This guy has a solution for the likes of us who have stepper motors with pressed on pulleys: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-IjzrNoFnbcI.html
Just followed this guide for pressed fit pulley and worked great for the x-axis on my Ender-3 Pro. For Y-axis, printing the following y-axis damper+motor mount made it really simple! www.thingiverse.com/thing:3339725
Hammer is always a solution :D I think, that this is the common issue of people from printing community, to solve every problem by printing new parts, even if its usually not really needed :)
Same here, haven’t finished assembly yet and have been watching (and enjoying) all of your informative videos. Thanks for making this entry fun and easy, you’re doing a great job!
I noticed that using the packaging material is excellent noise-insulation to put under the printer. Just cut around 30cmx33cm plates and put them under the printer. I recommend using 2 layers, as the first one will get mushed after a day under the printers weight. 0 cost and no need to print anything. This removes massive amounts of vibrations against your table and so makes the printer quieter - and possibly improves print quality also. Combined with these dampers the results are fantastic.
Just added these to my E3 and printing a calibration cube now... can't believe how bloody noisy those fans are! The steppers are practically silent now. Great upgrade!
Creality updated the Ender 3 from my earlier version. The y axis needs a 3D printed adapter to fit. Search Thingiverse: www.thingiverse.com/search?q=ender+3+y+axis&dwh=465bbd91dc53144 and pick one. This is still a fantastic mod, highly recommended. Update: Several users are posting that the pulley is permanently fixed on the stepper motor shafts. Please check for this before ordering the part because it will make fitment near impossible.
I used 3 on my Tevo Tornado and it is amazing - it used to be a symphony of weird sounds, now the next loudest thing is my control box fans. Someone recommended using rubber washers as well.
I just added these to my old Printrbot Simple Metal, and they made a huge difference - even after a bunch of other upgrades including a Duet Maestro, quieter fans, and placement of the printer on a large concrete paver isolated on top and bottom with felt pads. Well worth the money, highly recommended.
a 5db drop is far higher then you think, you needed to graph those levels using a logarithmic scale as dB is a logarithmic measurement. For every 3dB, you have reduced the volume by 50%.
My damper made my motor stick out further under my build plate, and now I had to adjust my Y-Axis stop switch forward in order to stop the build plate from colliding with the motor. Probably worth mentioning you will lose build volume from this.
Straya! One thing to note (I have a CR-10S) when you mount the dampers with just 2 screws, the gear head(? not sure what else to call it) on the steppers that the belts attach to, will bend towards the belt drive ever so slightly. I had to square the steppers with zip ties to the frame to pull in the opposite direction of the belt so the gear was a few degrees taut the other way. If it's not square the belt will rub on the gear head(?) walls and make a weird zipper noise. It will most likely wear the belts much faster, and cause extra friction. I tried to just loosen the tension a bit on the belt first, but my first print was slipping on the gear head occasionally. I only put dampers on the X and Y axis as there was no room on the dual Z steppers. The Z also doesn't seem to make steps nearly as much as the X & Y. As for the E stepper, I had extra short screws and nuts, and mounted the top extruder parts to the E bracket where I could, and it works just fine. Just make sure you have screws that clear the gap from the stepper and bracket. I wonder if cut sheets of rubber would work for the dual Z steppers instead.... Anyway, great video!
Thanks for the detailed post. I haven't noticed enough flex to need that intervention, but your solution sounds quick and easy. I guess each brand has slight variation in the amount of flex.
@@TeachingTech I just installed stepper dampers on my Tornado and they were great, but the biggest drop in sound I got was from putting the printer feet on rubber pads. There are also printable vibration dampers on thingiverse and some even use squash or tennis balls. You should repeat this test with those in a "how quiet can I make my 3D printer" video :)
@@TeachingTech www.thingiverse.com/thing:2913473 you need to test those. Their supposedly making a massive difference in noise level. Currently printing them out myself.
I absolutely agree with your results. These things did the most for reducing the resonance noises in my custom Anet A8/i3 metal clone. I have the DRV8825 drivers.
