Milo 1.5 CNC - LDO Kit

[mvdveer]

Don't get too exited, not starting this build as yet. Need to finish a few tasks on the printers so I can get some "smick" parts for the build. Have to re-visit the Ellis guide again for 5 off the printers that has had various maintenance and upgrade work done.

But......

I received my long awaited kit last night and just had to give a big shout-out to Jack from @Unique Prints, here in Melbourne that personally delivered the kit to me. Thank you so much for the effort! I must acknowledge that I did get a bit frustrated with the delay, but that was mostly due to delays from LDO itself.

For those in Australia, I can highly recommend @Unique Prints for your 3d printer needs.

I will do an unboxing post some time this week, (I have to measure a few things for @PFarm),  then will continue with this build diary once all the parts for the build are printed. 

Next:.... Milo 1.5 CNC unboxing

    

[TitusADuxass]

I'm looking forward to your build, this is probably going to be my next project (but not until winter).

[mvdveer]

Let the printing begin:

Trident 300                                                                             Voron 2.4 350mm                                Voron 2.4 300mm

    

[PFarm]

The advantage of having multiple printers  Looking forward to your progress!

Edited June 2 by PFarm

[mvdveer]

There is no downloadable manual that I could find. The manual is online and found here.

This is going to be a slow build as there are other life factors involved, but I wanted to make a start. This is a project that resulted in many re-printed parts. Printers not dialled in - layer separation in parts, dimensionally incorrect parts, ugly looking parts, you name it. Ended up with a color scheme of sparkle black and blue

• Main color: DremC Sparkle ABS+ Black
• Accent Color: E-sun ABS blue

The manual states to follow it be the LETTER, so that's what I am doing. As I go, I will outline any difficulties or pitfalls that I have encountered.

Y-Axis Assembly:

Reading through the section, the importance of "Loctite" becomes evident. The message - Apply to ALL bolts/screws. did I say ALL?

Orientation of the XY plate is important for reasons obvious later in the build. Double check.

XY Gantry Plate:

Set out the BOM for this particular section. (Notice the "locktite" )

  

Had to remove the carriages from the linear rails, as this is how they came packed by LDO. Luckily LDO supplied the necessary rails to insert into the carriages. These are actually quite loose fitting and tended to slide out easily. Had to tape them down with some sticky tape. 

Fitted the carriages to the XY Plate, making sure of the orientation, and using..........Locktite!.

As you can see, on the lower carriages above, the last row of screws are not installed. This is to accommodate for the installation of the XY Drag Chain transition part later in the build. Talking of which, this is next.  These need to be populated with heatset inserts. The LDO kit comes supplied with 4 different sizes. (M5, M3 and M2.5. M3 comes in two sizes - short and long) For this, the shorter of the M3 heatset - Inserts have to be used. Then fasten the drag chain transition to the XY Plate.

 

X and Y Anti-Backlash Nuts:

Getting the BOM set out: (The Y-anti backlash nut has been reprinted since this picture as you will see later)

Some issues encountered here. The heatserts (long M3 ones) need to be inserted into Y Anti Backlash nut as well as the X anti backlash nut. In doing this, there were some bulging of the plastic into the hole meant for the nut preventing it to enter (Can be seen better on the lower part). Reprinted and retried - same effect. reprinted and attempted during install to pressure insert towards the edge - that caused misalignment with the brass backlash nuts.  Ended up carving away the bulge with a hobby knife (scalpel actually) and obtained a good fit.

Fitted the anti backlash nuts and guess what I used........... Locktite!

Before fitting these to the XY plate, they need to be tuned for preloading. Follow the instructions in the manual, because there won't be another chance to do it without taking everything apart again.  Fitted the assemblies to the XY plate. Make sure of the orientation to the Y-backlash nut. The rounded part faces AWAY from the  drag chain transition part

.  

For now ......... that's all folks!

Next: Y-Axis Bearing and Motor Mount

Got the BOM ready for assembly

LDO came with adapters for the different heatsert to be used. The one layer out here is for the 2.5mm heatset-insert.

 

 

Quote

 

 

 

[PFarm]

There was a downloadable manual at one time but been removed from Github. I ran into the same issue with the long M3 heat inserts. I used a 13/32 bit to remove the bulge caused by the heat inserts. Do the LDO linear rails come with pre-load do the carriages slide freely when the rail is in the vertical position? The ones I purchase come with a medium pre-load.

"Before fitting these to the XY plate, they need to be tuned for preloading. Follow the instructions in the manual, because there won't be another chance to do it without taking everything apart again." Excellent advice had to take mine apart .

 Nice start I'm looking forward to your progress.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 7 by PFarm

[mvdveer]

19 minutes ago, PFarm said:

Did you install the backlash bushing on both sides? If so you'll need to remove the M3 screw to set the backlash on the TR8 lead screws.

Backlash was set prior to tightening the screws as per the description in the instructions.

[mvdveer]

Y-Axis Motor Mount and Bearing.

