up - to no avail. The extruder assembly rolls on the bearings with a gently push while beltless, and quite evenly with the belt on. Overtightened the belt at first - things on the X axis have stopped to move altogether, ok, readjusted the tensions until the belts were not too slack nor too tight. No luck, the first bloody test pyramid had the upper half printed over thin air. Lemme try changing the drive ( i have a stash of those…) before I officially curse the first driver’s manufacturer…