A friend of mine swapped hot ends on his machine and had similar issues with a similar fix.
He ended up just 3d printing an oiler and putting it inline when he prints PLA.
It’s a few dollars in conduit, that you can probably return. If everyone wants 3/4" I can do that, I thought everyone wanted 1"?
I really don’t understand the disappointment I keep hearing about this.
Lets hear some votes, 1" or 3/4" EMT version what would you prefer?
1 Like
A stiffer system for 3 dollars and a couple grams more plastic that is a no brainers for me 1 for 1 inch
3 Likes
Its 7 to 14 dollars and Ryan has been saying almost from the start it may be bigger since @blainesgaragehas been working on it since before the primo was released you will get a system as or almost as stiff as stainless for 100 or more dollars less. How often do you get that huge of a improvement for 12 dollars? It’s just the 12 dollars paid in advance kind of thing
1 Like
I understand it. I appreciate it. I hear it. I also realize that, for 90%+ of the expressions of it, it’s merely the venting of honest “Hmmm, I was expecting something different”, not “OMG, Becky! The Starbuck’s ran out of soy milk, the world hates me!” or “Fyre Fest 2!” The other 10%- will come around when they realize that they’re looking at ~$30-40USD of 1" EMT for a fairly significant upgrade in rigidity.
That being said, I’m still going to build my 3/4" EMT Burly, have some fun with it, and if I’m really enjoying myself, I’ll upgrade to a 1" Primo. 
4 Likes
I likely won’t want to upgrade my burly until I think I can use it to its limits but for the increased stiffness the 1" sure sounds like the way I’d like to go.
3 Likes
My vote would be for a 1" Primo. The 3/4" Burly still exists and still works just fine. If people want a lighter duty machine they can build that (and save a few $ on conduit) or they can size up for extra stiffness.
2 Likes
Yep. I don’t know how it’s going to go trying to count votes in this thread, though.
I almost said it yesterday, but I really have zero expertise in anything that matters so I held my tongue. Here’s what I wonder, though.
Is 3/4in emt really GOOD at anything besides being cheap? It seems to me that cost is the only reason to use it, and if you want it to be stiff, it must be small. How much incremental benefit is there to the primo on a smaller size? I’d do it just for the belt management, no lie, but that’s more convenience, isn’t it? Super easy to stack some brains is you want 10mm belt. But I’m getting off topic.
Maybe keep the burley available for the folks where that 20-40 bucks matters. We know it does amazing things at smaller sizes, we have pictures and video proof! It doesn’t become worse just because there is a newly evolved version.
If you want to step up from the smaller size, you’ll almost certainly be told to get larger tube ANYWAY, so why not let the larger tube be emt? New hardware, i guess? Surely offset by the price difference in tubing, no?
It kinda seems like the folk who bought emt before the parts were finished are in the same boat as the folks who used to buy/print parts before measuring tube. It’s really not a huge problem if the larger conduit is also available.
Maybe it could help if the folks with 3/4 inch emt on hand could explain WHY they’d prefer the smaller tube vs larger. It might just be people are frustrated begat they would have just built the burley if the 20-30 bucks put them over the threshold for spending (I’m most of us can afford it, this has come up before…not saying anyone is cheap or broke) or if they’re frustrated that now that have to choose between waiting longer still or buying more expensive DOM.
Once you use an MPCNC and push it, really PUSH it, the larger emt is a no brainer. Period. Hell, how many of us have two, three, or six builds/rebuilds under our belts trying to get the right mix of size and performance? It would save most of us money in the long run to cut down on the number of builds. But I really get the downside of adding a few tens to the entry cost.
1 Like
Yes is understand also the Burley is great with 3/4 inch i have 2 of them and if it is from scratch it is still less than competing designs for the flexibility with 1 inch it keeps the flexibility there and inproves strength for bigger builds
For a point of reference, I’ve been “building” mine since the 525 was the shiznizzle. My discretionary spending limit is just way down on the priority list, and when it does bubble up, the MPCNC competes with a number of other, often more immediate payoff, interests. And it literally has been a process of $20 Amazon GCs and stashing $5 bills for stops to Lowe’s on the way home from work.