I think the most noticeable would not be decibels per say but to combine that with the frequency. I think the stepper motors remove a high requency where the vents are a bit lower (and easier to ignore). And the vents are a steady noise where the steppers are only at play when they move the head which is not moving steady. Interesting test anyhow and nice to see the print and heat don't get affected. There are a couple of mods that you can't print that I might be purchasing thanks to your videos. Keep it up!
Maaaaaaaasive difference in sound! I wish I would have done this before printing all of the parts for the MPCNC, I thought my wife was going to shoot me!
Do not buy the dampers from Banggod if you don't have a removable pulley, their holes are too small so they can't be installed :/ Also they look like someone found them in a moist basement
Great results! My Ender 3 arrives tomorrow, and I hope the dampers soon after. I think'll do the fans too. And maybe somewhere in the future the board even with some TMC2130 drivers to get it even more silent haha.
Just to let people know. On the latest ender3 I got, the pulley's are heat fitted onto the motor shaft so you cannot adjust the pulleys. I'm just going to get them off with a dremel & use spare parts I have to use this upgrade. Kinda a cheap, annoying move on their part.
Surprised me too... Its possible that the motor/pulley is from another mass produced gadget, like a 2d printer, & was actually cheaper to buy as a set. Trade is getting more complicated right now so they are probably getting more creative to keep the price down & maintain old profit margins.
I just got my dampeners in and went to install them and realized this is how mine is. So annoying. Is there no way to get the pulleys off and still reuse them? Or if I get them off, can I buy new ones?
@@MooKeeFPV very easy to by new ones. they are gt2 6mm pulleys. the important thing is to count the teeth. its probably either 16 or 20 teeth but make sure you get the right one so the steps per mm is right. you should be able to get a handful of them for 10 dollars or less.
I just did the same a few days ago. Just wanted to comment. The high frequency is eliminated and is much better as mine is near my bedroom. But my stepper motors are considerably warmer, maybe not enough to warrant heat sink but warmer than you report for sure. I also (as someone else said) had to print a part to move the x axis end stop as the carriage got in the way slightly, easy fix and I think this is only for the "newer" versions. Overall a very worth while upgrade.
Anyone considering this upgrade with a recent Ender 3, check if your printer has the same removable pulleys with set screws on motor shafts as shown in this video. Like others have commented, my new Ender 3 (ordered and received last week) does not have adjustable/removable pulleys on the motors - they're permanently attached, without set screws, I guess unless aggressively cracked off and replaced.
I've been reading this a bit now. I can only assume it must be cheaper for them to make it this way, or maybe users reported issues with the pulleys slipping.
Yup same is the case for the Ender 3 Pro. I contacted them asking them why this is what they responded "Actually we do not recommend you to add dampers on the printer. if you add damper on y axis, it will cause pulleys loosening and there will be layer shift on your print. so all printers have been updated in order to stop buyers from adding dampers."
There is a extractor on thingivers that should help : www.thingiverse.com/thing:3230712?fbclid=IwAR1aOBrRrbw2_zrDzPgMuTYSWkQx4OTTH11eU925eJX9xR5oUKabr5YXlqU
hub for what it’s worth, I’ve been using dampers on X and Y from the start, and I am not having any issues with layer shift. I did spend time making sure I had good clearance on the belts and aligning the pulleys for clearance all the way across the travel. I’m running it in my living room and the loudest thing is the fan noise, followed by the Extruder Motor (I didn’t put one on there yet, and might not). I’m completely new to 3D printing, and just last night printed the all in one micro test, and a benchy, and I can’t believe how good this printer is!
I got great results by using Clip-on Ferrite Ring Core 9mm (2 on each axis) and 2 on the main power cord. Also I added 2 32x3mm round n52 magnets to the Ring cores.Things just Quiet down. Now I have smooth walls on my prints. Stabilizes the stepper motors.
These dampeners don’t work anymore without heavy modification because the motors no longer use grub screws. Really annoying because it should be an easy fix but now it’s much more difficult because of the offset issues and the non adjustable parts.
The I3 plus has these installed for the z axis, which in turn basically helps silent the entire z and x axis. The idea of this is not to quiet down the z steppers, but to actually absorb the vibrations caused by your extruder assembly like x stepper, e stepper as well as the fans. Really smart by wanhao tbh. However, I tried installing these aluminum spring couplers for the lead screw and this reduced the noise from my machine considerably. Theyre like $3 each and I really do recommend them. The loudest part on my machine is the Y-stepper motor as it is hard-mounted to the frame and I have ordered these dampeners to help fix that.
