A few complaints and some praise

MR-1
1

I am almost finished with my MR-1 assembly and I have a few complaint’s along with some praise.

First let me start with the praise:
The first five steps in the assembly process were flawless, the documentation was awesome!
I was a little concerned about the concrete pour but that went great, my experience was basically exactly what the video’s showed. I was the same for the epoxy pour, simply flawless and I was extremely happy with the end results, the base looks awesome.

Now for the complaint’s:
Step Six:
Installing the X-Axis Linear Rails the very first picture shows installing the rails with the “Bright Polished Reference Edges” facing the front of the machine however later in the install process (Step C1 - C2) the documentation states: “When tightening the screws, pull the lower bearing mount toward the front of the machine so that the back precision surface edges of the linear bearings are in contact with the ledge machined into the Lower Bearing Mount as shown.”

This is not possible (unless I am misunderstanding the instructions) as the bearing machined edges are facing forward and the machined edge of the Lower Bearing Mount is towards the rear… I checked the video and you could clearly see the machined edge of the bearings facing the front. In my opinion this portion of the documentation is unclear and should be changed.

The second issue I experienced in step six was an extreme amount of chips inside the X-Axis Gantry, there were chips in the box when I unpacked it so I used compressed air to blow it out as soon as pulled it from the box, but every time I moved it more chips came out, I had a very difficult time installing the gantry without chips getting between the gantry and the Y Axis Carriages. After using a small “magnet on a stick” and compressed air I was finally able to get the gantry set on the carriages with no chips in between. In my opinion this a a bigger issue then the first issue as in my mind this is a QC problem not just a documentation error.

The third issue I experienced in step six was quite a bit of difficulty installing the fasteners between the Y Axis Carriages and the X Axis Gantry Beam, that is a very tight fit. In my opinion if the Y Axis Carriages were just a 1/2" wider (1/4 per side) and the hole spacing widened by the same amount the gantry install process would be much, much smother.

Step Seven: 
    This was by far the most frustrating issue so far. First the documentation should have you write down the Upper Reference Edge Deviation prior to installing the gantry as it is very, very difficult to read / get a clear picture of it once it is installed (or just move the sticker to the rear of the gantry)

Once I got a picture of the Upper Reference Edge Deviation sticker that I could read I ran the Shim Calculator, the results were six shims on each lower bearing, well this is an impossibility since only 10 lower shims are included. I would really like someone from Langmuir to explain to me how I install sixteen shims when I only have 10??? Worse than that is if you had a worse case scenario in the negative you would need 16 shims… ( I did not calculate the positive worst case) Why would you not include a worst case scenario shim count??? To me this is just plain ridiculous and absolutely should not happen!!!
Here are my numbers just in case there is something wrong with the calculator:
NOD = -.003
TILT = -.002
LEFT = -.005
MID = -.005
RIGHT = -.003

Now I ended up cutting some Y-Axis shims to get the correct thickness, However I have a big concern about this solution as cutting the shims raised a burr that I think will cause an issue…

My only other issue is that the Wireless Jog Pendant (Mini Keyboard) I ordered with the machine doesn’t work, I have opened a support ticket for that today but being a holiday weekend I don’t expect a response until Tuesday/Wednesday next week, I also don’t hold that against Langmuir as that is an outsourced part and they have absolutely no control over QC issues there!!

I guess as a Machinist, Welder, And Fabricator with almost 40 years of experience I find it very difficult to except the shim and chip issue.

That being said, let me be very clear here, all in all, I think the MR-1 is an excellent value and a very well thought out machine, I think the overall design and documentation package is great. With just a bit more polish it would be much better than great…

2

@FabLabRacing thank you for taking the time for honest feedback! We always monitor this feedback from customers and keep a continuous improvement list going so that eventually all of these kinks get worked out over time through our vendors and our internal processes. We appreciate you being an early adopter and glad that you could get it all together. Support staff will be back in the the office tomorrow and happy to help with your requests. Thanks again!

3 Likes
3

the wireless pendant I had some issues with, first being if it’s too close to the usb receiver it doesn’t play nice and i also took time to fully charge which also cleared up some problems.

1 Like
4

Check the board connections where the battery terminals touch. My keyboard didn’t work either until I found the terminals were coming off the board. Pulled it apart and resoldered the pins and now it works great.

1 Like
5

Well 13 days have gone by & still no shims… They sent some but they sent the wrong ones. I was very specific that I needed lowers, but uppers were sent… I already have 10 uppers that I don’t need.
I have had it with langmuir systems total lack of support!!! If I had it do do over again I would not have made this purchase. If the margins a so tight that they cant supply the proper number of shims to complete a build, where else did they cut corners???

