Nice work, I couldn't have demonstrated proper use of the meter any better myself! I'm glad to hear it is working well for you and thank you for your support! Enjoying your content as always. -PF
Frequency tension measurement is a perfect way to do it, however here is a couple of tricks: 1) select segment of the belt which is longest distance between 2 solid points, where distance is easy to measure between them and also where this distance is easy to replicate (put gantry into one of its limit positions). 2) I dunno why, but printer designers will give you the length and part of the belt, which is not easy to setup and even milimeters play a role - but you dont need to follow this, because the belt is equally tight along its whole length. Use #1 instead. 3) frequency is inverse function of belt length (of the oscilating segment). All other variables, such as belt tension, belt mass per unit of length, remain the same. If printer OEM tells you it has to be 170 Hz on a segment 150mm long and your easily constrained segment is 360mm long, aim for 170Hz / 360mm * 150mm = 70.8Hz. Use your preferred segment and recalculate accordingly. 4) prusa tends to measure and reproduce the results very well, when it comes to longer belt segments and frequency around 50-100
i have one and it is a must own! it took an hour or two on my v0 the first time to do belts and still ended up with improper tension. i bought this tool and did my trident belts in 5 minutes!!!!
I just finished assembling mine. Decided to do it from scratch. Not hard at all, you just need to take your time and not skip any steps. One little detail for those who choose the DIY route: The instructions call for an M3x6 or M3x7 BHCS for the needle pivot. M3x6 is too short and M3x7 is an unusual size. I went for an M3x8. It sticks out the back of the base a bit but that's a not an issue.
I got mines like 2 months ago. Is a great investment to make sure your belts are correctly tighten, mines were over tighten not by much but now I can be sure that my belts will last longer.
7:58 If it helps, the frequency for a string (or belt) is governed by “Mersenne's laws”, so frequency is inversely proportional to the square root of tension, and inversely proportional to length.
The readout on the meter is based on the deflection of the belt which comes directly from the sin component of belt tension and the spring constant. Since we can definitely assume small angles here, we can say that the output of this tool is linear with respect to belt tension. So a 1.2x increase in desired frequency will correspond to a 1.44x increase in tension as read by this tool
That's why I love my old good Ender 3. You just tension 'em belts in some way. And it prints. I actually do just a little tension so it just works and that's it. No any 'bass' guitar strings or such.
Assuming the belt is an ideal string (reasonable assumption) and as far as I can tell the tensiometer works as a spring with a lever, so a linear relationship between tension and the scale readings (not 100% sure on this but it seems so) The VZ bot tension most probably is as follows: *Printed (157 Hz avg ~ 2.05x Voron spec): 4.1 on the scale at 150mm* *CNC: (169 Hz avg ~ 2.37x Voron spec): 4.7 on the scale at 150mm* I used the Mersenne-Taylor equation which is the vibration frequency for a string given length, tension, and mass/unit-length (material) It seems outside the range of the tool so you could probably calibrate it to measure half of the actual values via the piano string and divide the values I provided by 2. Another simpler option would be to measure at 100mm instead and use the following values: *Printed (157 Hz avg): 2.7 on the scale at 100mm* *CNC: (169 Hz avg): 3.1 on the scale at 100mm* _(Still outside the scale but just above 3 would do)_ Never had a Vzbot so I don’t know if this sounds right, the tension seems rather high but the math indeed does maths. Correct me if I made any mistakes.
If I remember correctly, Vez run some high speed test prints (as it's the main point of VzBot) at different tensions and found these values producing the best results. AFAIR motor life time expectancy wasn't a part of the equation;) Voron's numbers are coming from lower print speed and better motor life time. For high speed printing higher tensions seems to be beneficial, so from that point Vez' numbers are reasonable.
The distance between pulleys should be be completely irrelevent for this. The tension meter uses deflection between the two pegs to measure tension so as long as you can fit it on it will work. Vibration or sound testing uses deflection between the idlers to measure tension so of course it needs to be a fixed distance as vibration frequency changes with length. The distance between the pegs on the tension meter does not change. The values for different printers will only really vary based on belt thickness. They all use roughly the same motors, belts and hardware. The different recommended values just show its not a critical fixed number but instead having it uniform for each of your belts is what is important.
