Friday, May 06, 2011

Part Specifications Matter


  1. Stepper motors arrived today. Yay!
  2. Nuts and bolts. Now I think kits are the way to go because of this stuff.
  3. Bag o' printed parts off eBay. They were the first to arrive.
  4. Rod. Not as hard to get as I thought. Fastenal had the drill rod.
  5. Spirit level, yard stick and calipers. Measure THEN cut. :)
  6. Instructions. Won't actually use iPad around dust.
  7. Springs. 12 to a box. Need less than one whole one.
  8. More hardware, arrived today. Need a new box.
  9. Accelerant (Mountain Dew)
  10. WD40 -- eternally useful
Almost there! Still missing: electronics, hot end, pesky unspec'ed springs, and ... 5/16" washers, damnit!



True Value let me down. Not their fault entirely, I suppose. I asked for "5/16 in. washers" and they gave them to me. What I failed to note, however, was that the ones needed for the project have an outer diameter of 5/8" and the ones they handed me have an OD of 7/8". So, while try-fitting some of the parts tonight I realized that I'd gotten the wrong ones, and the ones I have won't work. So there's another $5 I didn't need to spend. Anyone need some washers?

Moral of the story: pay attention to all the exact specifications of the project, even when you think something is a no-brainer. 

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