MTW and The Trouble Ticket and A Design Change

I really should have addressed this much sooner.  The trouble ticket I opened with MTW has been closed by me.  In the interval between receiving the report of the bent rod and opening the ticket, Tony managed to straighten the bent rod.  I really shouldn't underestimate his resourcefulness like that.

MTW had offered us the option of photographing the bent rod to show need and then shipping us a replacement free of charge.  They really owned the problem.  Tony was just there way ahead of us in true maker fashion.

I can't really say enough good things about how MTW reacted and owned the situation - their service department takes service seriously.  I just wanted everyone who might be reading to know that.

The design change I mentioned in the title is to the Y-Axis, and is a temporary one.  This all started when I finally decided to order the slide I wanted from Trinity Labs.  Unfortunately, Trinity Labs has been going through something of a rough patch - one of their principals (who was doing a lot of heavy lifting for them) took ill and had to put aside business in favor of recovering from his condition.

By the time I was ready to place an order, Trinity Labs was no longer operating their store on the web.  This being the case, I've begun casting about again for a Y-Axis slide solution, and hoping Trinity Labs gets their situation sorted out.  I also hope their employee recovers full health and well-being.

So... to get things going in the meanwhile, I have implemented an old-style rod-mounted Y-axis ala' the original MendelMax design.  Eventually, when Trinity returns to business or, failing that, when I find a viable and affordable alternative,  maybe a Y-axis slide is in the future of this build.  For now, this slide configuration seems to be going together nicely enough, and looks as if it will support a level of accuracy that is at least acceptable.

Tony was able to put three LM8UU linear ball bearings and a pair of 5/16" rods in my hands for free (generous guy, Tony is) that he had laying around from his old Prusa build. 

I haven't had time to take any photos yet, but when I do, I will update this entry with them and some more details about how the axis is configured.

Meanwhile, the next step will be getting some stepper motors and a controller together.

Stay tuned, folks!  Maybe by another couple of entries we'll actually have a printer bed moving and doing alignment and testing.