I agree. The best way would probably be to position the X-Y gantry in different positions and test the tension to see how much variability you get. If the tool offers a good degree of repeatability, and there is no mechanical issue with the printer, the tension should not change much with the different gantry positions.
Just a note: When you DIY your own version, you can use the alternate method of calibration if you do not or are unsure if you have the correct music wire on hand to use. It's literally using a jug of water, but this should technically be as accurate, if not more so, since it's a direct weight measurement.
They are so frustrating. A few times I’ve used them without any issue and other times it’s like they don’t register the strums. The mk4 build was kind of my last straw.
Using these apps made me dread touching my belts or doing anything that needed me to mess with the belts. Now I don't care with this tool. One of my favorite tools
I bought the DIY kit a couple months ago. Ironically, at the build stage of my 2.4 where I need to do the AB belts. Have to print and get this thing built! 😂
I think this isn't quite correct: If i'm not mistaken, you should tune only one belt, in a core xy (and try to make the same adjustement on the other one, so half a turn on each), and then you adjust the other belt to eliminate the induced racking, regardless of the tension this will provide. Please let me know if this is wrong or not
And now they are sold out! 🤣Good job, ModBot! 🤣 Now I want one, but can't have it! 🤣 UPDATE: I broke down and sourced all of the parts. Gotta love Amazon! 🤣
RatOS for Rat Rigs has a belt tension macro that so far works rather well, but it's a rather tedious process because you have to have it run, tighten/loosen, repeat until they're matched up. Might look into one of these to at least speed things up.
Are you sure you are using EPDM belts? Afaik they are usually black on both sides. With 1.9 you are still in the range of both. You might want to adjust the values so that nobody is confused.
since you have your printer tuned with the tester, can you please test on longer belt segments to see if that matters? My guess is that it won't as it's testing the distance the belt moves between the two pins on the tester, but it would be good to have confirmation that you don't need to fuss about the 150mm belt segment (for the sound based testing, it makes sense that the length matters, for this it shouldn't)
@@Valintone they just have a simple spring putting a predefined amount of pressure that's equal to both idlers, you lose the idler, move the gantry around so it moves around, then lock the pulley again.
I mean calibrating on known Violin string only works if outcome is calculated to exact belt you own. So given that every one uses Gates 6mm belts this device may measure properly. Or Designer of that device checked other belts and is giving calculation tables for then too. Otherwise this work just for one belt type
As someone who has needed to use a tension meter professionally... The sound meter method for checking 3d printer belts has always made me cringe a bit. When moving an assembly that sits in the middle of a tensioned belt, you want to check the tension on each side. Depending on the direction you moved the assembly, the tension may be a bit higher on one side than the other. You can average the measurement for better accuracy. This may not be as much of an issue with the relatively lighter weight and smaller size and belt paths in a printer though.
In theory yes, however, they have a built in semi automatic tensioning system so unless there is a specific reason that isnt working I would opt to just stick with that on the P1S.
I’m surprised that there someone hasn’t come up with a belt tensioning capability based on hooking an opposing axis to a belt and measuring torque on the stepper driver or something.
I just put some back in stock, we do restocks every week or two. We don’t pre-order because we like to deliver a high standard of service and when things slip so does the experience.
The moment you said the way to measure belt tension was with the _phone microphone based on pitch.._ yeah no thanks hahah, I recently got recommended a belt tensioner on ali for ~10$ and they mostly seem based on generic digital calipers. I might buy one and try it out honestly, as I've also always wondered over the years "how tight should my belts be?"