Great vid. I ordered some of these and didn't realize one set of holes was threaded. Had it installed backwards and couldn't figure out how to attach it on the other side.
I'm not certain how you made the ender 3 extruder damper work without under extrusion. Could you please explain it in more detail? Thank you very much, I've been watching your videos for quite awhile now!
They should be nearly a standard thing on most 3D printers going forward along with X and Y heatsinks. Printing over the southern Aussie winter I haven't worried about the heatsinks yet but I will be adding them soon. The Dampers on my CR-10S work great. On the extruder without adding an upper bearing on the main shaft I would be worried about deflection and loss of accuracy/slipping.
I bought an ender 3 from a friend and he had uninstalled dampers with it but I didnt know what they were until now. I just set them back in the box. Going to install them when I get the chance.
If you don't have two additional screws for the X axis dumper, just switch the two long ones with two from the motherboard cover. They fit there perfectly.
One thing to mention is that newer generation Ender 3 printers have a press fit gear on the motor that cannot be removed or adjusted, therefore cannot have stepper dampers.
I'm just super hyping myself up for when I get the Ender 3 and just. Holy crap I am so excited. I personally adore the cute and delicious sounds 3D printers make so I probably won't dampen mine unless I can't sleep at all. But tbh the sounds may be super comforting and help me sleep.
One issue on the E drive is that if your not careful the rubber motor mount shifts the drive pulley as it has the ability to move either at an angle (as I have experienced) or just not as strong in contact during some prints. I ended up removing mine so the drive gear for the filament does not get affected and it made a big difference. The only thing better was to get a better drive gear that had more aggressive teeth and a slightly deeper cut than the original provided part.
Did you modified something else on the Y-Axis, because when mounting the damper on the Y-Axis motor, it stays out a bit more, wich makes the stepper motor collide with the bed frame, before it can hit the endstop.
Just realized this. Bought these dampers thinking it would be an easy upgrade, turns out I have the press fit motors, tried getting them off, ended up buying new motors, installed motors, Y-axis is now colliding.
@@ikmnification5737 I found a fix for this. I just unscrewed the Y-Endstop (two holes/screrws) and just put it one hole further and just screwed it with one screw, so the endstop is about 1-1.5cm further, and the switch get triggered before colliding with the extruder.
There's remarkably little point installing a heatsink onto the stepper motor! Permitted case temperature is about 80°C (way too hot to touch), internal 130°C. The motor doesn't know whether it's too hot and cannot skip steps due to this, what happens when you overheat the motor, your grease/bearing endurance starts to reduce. At sufficiently high temperatures that i think you can never reach, the insulation of the wiring becomes suspect, and it's possible to have a motor wire, but the actual winding insulation is unlikely to be the cause, instead connector and distributor will show first signs of damage. The bit that needs cooling is the stepper motor driver IC on the control board, provide an active air path under the stepper ICs or increase airflow there.
Difference is hard to believe until you hear it in person! On my Ender 3 I had to modify my bed carriage to clear the stepper motor, I understand that is required on some versions. Did you have to modify yours?
I experienced a very hot extruder situation and had to add fans to my motors for a i3 prusa ..I measured the supply voltage and it changed from 12.5 no load to less than 12 V under full operation .When I adjusted the power supply back to 12.5 under full load operation the heat stopped occuring in motors and they ran cool..You can add a heatsink for the Y as it sits under the heated bed and helps. Not aving fans helps the heated bed maintain constant temperature.
Just an FYI, there must have been a revision in the Ender 3. My Ender 3 that was purchased as a Christmas gift has pullies that are pressed on and don't have set screws. The dampers space the pully too far away and the pully can't be adjusted. The only stepper that can still be dampened is the extruder.
In retrospect, do you still think stepper motor dampers are a good way to go? I noticed in later videos that you upgraded MB and added stepper drivers. Did you keep these dampers on or remove them?
I noticed in the description that you we're saying you wouldn't recommend this anymore if I were to get a new board for the printer. However when I ordered the Capricorn tubing, the motor dampers came with it anyways in a kit. Should I still use the dampers if I'm considering getting the board anyways? Thanks.
