I recently decided to upgrade some part of my old gMax 1.0 as well as stiffened up the structure to reduce some of the unwanted movement of the frame (slop).
My prints were starting to get pretty bad so I had to make some changes. So I figured I share the changes as others that have the same printer, and would like to achieve better prints, could find this post helpful.
This is what I did:
1.Calibrated the steps per minute to a more accurate number, by measuring the motion with a micrometer and correcting the error in the Arduino firmware.
2. Squared the x, y and z axis with a micrometer and a 90 degree angle.
3. Replace all cracked PLA parts with PETG parts
4. Upgrade to the new gMax 1.5 + Y axis bed
5. Replaced the Plexiglas print surface with a borosilicate glass
6. Printed additional braces to stiffen up the structure (see pics)
7. Upgraded to a lager LCD screen
8. Made a new spool holder and filament guide
9. Added Z clips to x and y belts to further keep any belt slack under control
10. Upgraded to the gMax 1.5 + Arduino firmware
11. Removed the PLA angle braces (most had cracked) and bolted the aluminum extrusions of the base of the printer
directly with metal bolts
The results yielded prints with no ringing, no ripples on straight lines or vertical surfaces, and obtained better dimensional accuracy.
My prints were starting to get pretty bad so I had to make some changes. So I figured I share the changes as others that have the same printer, and would like to achieve better prints, could find this post helpful.
This is what I did:
1.Calibrated the steps per minute to a more accurate number, by measuring the motion with a micrometer and correcting the error in the Arduino firmware.
2. Squared the x, y and z axis with a micrometer and a 90 degree angle.
3. Replace all cracked PLA parts with PETG parts
4. Upgrade to the new gMax 1.5 + Y axis bed
5. Replaced the Plexiglas print surface with a borosilicate glass
6. Printed additional braces to stiffen up the structure (see pics)
7. Upgraded to a lager LCD screen
8. Made a new spool holder and filament guide
9. Added Z clips to x and y belts to further keep any belt slack under control
10. Upgraded to the gMax 1.5 + Arduino firmware
11. Removed the PLA angle braces (most had cracked) and bolted the aluminum extrusions of the base of the printer
directly with metal bolts
The results yielded prints with no ringing, no ripples on straight lines or vertical surfaces, and obtained better dimensional accuracy.