Never thought to use a guitar tuning app to tension the belts on a printer... just sounds like a bunch of nonsense..glad this tool exists now though, will probably be picking one up in the future
Most of the ali ones are just tire gauges/calipers. I have both that style and this printed one from west3d. On the ali one, the plunger is a sharp point instead of something rounder and more fit for the profile of the belt, which makes actually using it to get a reading difficult. There is no way to reliably "zero" it. There is no guide for calibrating it s that you can match deflection to a specific hz of tension. It seems like it should be better but in practice, the ali one is useless. The printed one is calibrated, can be re-calibrated easily, fits on the belts properly, and is easy to use. If the ali one wa more developed to overcome these issues, it might be the other pick. But as is it is hard to recommend.
The feedback I have seen on the Ali ones are horrible. Both from the quality of the tool/it arriving damaged, to it not working well due to the shape of the arms/prong on the tool. If you can find one that works well for you then by all means, but if its not reliable or repeatable then its worthless.
I used them and having no problems, i think allot of people have a opinion about them without trying them. Digital always beats analog in measuring, only dummies think otherwise.
@@TheOneAndOnlySatan How do you reliabley "zero" yours for repeatability? How do you convert your measurement in MM to HZ? How do you handle the sharp point wanting to slip off the belt? I would love to make some use out of mine.
I was expecting to see print comparisons BEFORE and AFTER using the tool. Without them this video is just an ad supported by just your words. That's not enough. 👎
@@paragongamecom2497 It's only being sold as an option for people that don't feel up to the task of assembling one themselves... I have no idea why there is no comparison but I would imagine because it's very difficult to see minute belt tension changes in print results in an otherwise well tuned printer.
@@UloPe my point exactly. Why to spend time on making a video and attract attention to a tool (sounds like an advertisement) and not show ANY influence of the tool to the print results. To me it is misbehavior. An attempt to make some positive impression not backed up by... Anything. Case closed.
@@paragongamecom2497 To me the point of this video is to show an alternative to using apps for getting proper belt tension. It’s well documented that improperly tensioned belts can lead to both poor prints and increased wear.
Durability over time. PLA will creep more under load, that tenioning spring is a constant load. But also it was designed and tested in ABS/ASA so using another material with different shrinkage properties could lead to tollerance issues.
@@ModBotArmy i have printed and assembled this few weeks before (great tool), i can try to print in PLA and compare it , but my guess would be model tolerances(gear meshing) compensated for shrinking of ABS a tiny bit of ABS durability (PLA change over time with stress forces)
PLA creeps under load, so this tool may not remain calibrated if printed out of that material. ABS is a lot better for long-term dimensional stability.
Every plastic creeps under load. PLA with the higher stiffness would probably be a better option imho. However, the tool should come with a mode to relax the spring for storage. Every torque wrech (with a few special exceptions) has to be untensioned before putting it back in to storage too, as the spring that sets the torque "creeps" over time too if it's constantly loaded, so your wrench would move out of specification faster if you always keep the spring tensioned. The fact that this belt tension tool comes with a calibrator is actually nice, as you know where the tool is just before you use it. With a torque wrench, you usually don't have a calibration tool that can test the torque before using it, unless you work in a bigger workshop that has torque references.
Your comments about the similar and cheaper existing alternatives without trying them makes you sound a little bit biased towards this project, probably it's not your intention but as I really like your content I kinda felt like giving my feedback, who knows if there would be a follow up video showing people that the alternatives are that inferior or not 😅
A quality one can be north of a thousand dollars. The feedback I have seen on the cheaper ones is awful. From just arriving completely damaged to not being suited to work with belts due to the point on the probe this one has been designed specifically to overcome these issues.
Nice work, I couldn't have demonstrated proper use of the meter any better myself! I'm glad to hear it is working well for you and thank you for your support! Enjoying your content as always. -PF
The man himself! Thank you very much. Its an awesome tool and it should help a lot of people. :)
We are one of the official kit vendors, I wondered why things were kicking off. Many thanks @ModBot for this video. - Ax @ Viper Worx
As a metrologist, this makes me happy.
Frequency tension measurement is a perfect way to do it, however here is a couple of tricks:
1) select segment of the belt which is longest distance between 2 solid points, where distance is easy to measure between them and also where this distance is easy to replicate (put gantry into one of its limit positions).