Get a new board. The stock board is inferior to new ones, and you have no safety options enabled by default. I recently purchased an SKR mini e3 v1.2 (get the v2 if you can afford it) and it was definitely worth every penny! Loudest part of the printer is the fans and got rid of zebra striping artifacts on my part walls
Something you did not cover... when placing the damper on the Y axis, you MUST grind down part of the bed support so that the bed can go into the home position! After i replaced all the dampers and tried to print, i was greeted with horrible Y axis belt grind. I found the problem to be that since damper adds few mils of dimension, this caused part of the bed support to run into the stepper motor when going into home position. I had to grind down part of the support with dremel tool and the problem was solved. (This could of course, be just my particular printer with older bed support and newer models may not have this issue.) And another thing... damper on the e motor was waaaay too much trouble than its worth. I would skip it if you are planning on putting dampers on your Ender3.
On my older model this was not the case. The versions since this video need a 3d printed adaptor, or some grinding as you say. Agree on the extruder, I took it off.
I was able to get my bed to clear the Y motor (just barely) by loosening the screws on the limit switch and pushing it forward, then loosening the motor and tugging it back a bit. I also adjusted the rollers on the bed to force the bed as far forward as I could. Combined, those tiny little tweaks ended up being just enough to get the limit switch to trigger before the bed assembly hit the motor.
Those mistakes getting through drive me crazy. My channel is tough and growing quickly compared to other channels this size, thanks for the positive feedback.
I'm getting ready to upgrade the fans you will get a very noticeable difference! Noctura for extruder an controller board an charging the fan in the pcu for a 10 blade fan an thermostat so it only comes on after 50 degrees an off at 33 degrees
ather akber well actually I have step down converters I'm gonna use an store in the control box so my fans are 12v an there my easily accessible except the pcu fan
Have you tried to talking directly to Creality manager or someone to include all these upgrades at their printers... that you guys created, make it and tested for free? I don't think the price of the printer would go up so much. Eventually to make it possible for each customer to customize the options they want on the printer ... I also mean upgrading the firmware and adding parts that improve the look or functionality. Is there a Creality 3D printer which contain all these upgrading?
Hey I appreciate all the help. Im totally new to this so your videos are an amazing help. Currently I am having a problem with the stepper dampener for the bed. It seems to block the bed from fully retracting to the rear of the machine. When starting a print and the bed retracts it is a few mm from the switch and the bed shakes then says can't calibrate please reset. Any ideas on how to fix this? I would rather have a nosey machine than to cut it with the dremal. Thank you again u do appreciate the videos. JB
I know this is old and you might have figured it by now, but for anyone that stumbles across and might find it helpful: he just means that since the motor will be placed further back, the pulley needs to be pushed a bit further from the shaft, that offset. Otherwise you would push the belt towards the v-slot groove. So just remove the pulley, and reinstall it on the correct location after the dampers are there.
Late to the party on this one, but with db, sound is perceived to be twice as loud for every 3db gain. Also, the was a lot of bowden tube movement on those retractions!
I recently bought an Ender 3 with some of my tax refund, and I went to add stepper dampers. However, my Ender does not appear to have adjustable drives on the X and Y motors - no grub screws or anything that would indicate a way to make the necessary adjustments to these two motors. Unless there is some way to adjust these that I am not aware of, I'll have to buy replacement motors in order to add in the dampers. I would advise all new Ender 3 owners to check their printers first before buying the dampers, as I was only able to fit one on my extruder.
Not sure if you managed yet or not seeing as it's been a year, but there is a way around this by printing a bracket to mount it. Mine has the same issues of press fit pulleys and it seems to work well enough so far.
Great video. You have the best ender 3 series on RU-vid. Would you still install these dampers if you were going to do the mainboard/silent-stepper upgrade?
These thermometers can not be used on small objects as stepper motors as they have relative big angle that they measure. It is not laser spot that measures. So in this case temperature of ambient environment is also measured. Print bed is it is not reflective is the only object in prusa-like 3D printer that can be measured using this device.
