I have a new all in one piece design for the Fucking Machine. It is made of an aluminum U channel and is completely enclosed. I can rest directly on the bed or be propped up on pillows etc. I also has a stud that allows it to be mounted to an upright or just about anything. This design includes a new one piece ready made drive roller that costs just $25. I tested the new machine with a smaller transformer and a less expensive stepper driver. It worked fine for a while and then went in to some sort of shutdown. I need to figure out what the problem is and will probably make a load tester so I can be sure the machine works instead of having it fail in a live session. I have very confidence that I will find the problem:) Probably just the random transformer that I used when I drilled a hole in the good one. Or it could be that the less expensive driver is just not powerful enough.
When the new machine failed we took the previous version out and gave it at thorough testing. My husband and I each worked on the other and were both very well satisfied. Now I need to get the new machine working so we can slave two together for a simulfuck.
Update, I did make a load tester which is a simple clamp lined with felt that can be adjusted to different load levels. I will set the machine running when i am dong something that will allow me to monitor it. I did change the transformer and think that might have fixed it. Time will tell.
Latest One Piece Design
Latest One Piece Design
It gets better all the time!
So… maybe this is a dumb question, but I am rather unclear about how you created the ram. Throughout the instructions you posted you refer to it as “the extruded ram” but you give very little if any detail about how you made it, or what you made it out of. It looks like metal, but I think of extrusion as what you do with plastic when you’re using a 3d printer, squeezing it out of a nozzle.
Also, is the ram driven entirely by the friction between it and the rubber on the motor drive wheel and idler wheels? In the video you posted that’s what it looks like. Are there grooves or anything on the ram to make sure it doesn’t slip back?
the instructions are for a previous model which did use a ram made of extruded aluminum. it goes by various names. it is similar to the extrusions that are used on some cnc routers with wheels running in the slots. the old design used flanged bearings mounted side by side to make a wheel that ran in the channel in the ram extrusion. this worked pretty well but the steel of the bearings did wear the aluminum faster than ideal. CNC routers usually use delrin wheels and a special extrusion with a vee shaped channel. i was not aware of these when i designed the machine or i would have used them instead. the old machine used a timing belt and a timing belt pulley on the motor and also an idler.
the new design shown in the latest videos and pictures simplifies the design a lot but does require a few custom made parts. the ram is now a tube and is driven entirely by friction. this has advantages and disadvantages. no timing belt is needed nor the pulleys. slipping can occur so when running in automatic in out mode it can get out of step. however the limit switches correct the error whenever the are tripped. also, the slipping can be adjusted to provide a safety thrust limit. of course the current to the stepper can be limited to achieve a similar safety.