BOM as in end of previous post.  The only issue I encountered is that the holes for the 2.5mm heatset-inserts were too big for the supplied heatserts. However, a 3mm cannot be used as this is the mounting point for the X-Endstop. So instead of using a heatpress, I just press fitted the inserts. Only time will tell if it is going to come back and bite me. The bearing stack installation was straight forward and no real problems there. BEWARE: The heatserts are inserted from the opposite side, so there may be plastic form this process in the screw canals. Make sure to clear this out before mounting this to the extrusion, else the motor mount screws will not grip to the heatserts (blockage!). How do I know - installed the mount, then when trying to bolt in the motor, found the screw did not want to engage. Reason - plastic in the way.

      

Y-Axis Rails.

BOM:

Printed three alignment guides for the installation of the MGN15 rails.

Followed the instructions and installed without a problem. What was a bit nerve racking was sliding the XY Gantry plate onto the rails. I had the dummy rails in place but despite this, had some resistance transferring the second set of carriages onto the rails. Patience and JOB DONE!

XY Bearing block and motor.

BOM:

Make sure you have the correct lead screw.  What is the saying - Measure thrice, cut once. The 550mm screw is used (Can be confused with the 535mm)

EDIT:  Use the 535mm leadscrew at this step. The manual also calls for a 550mm to be used in the X-Axis assembly and as there are not two 550mm in the LDO kit, but only one, The 535mm was NOT best suited for theX-Axis. Had to swap the two out.

LDO Kit: Y-Axis leadscrew: 535mm, X-Axis leadscrew 550mm

Threading the lead-screw through the bearing block was not as easy as it reads in the instructions. Again slow and steady. Next was fitting the inner locking collar before pushing the lead-screw through the bearing block. The motor needs to be fastened to the X-Axis motor mount. As mentioned above, ran into a problem with plastic obstructing the motor mount screws. Locked and preloaded the collars as described. Did not at this stage mount the X-Endstop switch - will do that in the wiring phase

Y-Axis Drag Chain.

BOM - not much here.

Learned something new. Never realised drag chains have a free and a fixed end.

Installed the chain knowing it will have to be removed when I get to the wiring.

Next X-axis Assembly

 

[PFarm]

Wow, you're progressing along quickly! Nice job! Some great visual references!

[mvdveer]

10 hours ago, PFarm said:

Wow, you're progressing along quickly!

Just reprinting some parts before I get started on the X-Axis. What did I say about measure thrice - printed the X-Axis table supports with 15% infill - where was my mind? 11 hour print overnight, then on I can go on, when I have a chance. Thanks for the encouragement!

[PFarm]

8 hours ago, mvdveer said:

Just reprinting some parts before I get started on the X-Axis. What did I say about measure thrice - printed the X-Axis table supports with 15% infill - where was my mind? 11 hour print overnight, then on I go when I have a change. Thanks for the encouragement!

Most of us in this hobby have been in re-print situations, we've all been there! I love the sparkle black you're using.

Edited June 7 by PFarm

[claudermilk]

Have to put this here. Because reasons. 

[PFarm]

13 hours ago, mvdveer said:

Followed the instructions and installed without a problem. What was a bit nerve racking was sliding the XY Gantry plate onto the rails. I had the dummy rails in place but despite this, had some resistance transferring the second set of carriages onto the rails. Patience and JOB DONE!

Did you have to loosen the second carriage so it lined up with the rail?

[mvdveer]

1 hour ago, PFarm said:

Did you have to loosen the second carriage so it lined up with the rail?

Yes I did

[mvdveer]

X-Axis Assembly:

X-Axis Rails, Bearing Block and Motor Mount.

BOM:

Fitted the bearings into the bearing block, noting the 608Z bearing gets inserted from the outside of the bearing block and sandwiched in with two F608 bearings

Fastened this to the extrusions with the linear rails, noting the orientation of the bearing block.

X-Axis table.

BOM: (Note - these parts have been re-printed as you will notice further in the build. Had a brain-fart and printed this in my "test settings - quick and fast)

Fastened the extrusion to the bearing block and attached the table supports. (Reprinted with 40% infill)

Slided the assembly onto the XY Gantry plate. Had the carriages loosely tightened to allow for alignment during install.

X-Motor and Leadscrew.

BOM: (Assembled) USE the 550mm leadscrew.

The installation instructions lists a 550mm leadscrew - similar to the Y-Axis. Only problem the LDO kit only came with one 550mm and then a 535mm leadscrew. Went ahead and installed the 535 here. Although it fit, it left very little room to add the manual handwheels. I ended up swapping out the two motor mounts ending up with the 550mm for the X-Axis and the 535mm for the Y-Axis .

Fastened the X-Bearing block to the opposite end and attached the motor and leadscrew.

Fitted the drag chain end and this time opted not to install the chain itself, not the X-Endstop. Will do this as part of the wiring.

Handwheel.

