From memory…
Not more than ~8" or 200mm apart, and evenly spaced.
So for a 1400mm beam, assuming 8 braces, thst’s a shade under 200mm spacing, there.
Evenly spaced seems the best policy, and the number of braces for what gives a “reasonable” distance between. Not more than 200mm, but probably not less than the width of the temporary printed brace that is with the LR3 .3MF parts.
Jamie created a SCAD based parametric script for generating struts…
https://www.printables.com/model/206716-lr3-strut-plate-variable
I made a mod, with short Strut generation tutorial…
https://www.printables.com/model/260916-custom-front-grill-strut-for-v1e-lowrider-3
Someone could mod these to ensure first brace is at least some minimum size that’ll accommodate a case for common large boards, e.g. Octopus. But something small enough to be printable on most community members printer beds, ~200mm maybe? Am no SCAD expert, but happy to help if coding isn’t your thing.
My mostly CNC’d, minimally printed case is 200mm. Personally have no intention of internally mounting the case, but I get why some folks like that look, especially if they’re fully embracing headless, no screen.
I know on my little LR3 I added a brace and plan to add an additional one on the full sheet one when I finally get around to redoing it. So that made my spacing a little shorter than what the calculator made it. I cant say for sure but it feels like it added some rigidity to it. So making your model parametric could have some benefit for sure
Yup if it hits 200 another brace is added. If you wanted to make an insertable case I would only make it attach to one brace and fit inside the next one which will be not further than 200mm away.
Are there any negative reasons, to have a maximum number of braces?
By this I mean, I’m assuming:
But with that said, I understand the “guidelines” for the minimal number of braces, and that tracks for me. Is there a maximum number?
I know weight is more than likely something to consider. Anything I’m not thinking of?
Not sure, but here’s a related issue, that if improved/solved might provide better performance bang for buck…
So I think of it this way. The dimension of the bearings at the top of the core are the widest bearings. So I used those as a guideline. Some people put a ton of tension on them too much and you will feel it tighten and loosen as it rolls. I don’t think any wider is good, if you want to go narrower, I doubt there will be any benefit but I don’t think it will hurt anything either.
I was told that all 5 will still only pull a small amount of current, I would think a slightly larger power supply would be better, but if only running at 12volts, you should be fine with a 4-5amp supply(60-72W) or more is ample.
I actually just did a test at 24v and all 5 steppers in motion pulled about 0.75A, or 18W. So even if we stepped up the current even higher and added a lot of accessories 2.5A, or 60W that ships is still pretty insanely over specced.
My 2x2 build has only 140mm between braces. I no crap think I figured out how to make parametric designs happen so I just need to add the constraints to the other parts. This box has opened up a lot of new design skills. I imported the Jackpot board in and an STL of the brace so I could get all the holes lined up and make sure there was space. as soon as it gets worked out I will upload it.
That is awesome, CAD is really fun for me, sounds like you are getting there as well.
It can be a lot of fun when you understand it and can make things work like you need them to. On the other hand it can be extremely frustrating when you know what you want but have no idea how to get from A to B lol
Same for me, do yourself a favor and stay away from surfaces and splines if you want to avoid a lot of frustrations.
Fun! Fun! I clipped one of the wire ties off a motor cable today and discovered that it had been installed so tight that it cut one wire in half. Totally covered under the zip tie and I would never have found it if I had not been looking to shorten that wire a little. Unfortunately, it is too short at that point on the wire. I really wish the bigger motors had detachable wires on the motors.
@vicious1 Any chance you can open up the belt paths in the Y blocks? I am pretty sure my printer is dialed in to a gnats ass and I can not get the belts through them. I am using an Amazon sourced belt so it may be thicker than yours. 10mm width and 1.55mm thick.
I haven’t really heard many issues with this. Can you slide some sandpaper through and fix it or is it harder than that?
I just checked mine here with the belts Ryan sent. They go through pretty easy, very slight resistance.
My calipers show 9.6-9.7mm width on the belt and 1.2-1.3mm thickness.
I have some of the thicker belt too, and.managed to fit it through, but the double layer for locking is troublesome. It really doesn’t want to cram the second layer in. That said, once you … convince it … it locks in solidly.
I used a hobby knife to remove about 6 teeth from the belt that I could afford to cut off after getting it through the XZ stub. That was enough to get a good grip on the end with pliers and pull it through. Then I used a locking piece with 5 teeth on it. It did not want to go back in. I ended up using the hobby knife to put a chamfer on the piece, which allowed me to pull it back.
The adjustable end on the low X side didn’t give me any trouble at all. 
I was about this close to remixing the stubs to have the same in and back lock as the end stop side though. My stub also wasn’t lining up with the Z drive for some reason, so I have been assuming it was the same issue with the belt tightness, but my calipers confirm the 1.55mm thickness, so maybe that isn’t it.
I only opened one of the STLs, but it shows 1.65mm at the skinniest part of the belt path in “Y Tension Block Rear”
