I was one of the Lucky one to be able to get on of the first batch from the BLV Cube All Metal Kit. Thanks again to Ben Levi for that great upgrade ( and to the person I do not know the name that made the parts !). I ordered the kit by AliExpress and it cam surprisingly fast, only a week !
The kit was perfectly packed in a small box. All the parts were made with great care and the coating is almost perfect. As a professional, I could see a couple of imperfection but for a beta kit, it is almost perfect !
With the videos made from Ben Levi on how to mount the kit, it was really easy to do put everything together. Just keep in mind, it is not a 5 minutes job. It took me around 10 hours to remove everything and put everything back, so take your time.
In the Kit, I have found only a couple of errors, that I am sure Ben is going to fix.
The holders of the X Axis, on both side, for the screws holding the belt bearings are threaded on the top and bottom part. It is not good as mechanically you can not tie the screws. I used a 3mm drill to drill the top part so the screws can rotate freely on the top and still thread at the bottom, it makes life really easier.
-the second problem I have found was to mount the IR sensor. It says in the instruction video to use the originally supplied screws. Unfortunately, I never got the screws, not even on the second sensor I ordered separately. To solve the problem, I threaded the two hole to an M3 and use small M3x6 to mount the IR sensor. You might have to increase the size of the holes on the IR sensor with a drill, but it holds perfectly.
the bald holder are quite nice and the hole for the screw to the bed is threaded (where the pencil is pointing ). If you are using the PCB, it is not a problem, however if you have upgrade to the 6 mm Aluminium bed, you have the bed with a thread and the holder with a thread and this is not working. I personally drilled the belt holder with a 3 mm drill to use the original screws and nut.
Another thing is the left and right part holding the motors. These parts can be quite challenging, especially the part with all the breaking and washers for the belts.I recommend to premount the elements before putting ont eh frame, at least it was easier for me.
When you are done, before starting you first print, remember that you pretty much dismounted everything so do not forget to check the X, Y and Z homing, check also your setup for the Z distance offset. Also check that the bed is still in a good position and leveled. If not, it might end up in an order of a few parts …
The first print had to be a calibration cube, I could not resist. It came out pretty nice. What I realize during the print is that my printer is quieter. I also found the move smoother and the printer is no longer shaking during printing.
I could not complete the build of the printer as I am missing the two part fans on the side of the cover (on their way from China ). I am using PETG and it does not require a lot of cooling so it should not be too bad.
The first print is on the left, and the print before modification is on the right. Both are pretty good and fairly similar. On the new print, there is nothing that shows a problem with the upgrade, except I have to check my belt tension. The rest is pretty much the same.
I am happy about the upgrade to a full metal kit. The print quality did not improve a lot but as I mentioned, the printer is quieter and smoother than before. I guess when coming to more challenging parts, it might show an improvement in the printing quality. Before that I need to check the tension belt and the bed leveling, I still a little bit of work to fully complete the upgrade.
I hope this will help you and let hear what your experience is with this upgrade. Happy printing.
Any update? Still undecided about getting this one.
To be honest, I used the metal kit for the last weeks and I have to admit, I have not seen any major improvement in the quality. I still have some vertical marks in the print due to the cheap belt pulley put on it. I am going to upgrade to real GT2 to solve the problem. The metal kit how ever is looking better an with it you tend to over tension your belt ! I did !
I personaly also have some design issue with the metal kit and in general the BLV cube. I am currently looking at other design to improve my printer.
I’m looking at the voron 2.x but I like the metal parts kit with the blv. I believe you have to have top quality parts in the motion system for the bearings, pulleys, rails and belts. I have a corexy with wheels in the motion system and works quite well. I’m just looking for a larger build and convert the existing to a smaller build for most of my prints.
I agree with you ! I have learned a lot from my previous printers and my BLV and high quality parts are really important ! I have ordered some gt2 pulleys with and without teeth to replace the bearing delivered in the kit.
I was thinking the same thing as you ! Most of the time I print small parts, so why use a 310×310 printer ? A smaller printer with less weight to move will be more efficient !
I start my own project to build a printer, that I think will be better quality than the cube or the Voron. I have not be able to work on this project the last two weeks but it is time to get back to it. I will include a smaller printer in the project !
Greetings from Germany !