1 Like
I can understand this but the switch now if the best time nobody has parts printed or hardware that cant be returned except for cut pipe that will be the least expencive
2 Likes
this is not a problem I hope
ryan only releases stl files for lic reasons
Why not parametric, are you using fusion 360? Unless there are any design reasons to not allow parametric models because they have to be designed differently I think it would be the “one solution everybody happy” version.
You could release step files with recommended sizes (well proven 25mm, etc…) and anybody that wants a different one could generate it himself. On top of that Thingiverse allows you to generate parametric models directly from the UI, for example there are some calibration cubes with configurable settings. That means it would be also novice proof.
this is what we need and will be a stronger platform going forward
I’m glad I held off on cutting my 3/4’’ conduit to size lol
I’m down for 1’’
The pros seem to outweigh the cons. Thank you for looking for feedback!
Now… if I could sleeve the 3/4’’ inside the 1’’ for that extra strength…
1 Like
STL files can be easily edited and remixed, I don’t see any huge benefit or protection in them
I just gotta say no matter what sizes become available that it’s a huge plus Ryan even asks when so many companies these days have the attitude of ‘You’ll take what we give you and like it!’.
4 Likes
You know, for many years, this was the only option in the US, and it does a great job. There are some very good reasons why this was the default 5 years ago:
- It is cheap
- It is available everywhere (in the US).
- It meets the needs of the design (round, metal, long)
There’s really no reason to poop on it. It does a great job.
AFAIK, when Ryan first started this experiment, 3/4" was chosen because he was thinking about 12"x12" machines, and it was more than enough in those lengths. If he had known people were going to try to build full sheet MPCNCs then, it might have been 1" all along.
There has always been two major groups of users. Half the people are here because it is the cheapest option. That horde wants to save dollars and they want to have access to CNC. The other half want the most bang for the buck, no matter how many bucks (and sometimes, they want the best, in this project, no matter how much it costs). So surveying the users isn’t always going to work, because you will get the second group voting on tubes that aren’t the best for the first group.
I’d like to think my own opinion is coming from reason. I don’t have any skin in the game. I’m not expecting to build an MPCNC as long as I have my Low Rider meeting my needs. But here’s where I see things:
- 1" is basically the same price. Unless you already bought the 3/4", then it is twice the price.
- Any additional dollars makes it harder to get into. So it needs to pay for itself. It’s really not right to completely dismiss $20 that isn’t your money.
- 1" is going to be more rigid. The geometry of that pipe might even make it the most rigid. That will make the parts you printed, and the router you bought, and the controller your flashed work better. There will definitely be builds that would have been fine without it.
- I am imagining the rest of the build will be more bulky. It will probably consume a bit more of the work area for the same space.
- There’s a weird flip here where the most expensive option in tubing is going to be the least rigid. I’m surprised the Europeans aren’t upset that there isn’t a 30mm version. Or the SS or DOM users haven’t complained that they weren’t informed. Maybe that will come later.
I trust Ryan’s judgement on this. He has his hands on the tubing. He is looking at the CAD and printing the parts first. My biggest fear with this version is that it will just be overkill. Too much size, too much work area lost, and it will lose it’s “ninja” quality of being precise and lean. But I trust Ryan to judge that on his own and come up with the right choice.
In 3, 6, 12 months, when we look back, I doubt there will be any debate. The 23.5mm is good. It is cheap, and it works well for some situations. The 29mm is big, strong, cheap. If Ryan releases it, it is because it is better.
My vote is whatever you think, Ryan. No on else has enough experience or first hand measurements to make the choice as you do. This is a community project, and we all have a part to play, but this is a case where Ryan knows best.
10 Likes
This has been well documented, and it’s a big tangent. If you’d like more discussion on Step files and parametric design, feel free to open a topic about it.