Not at all happy with how they turned out, despite reprinting. (Printed without supports - probable should consider reprinting with supports enabled)

BOM: (These have been reprinted as again - these were printed with 15% infill)

Assembly is straightforward. However when mounting these, the wheel would operate well if used in the direction of the leadscrew thread, but loosened when using against the thread. (? Designed to work like this? - will have to do further research)

   

X-Axis Done: (This thing is awkward and heavy - I need a bigger bench!)

 

Next Z-Axis

[PFarm]

I had the same issue with the handwheel. I think creating two flat spots for the grubs screws would be helpful. I ended up pulling out the grub screw heat sink on one side.    You're right it's one heavy assembly!

Edited June 9 by PFarm

[mvdveer]

Z-Axis Assembly.

Setting out the extrusions made me scratch my head again. Until I reread the section. The extrusion length of 260mm given is for a standard build. The Milo kit is for a 120mm build thus the extrusion lengths are 320mm.

BOM:

Seeing I had the Full Metal Jacket Kit, I skipped ahead to these instructions.

Z-Axis Rail Assembly.

Mounted the linear rails to the extrusions

and then assembled the columns, making sure there was 18mm clearance for the bearing block to fit. Also make sure the main column has a channel on the inside when lying them out. (This is where the ballast box will go)

Next was the Full Metal Jacket installation. Each plate fixes to the extrusions with 32 screws - all needing locktite and roll-in T-nuts. Took some time aligning everything.

    

Fitted the drag chain anchor and cable hook.

Skipped back to the Z-Axis Assembly to mount the bearing block

Lower Bearing Block.

BOM: (As you will see further - another reprinted part)

Pretty straight forward assembly and fitted perfectly in the 18mm gap left previously. Ballast box fitted.

 

Z-Axis Anti Backlash Nut.

BOM:

Assembly very much like the Y-Axis anti backlash nut. Again ensure this is preloaded with the desired tension.

Z-Axis Rails and Leadscrew

Two carriages need to be fitted prior to fitting the lead screw, as the anti backlash assembly fits in between  the carriages. After inserting the leadscrew in the bearing block, load the other two carriages.

Z-Axis Mounting plate and Motor Mount.

BOM:

When mounting the Z-Axis plate - note the orientation of the plate. The motor mount fits to the top of the column and screws into the extrusions.

Z-Axis Motor.

BOM:

Mounting the motor was a bit tricky for someone like me with fat fumbling fingers. The bolts are inserted from below and tightened down with lock nuts. During this step I left the pulley on the motor loose and only tightened it, after allowing the belt to self align.

Z-Axis Reinforcement Brackets

Skipped this step as I am using the FMJ mod.

Joining Y and X Axis (FMJ)

Pretty straightforward - Bolts onto the extrusions with 3 M5x 12 BHSC screws on either side

Spindle Mount

BOM:

Installed the spindle mount, cable management and drag chain ends.

And here she is - looking like a mill (and damn heavy!!)

Next Table Assembly.

Have to print the skirts as I was confused as to the options available. Finally figured it out. Skirt_E_Stop is if you want an emergency kill switch installed - and I will definitely do this. Also printing the TPU feet - just have the natural/white color and will be using that.

 

 

[mvdveer]

5 hours ago, PFarm said:

I had the same issue with the handwheel. I think creating two flat spots for the grubs screws would be helpful. I ended up pulling out the grub screw heat sink on one side.   I decided to get two metal hand wheels ($18.00 cnd) with an 8mm bore. You're right it's one heavy assembly!

Found a mod for the Hand Wheel which I am going to try:

[PFarm]

Thanks for the link. I cancelled the metal handwheels and will try this as well. 

Edited June 9 by PFarm

[mvdveer]

Table Assembly:

Main Table Assembly

BOM:

Not much here - pretty straight forward build. Printed the TPU feet and happy with the result. (Will need to clean up some stringing)

Skirts installed and Milo mounted on the table with the supplied angle corner brackets.

The next step in the manual is the firmware installation. However, still need to install the electronics, spindle, etc. Apparently there is a separate guide for those. (I know where to go if I hit a speedbump on the firmware. @PFarm has already installed this as per his build guide.)

[PFarm]

10 hours ago, mvdveer said:

I know where to go if I hit a speedbump on the firmware. @PFarm has already installed this as per his build guide.

With all the printers you've flashed you shouldn't have any issues it pretty straightforward 

Edited June 9 by PFarm

[PFarm]

6 hours ago, mvdveer said:

Found a mod for the Hand Wheel which I am going to try:

I printed the alternative and installed it works great! 

 

[PFarm]

On 5/23/2024 at 11:45 PM, mvdveer said:

Don't get too exited, not starting this build as yet. Need to finish a few tasks on the printers so I can get some "smick" parts for the build.

Seeing the build come together is hard to step away from, I get that! 

Edited June 9 by PFarm

[Penatr8tor]

Amazing progress @mvdveer.

Now I'm wanting a Milo

[mvdveer]

8 hours ago, PFarm said:

I printed the alternative and installed it works great! 

Same here - love that it has a collet that keeps the wheel in place