Hey Michael thank you so much for this video, I have one question, would you recommend changing the stock nozzle fan (Of my Ender 3 PRO) for a Noctua one?
Great video! Just received my Ender 3 for Christmas. Bought a bunch of upgrades prior to receiving it and now it looks like they've changed the design. Stepper motors have a pressed on gear drive in lieu of the set screw version. No way to upgrade to the dampers without some special gear puller to move it. Is there any other forum besides facebook were a newbie can get advice (as I don't have facebook). Some minor issues I'd like to figure out.
Nicely detailed video, but, after a while of using it, do you see any signs of the dampeners getting broken, like a separation of the rubber and the metal? I saw some comments on Amazon about that fact and opted for going Neanderthal and just cut pieces of bike air tubing. It helps but not as much... If no signs are to be observed I'll be ordering some as I'm a fan of that... Thx! Cheers!
I've just inspected my three printers wit them and all are in good shape. If you are concerned, hopefully they are cheap enough to order spares in case.
@@TeachingTech could another option be 3d printing spacers with flexible filament? it would mean you could use all for screw holes and just reprint them when needed
Have you been able to measure any dimensional inconsistencies? I'm debating changing my steps/mm, but this is on a delta printer. This isn't the only factor, but with TMC drivers I don't really need the stepper dampers anymore.
Hi. I like too much your videos. I have an Ender 3 and my intention is to silence it as much as possible. In this video you install dampers to reduce noise. I have seen in youtoube, that there is another option to reduce noise installing TL-smoother cards on each individual axis. Also, some people upgrade entirely the mainboard to the version 1.1.5 of creality helping also to reduce the noise. Do you have experience in this? Do you know if is better to install the TL-smoother cards for each axis or replace the mainboard?
Hi, thanks for this amazing video. Just one question: You mention that your extruder is making this high pitch noise, and it is the same as mine. I'm new to 3d printing, so I was wandering if you would know if this noise could be reduced by some setting in the slicer. I'm also going to put the damper into the extruder, but I would prefer to have it without this annoying noise if possible (right now this is the only noise I can hear from the printer).
So I've had my ender 3 for a week now and have ended up with the uncontrollable heating bed. Was wondering if you have had any problems with it and if so how was it fixed? From what I read it's the mosfet chip.
How did you solve the issue with the bracket for the bed hitting the Y axis motor after installation? My bracket hits the motor before it activates the stop switch during homing. I moved my switch forward approx. 7mm but is that going to throw off anything when my print is done and the gcode tells the bed to move forward after the print? BTW I'm using ender 3 pro
I do not use stepper dampers but bronze bearings for X and Y. Search for Toolson P3Steel Mk2. On my P3Steel I measure 34db average using A4988. 40db on jagged edges. But I just realized that Ender 3 uses those bearings on alu extrusions. Too bad ;)
As of today 1/17/18, the ender 3 from banggood doesn't have adjustable steppers (the collar that the belt lays on) so you have to get new steppers and pulley collars to use dampers.
Isn't the "z stepper" you put the damper on really just the extruder? I believe the z axis stepper is located directly below the extruder; it ties into the 8mm threaded rod. Mine vibrates like crazy when manually moving the axis up or down, though I don't see a way to install a damper on it. Anyone know how to?
nice advise. I had bought mine from bangood and also a load of matching shorter bolts. nice hint to add that thin bolt to the extruder with a small lock nut. I took the opportunity to upgrade the original extruder on mine from the plastic one to an all metal long arm one that has an option for a filament detector. If updating fans then using 1/2 the rated voltage (so 24V instead of 12V) often runs them quiet but watch the airflow... Use 12V with a 24V fan etc.
Wouldn't recomend doing it for the extruder in hindsight. It's hard to describe and even harder to photograph so what's in the video is the best I can do.
I bought these but found out my Ender 3 I got a week ago don’t have the stepper motors that have the gear piece that can be loosened and adjusted on the axle. Waist of my money now 😢
I can't over state the value of your videos in my journey toward 3d printer understanding. Thank you for all your work. So, what about dampers on the extruder motor? Somehow I think it might be a bad idea, seems that the give built into the damper would cause inconsistencies in extrusion. What do you think? Thanks in advance for any thoughts you might sahre. And keep up the excellent work.
