Turn Your FX-120i into a Prometheus

[adamjmac]

I just realized this picture from the instructions is wrong. The green handle should be pressed up like in the above posts. That's what you get for getting your fiance to take pictures for you



You are right it won't quite line up and I think that's fine. I still have to print the white pulleys for the next batch so maybe I will make them a little longer to bring the belt out a bit. Might help prevent slipping.

 

[jlow]

Not a problem. I recently wrote a book for publication and when you do something like that, you quickly realize how many mistakes are possible and some almost impossible to catch. I saw the mistake in the instructions, but decided it was not worth beening too picky

 

[Alexander-M]

I have not received mine yet, so I am guessing . . .

Would it be possible to mount the pulley with the hub on the outside, and add a few washers (where the hub was) to keep the pulley away from the trickler body? Just a thought . . .

Alex

 

[BoydAllen]

What would happen if you flipped the big pulley on the stepper motor shaft, and then rotated the trickler a bit so the "belt" doesn't rub against itself?

 

[jlow]

I have not received mine yet, so I am guessing . . .

Would it be possible to mount the pulley with the hub on the outside, and add a few washers (where the hub was) to keep the pulley away from the trickler body? Just a thought . . .

Alex

Yes, I think if I can pull the large pulley out and put it in reverse, that might do the trick. Not sure you would need to add washers as the pulley is locked on to the spindle with a Allen screw. When I loosen the Allen screw it did move in and out a bit but did not seem to want to come completely off - Adam should comment on this.

 

[adamjmac]

Yes, I think if I can pull the large pulley out and put it in reverse, that might do the trick. Not sure you would need to add washers as the pulley is locked on to the spindle with a Allen screw. When I loosen the Allen screw it did move in and out a bit but did not seem to want to come completely off - Adam should comment on this.

It will come right off. Feel free to experiment. My intention was to get them roughly lined up.

 

[jlow]

It works. The pulley assembly came off with a few back and forth pulls and I installed it backwards. You can see in the photo that I am pretty close, maybe come out a slight bit more and it will be perfect.

 

[jkl]

Flipped mine and it is now aligned close enough for me.

John

 

[ericbc7]

Can the trickler be turned on the base as Boyd suggested?

 

[jlow]

Can the trickler be turned on the base as Boyd suggested?

Sorry, I missed that part of Boyd’s comment. The answer is I don’t know as without taking the trickler off the stand, I don’t know how it is attached. There are two screws and they could be screwed into the trickler or just friction hold. At this point, I look at it as if it works, don’t fix it.

An alternate but related question actually for Adam is why he twisted the belt? I presume it is to add more tension but I did try a straight attachment i.e. without the twist and it seem to also work fine at both high and low speed (with without powder).

 

[1lnbrdg]

Jlow, direction of turn is the spin on the belt. It meters out better turning that direction per the threads in the spindle.

Got mine up and running this evening.

IT WORKS! And works well. Took me about 20 minutes of tinkering and throwing powder but had 24 rounds loaded in about 20 mins. The last 5 mins. was probably about 15 rounds.

Takes a bit to work out a cadence but this is the TICKET. H-4895 was my powder this evening. Will try N165 tomorrow.

 

[ericbc7]

In general, crossing the belt improves contact with the pulleys (which allows less belt tension to perform the same work) and are less likely to "walk" off the pulleys when the axles are not parallel.

I have used my old RCBS manual trickler turning with the threads to trickle faster and against the threads for slower. If it's level it will work in either direction (just faster/slower).

 

[J-rod]

Could you flip the motor pulley?
I'll have to look at mine but I don't think it's like that.

 

[jlow]

Thanks guys, going with the thread gives a faster throw makes sense but perhaps going against gives more control? Don’t know, will give it some testing today to see how it goes.

I think part of the reasoning to avoid the twist (which definitely gives more tension) is to avoid the belt rubbing against each other in the area of the twist which is where I think Boyd was coming from.

J-rod – look at my post #188 and #179

 

[1lnbrdg]

I received mine in yesterday, started putting it together last night.

The pulley and the drive on the hopper spindle do not line up when you get the drive over the pin. It's about 3/16" out of alignment. Clearer pictures? Great Idea, maybe I'm doing something wrong.

I turned the pulley around on the motor shaft and all lined up. Overall, this is probably better as it has the tension closer to the powder trickler, less leverage to cause wear. Every little bit helps.

 

[adamjmac]

The twist gives more tension. Without, it may slip on the white pulley. I fought with the design for a long long time (with an idler pulley) until I figured out the simple twist makes things so much better.

Remove the twist and the motor turns backwards. It is possible to reverse the direction with either some new code or some wiring changes.

I will consider installing the hub/pulley the other way around. It's a simple mod and seems better.

 

[jlow]

Adam, I tried the twist/no twist today and have to agree with you i.e. the twist works much better. Seems the no twist runs smoother (at least if judge by the sound it makes) but the throws are not consistent/accurate - must be slipping as per your comment. Turning the hub/pulley the other way around does not appear to have any negative effect.

 

[1lnbrdg]

Adam has some of the best design staff that I know of . . . . .

 

[jlow]

I like his 3-D printing! Make your own!

 

[ericbc7]

I should clarify my earlier statement- you are quite correct that for the same length belt, the crossed configuration will put the belt under more tension than uncrossed and in the case where direction of turn can be accommodated, crossing the belt is an elegant way to use parts available to improve performance.

Interestingly in the old days of flat leather belts, folks would separate the belt at the seam and turn one end of the belt over and re-attach the ends creating a "möbius" strip which would let the crossed belt wear evenly on both sides. The crossed configuration was also less affected by wind and belt stretching. (Sorry for the hijack, I just like the old farm equipment- I'm thinking of naming my trickler the "thresher").