3D printing: Springs vs. Silicone Spacers
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- Опубликовано: 6 июл 2024
- In this video we go over the differences between springs and silicone spacers for your 3D printer! Which one works? What problems are we solving? I'll help to answer these questions and more in the video!
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0:00 Intro
0:36 What's the purpose?
2:18 Solutions
2:39 Spring Constant
3:18 Range of adjustment
4:41 Staying ability
5:25 Cost
5:39 Install
6:48 Conclusion 
Хобби
Keyword: lock nut. Keeping your "wheels" from turning on their own can be addressed by printing your own wheels and inserting a lock nut into them. Not having too much pressure on the bed also has an advantage as allowing some "flex" can allow the extruder to get filament out even if your nozzle is actually a bit too close, since the pressure can push down the bed a bit is those springs are not too strong. So, if you are only trying to stop those wheels from turning, then I think an (M4) lock nut makes most sense.
That’s a great idea! Good advice!
Thank you very much for your help. For me it solved my problem.😁
I tried both the improved bed springs and silicone spacers, but had significantly more quality issues with the spacers than with the springs. This could be just settings in Cura that i could change to fix, but by default the springs had better quality with the default .2mm layer height cura profile.
great video
this was one of the best and well thought out videos i have seen in a long time and i am very happy with the sheer amount of information given. this is the exact problem i have with my printer where the stock springs allow the bed to shake too much so there are inconsistant layer lines and my prints look bad. now, i am confident that with the new upgrade, i shouldnt have any problems with it.
I used silicone spacers for a while, but found that eventually the tops against the hotbed had mushroomed and I was getting inconsistencies with my leveling, some had to be so tight it just warped the bed, and I lost some adjustable range. I switched to the upgraded yellow springs and It's since solved my issues entirely
Interesting take, I haven't experienced or heard about this before!
Same, I actually changed them today at work. I had the adaptive mesh macro tuned in so I put it off for far too long.
When I first got them I thought I was damping a bunch of vibration lol
This determined my decision. I’ve been using stiff springs for years. Wanted to see if these are worth it. Thanks!
Wow, thank you! I might actually go with the stiff springs now
Great video! Subbed
Awesome, thank you for the sub!
Thanks for the video. Why is one spacer shorter than the others?
Great post, nice work!
This is a good comparison. Just a couple thoughts from an automation point of view. If you're printing higher temp material like ABS or PC, your results may vary. In general, silicone will provide more mechanical cycles but will "move" dimensionally over time/temp. Metal springs will be dimensionally stable under constant load/temp but lose spring force under repeated mechanical cycling.
I'm going with the metal springs on my Aquila because I'm planning to do print some PC and ASA. (Other mods required too). My assumption being that once the level is dialed in, the mechanical cycling due to thermal expansion/contraction will have less effect than the temperature swings.
Before silicone spacers where a thing I used some fiberglass under PTFE tape where the Springs mount so they don't pull heat from the bed. One thing that helped by far the most is adding a sleeve in-between the screw and the spring to remove shifting. I also tighten as much as possible (but still adjustable) for two reasons, remove resonance and to more holding force on the wheel nut so it doesn't walk out. An added M4 nut to lock it won't hurt, just don't recommend using a locking nut (the ones with nylon in them) or any type of lock-tight because then the screw will just spin and you'll have to either make a hole in the magnetic sheet or just remove bed if your lucky
I have a klack ender probe on my ender 3 so I haven't checked level in ages...Today the adjustment nob fell off mid print... printing tpu spacers right now...
Good looking
Thanks for the comment!
The bolts introduce a bit of wobble This is the root of the working loose The fix is either nylon nuts or nylock nuts and nylon washers You must protect the bed heater doing this
how long did it take you to get good prints
Wouldn't using nylon lock nuts in the bed screws prevent them from loosening in the first place? The stiffer springs and silicone spacers seem to put more pressure on the stock nuts puts more friction on the adjustment knobs but the issue seems to be the nuts embedded in bed adjustment knobs.