6

So what you are saying is I should have to fix something brand new before I can use it?
I am sorry but I disagree for ~$6,000 I should not have to take things apart and resolder them to make them work. for that kind of money they should work out of the box

Don’t mean to sound like a jerk but I have had a bad experience so far so I am a bit bitter / fed up

1 Like
7

Well, obviously Langmuir doesn’t manufacture the cheap wireless keyboard that you chose as an option for your machine. I’m sure there is some sort of warranty if you want to wait to have the $10 keyboard replaced, but I’m just offering up information on what I found to get you going.

1 Like
8

I fully understand that, & if that was the only issue, No big deal but it was just one of many issues… Again I’m sorry if I came off as bitching at you, I didn’t mean to and I apricate you input. I am just incredible frustrated with the sub-par after sales support…

9

Understood! Sorry you’re having so many issues.

10

So I finally got my shims, put them in, ran a Z Alignment check . I am .011 out with the shims in .008 out with no shims (over 4 inches)… what am I supposed to do now? add upper shims even though the calculator shows lowers???

I’m certain I’ll hear nothing from Langmuir until Monday or Tuesday at best, hoping someone on this forum has had the same issue & found a resolution

11

You can use the shims from the Y axis rails (cut them the size of the precision machined areas on the linear bearings). This is also stated in the instructions. I’ll say it takes more [thickness] than you think to get things dialed (meaning the small shims barely make a difference) & the Langmuir shim specs are just a starting point.

In the lower position of the spindle, I had different results than in the upper position. In my opinion, get your tram close in the lower position once you’ve taken a rough cut on your baseplate (you need to have some reference). Once you’re surfaced, then move the spindle up & dial in your Z alignment and then spindle tram (assuming the majority of your work will be in the up position).

1 Like
12

So are you saying to just ignore the shim calculator completely? It tells me to put 6 lower shims in, if I do that I am out .011 if I take all of the lower shims out (no shims installed at all) I am out by .008 in the same direction which would suggest I need to add upper shims…

That would have to mean that the tags on the gantry and spindle are completely wrong

13

Essentially, yes. I believe their shim recommendations are based on tolerance measurements of single components (the gantry/the z carriage). Once you have things assembled (keep in mind one of your X axis rails may not be perfectly aligned with the machined surface on the X axis, etc), then you need to work with what the machine presents you in order to get proper Z alignment and tram. Once you have it assembled, it doesn’t really matter what they had stamped on the label - you need to adjust based on your assembly to get desired results.

2 Likes
14

That’s exactly what I was thinking, & I believe you are correct
I just find it incredibly frustrating that the documented procedure is that far off & it makes me wonder what else in the machine is that far off. Basically at this point I have NO trust in this machine at all

Thanks for your help!!!

1 Like
15

@FabLabRacing I used to do a lot of assembly of components that came with shim recommendations and at times they were all over the board. Some would be pretty close and others not even in the same country lol. Sometimes wonder if best to have nothing and start from scratch. I can see how people look at it as being questionable as to quality.

1 Like
16

So either both of my tags + vs - were punched wrong, or that calculator is backwards…
My tags are punched:
NOD = -.003
TILT = -.002
LEFT = -.005
MID = -.005
RIGHT = -.003

Running that thru the calculator gives you 6 shims per bearing block on the bottom.
I installed 6 shims per bearing block on the top and I am within .0007 in 5 inches

2 Likes
17

Have you surfaced the baseplate yet?

18

The shim calculator is a starting point for decking the base plate. After decking it’s a lot easier to get a good reading for Z alignment and further shimming can be done. If you are getting 0.0007" over 5" that is great.

2 Likes
19

Yes, I had & now that I have the nod fixed I’m taking another .001

1 Like
20

@langmuir-mike

I understand that the shim calculator may not be perfect, and can be thought of as a good starting point but in my case it was exactly “180 degrees out” it told me to put 6 shims per block on the bottom, but what I needed to do was put 6 shims per block on the top. So in effect if it would not have been “180 degrees out” it would have been perfect! That just cant be a coincidence can it?

I am assuming that someone made a mistake when punching the calibration cards for my machine, that’s the only thing that makes sense, Right? If the calculator was wrong everyone would have the same issue I did.

I don’t mean to be so picky but its just in my nature to not only fix an issue but to understand why it occurred. To just shim the top instead of the bottom without question felt wrong to me, in my mind there was something else wrong even though the dial indicator said it was right. Once I saw that I needed exactly 6 shims on top instead of the bottom things started to make sense and that nagging feeling that something else was wrong went away.
I guess I am still struggling to understand how BOTH calibration cards could have the positive and negative reversed (unless they are not inspected until they ship)

What are your thought’s on this

Thanks!

1 Like