First of all a bit of background: I ordered my SM 350A in July 2019 (as part of the pre-sales batch) and received it in mid September 2020. I am using Luban 3.9 with the firmware version 1.9.0. (just mentioning in case I am part of that batch of faulty linear modules, which I don’t know although I have written to the technical support).
When using the Laser Module to engrave a map, terrible noises are coming out from the linear modules (see attached videos). It mostly happens when drawing a diagonal or a circle, but not when only moving in one direction. The noises vary in frequency depending on the direction of the diagonal move.
I have had previous problems with linear modules not moving at the same speed (the Y-Bump" problem). Could it be related to that? What is going on?
These noises cannot be normal, can they? (specially the video of 21 seconds)
Make sure you metal straps are tight and the little back thing that holds them in place didn’t come out. It will always be noisier when doing an ark but that sounds like the steel strip is vibrating to me.
Thanks for the answer Atom, but could you point out what you mean with the “little back thing that holds them”? Are those little black screws at the end of each strap?
The metal straps of X and Y linear modules look like tight (maybe the X one is a bit loose), but that sounds only appear when drawing diagonals or circles, this is, when both axis are moving at the same time, but not when drawing straight lines along only one axis.
Has anyone else in the forum experienced the same issue?
The high frequency vibration could also be the handle on the binder clip you are using. Is the is the same when you only use the rubber plugs to secure the material?
I’m referring to the black plastic piece pointed to with the red arrow. The rail here is disassembled but it dose not need to be to check that part. The yellow arrow is the screw that holds the black plastic in place but to get to that you need to unhook the metal strap.
There is a black pice on each side.
The sound your hearing is resonance. It will always be there for the SM2 (because they did not use silent stepper drivers) but yours seems to be louder then most. If that strap is loose it will vibrate and cause that noise. It only happens during curves because what ever is vibrating has a resonant frequency equal to the resonance of the steppers while performing the a curve.
I would just add that while I have been using both small and large scale CNC and many different 3d printers the Snapmaker is the noisiest machine right out of the box I’ve ever used. If you watch all the private product reviews of the machine the first thing people comment about is the noise level. Everyone thinks there is something wrong with the machine at first but it very well may just be the normal amount of noise you are hearing. This was sadly due to cost-cutting choices by Snapmaker.
Honestly, your machine sounds just like mine. This is why the enclosures are the second thing that everyone buys and are currently sold out with no new ones available in the foreseeable future. The interesting thing is that if they had chosen to use quiet actuators and stepper motors in the first place it would have only resulted in an increased cost of about $100 per unit as opposed to the $450 everyone now has to pay for the enclosure to deaden the sound.
You are right @AxiomDesign, all the initial enthusiasm caused by the tidy packaging and how well mechanised the pieces are disappears when you run it for first time.
How will these vibrations affect to the life expectancy of the machine?
As you anticipate in the way you’re asking the question, vibration lowers the life expectancy. Vibration is a form of mechanical load, at minimum, so it increase frictional wear on moving parts. This form of added load won’t be apparent for years, but which time the machine has likely been superseded.
The more catastrophic way that vibration affects lifetime is that it jostles fasteners loose. Once you have parts moving against each other in completely unplanned ways, now you’ve got the circumstances for some serious damage. I haven’t done a full breakdown of the linear modules, but from what I’ve seen here, there’s no thread locking compound on at least some parts, the ones that are coming loose. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s none in the whole machine.
Now here’s the problem. Applying thread locking compound in the places it’s needed requires disassembly. Disassembly can be construed as a warranty-voiding behavior by the manufacturer. Therefore, to compensate for a deficiency in the manufacture, you’re risking the down-side of a deficient policy of the manufacturer. I can’t make that decision for anybody else.
I’m wondering if you are experiencing what I was experiencing:
It took a while to get through this, but SM support did help, and wound up shipping me a new linear module, which did fix the issue. I’m not saying my issue is your issue… it might be, but you can see some of the trouble-shooting we did with video in that thread, if it helps.
Hi I have had my A350 for about 2 months. 40min Laser work, 2hrs CNC.
About 30hrs #d printing, today the sound of an orchestra started appears to be from X axis.