Good idea I think that would work. I’d have to check how the screw is constrained in the bed. If nothing is holding it, it might just turn when tightening the lock nut.
Just curious, why didn't you remove the Z axis limit switch when you have a BL touch? Is there any benefit in terms of redundancy?
I just chose to keep it there in case I need it some day. Highly unlikely though
Also no benefits of redundancy since I unplugged it for the BLTouch. I’m not sure if it would work or cause more problems if you tried to connect both
Silicone spacers on my printer was one of the best upgrades on my printer.
So simple, so cheap, so easy! Can’t go wrong 👍
did your printer by cany chance have the problem with inconsistancies between layers. mine did and i am going to try theses sillicone spacers since evrybody says they work so well.
Very good and informative video on the silicone bed columns!! I am thinking to print them out of TPU.. Any thoughts?
Ahh yes I did this on some soft mounting feet for my CR-30. I just had to print out several test pieces changing the infill density and number of perimeter walls. I think it’s achievable you just might have to experiment a bit.
would a drop of loctite on the 'weels" be an option ? to prevent them from "running"
yes, that would be an option, but it might be difficult to take off later if the bolt is spinning in the bed. Not a big deal, you just might have to take things apart a little further. Using a Nylon lock nut to save a few grams of weight is on my to-do list haha
@@DesktopInventions I've already have locknuts under te screws in the bed so they are quite fixed after watching this tutorial ruclips.net/video/v5u_Xgq62nQ/видео.html&si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE
@@DesktopInventions With heat the locktite comes loose.
Loctite ruins most plastic it touches! Be careful with it.
why do you have a z axis switch if you have a bl touch i thought you can only use 1 or the other
i have a z axus switch still on my printer but it is unplugged which i think is the likely case here
Would this work on my ender 3v2 neo?
Absolutely!
3:55 Your measurements were never at 12mm eg. for the blue spring, as the ruler wasn’t measuring from 0. You were measuring at the end of the ruler and the mark of 15 was about 5mm or so from the end of the ruler.
That Carriage looks so heavy. but nice video.
Thanks! Yea I'm in the middle of making an updated design, coming soon!
Yea id love to see that on my ender 3 s1 pro sprite extruder. Sick engine!! 😂
Well done, you used science.
Thanks! I try my best 😃
Hmm, I've been using the stock silver springs in my first generation Ender 3 since I bought it many years ago and have never had any problems with loosening issues through hundreds of hours of printing. Maybe Creality used stronger springs 6-7 years ago. I don't have ABL installed. The majority of the time the bed stays leveled with slight touch-ups needed only occasionally. Really the only time I have to do a complete level is after a nozzle change or any major work on the hot end (which is rare). I start the leveling process with the springs 1 to 1.5 turns of the adjustment wheel from fully compressed. This gives maximum spring tension while allowing for some adjustment. I bought a set of heavier tension springs several years ago but they're in storage somewhere gathering dust.
Yes if you have the stock springs near full compression it will be much better, that’s probably why you don’t have issues. I remember when I first got my Ender 3V2 the Z stop would let me tighten the springs very much since it limited the gantry downward travel. Because of that I had issues with the springs loosening over time.
@@DesktopInventions That's why people cut stopper on Z endstop, it lest's you lower your Z as much as you want. I personally never had an issue with stock springs but I changed them anyway to stiffer ones some 6months later and they hold my bed great. I need to tram my bed once a month compared to stock (every week), not fan of ABL
Same experience as you with stock springs. I bought my Ender3v2 february 2022 and still use the stock springs. I do have the yellow in a bag but see not reason to use them. On the contrary they are very stiff and since there are four springs you can deform your bed with them.
I marked the wheels and they never change position by themself so since I don't have any problem I keep the original springs.
@@larsaberg6851 Good tip to mark the wheels!
Even the cheapest stock springs, if you're working right, are plenty sufficient for trouble-free use. There are no good reasons to replace them.
You are solving the wrong problem!
you have dunning-kruger