2) I dunno why, but printer designers will give you the length and part of the belt, which is not easy to setup and even milimeters play a role - but you dont need to follow this, because the belt is equally tight along its whole length. Use #1 instead.
3) frequency is inverse function of belt length (of the oscilating segment). All other variables, such as belt tension, belt mass per unit of length, remain the same. If printer OEM tells you it has to be 170 Hz on a segment 150mm long and your easily constrained segment is 360mm long, aim for 170Hz / 360mm * 150mm = 70.8Hz. Use your preferred segment and recalculate accordingly.
4) prusa tends to measure and reproduce the results very well, when it comes to longer belt segments and frequency around 50-100
Now this is why I love this channel. This applies to all printers not just the newer ones. Thanks
Very timely video. I broke down and built mine two days ago after the phone apps didn't work for me.
i have one and it is a must own! it took an hour or two on my v0 the first time to do belts and still ended up with improper tension. i bought this tool and did my trident belts in 5 minutes!!!!
I just finished assembling mine. Decided to do it from scratch. Not hard at all, you just need to take your time and not skip any steps. One little detail for those who choose the DIY route: The instructions call for an M3x6 or M3x7 BHCS for the needle pivot. M3x6 is too short and M3x7 is an unusual size. I went for an M3x8. It sticks out the back of the base a bit but that's a not an issue.
I got mines like 2 months ago. Is a great investment to make sure your belts are correctly tighten, mines were over tighten not by much but now I can be sure that my belts will last longer.
7:58 If it helps, the frequency for a string (or belt) is governed by “Mersenne's laws”, so frequency is inversely proportional to the square root of tension, and inversely proportional to length.
The readout on the meter is based on the deflection of the belt which comes directly from the sin component of belt tension and the spring constant. Since we can definitely assume small angles here, we can say that the output of this tool is linear with respect to belt tension. So a 1.2x increase in desired frequency will correspond to a 1.44x increase in tension as read by this tool
That's why I love my old good Ender 3. You just tension 'em belts in some way. And it prints. I actually do just a little tension so it just works and that's it. No any 'bass' guitar strings or such.
I have one and I love it, worth every penny even for the fully assembled kit, esp if you're not printing in ABS/ASA
Assuming the belt is an ideal string (reasonable assumption) and as far as I can tell the tensiometer works as a spring with a lever, so a linear relationship between tension and the scale readings (not 100% sure on this but it seems so)
The VZ bot tension most probably is as follows:
*Printed (157 Hz avg ~ 2.05x Voron spec): 4.1 on the scale at 150mm*
*CNC: (169 Hz avg ~ 2.37x Voron spec): 4.7 on the scale at 150mm*
I used the Mersenne-Taylor equation which is the vibration frequency for a string given length, tension, and mass/unit-length (material)
It seems outside the range of the tool so you could probably calibrate it to measure half of the actual values via the piano string and divide the values I provided by 2.
Another simpler option would be to measure at 100mm instead and use the following values:
*Printed (157 Hz avg): 2.7 on the scale at 100mm*
*CNC: (169 Hz avg): 3.1 on the scale at 100mm*
_(Still outside the scale but just above 3 would do)_
Never had a Vzbot so I don’t know if this sounds right, the tension seems rather high but the math indeed does maths. Correct me if I made any mistakes.
If I remember correctly, Vez run some high speed test prints (as it's the main point of VzBot) at different tensions and found these values producing the best results. AFAIR motor life time expectancy wasn't a part of the equation;) Voron's numbers are coming from lower print speed and better motor life time. For high speed printing higher tensions seems to be beneficial, so from that point Vez' numbers are reasonable.
MASSIVE HEADACHE trying to tension belts for days on my first printer. This is great
The distance between pulleys should be be completely irrelevent for this. The tension meter uses deflection between the two pegs to measure tension so as long as you can fit it on it will work. Vibration or sound testing uses deflection between the idlers to measure tension so of course it needs to be a fixed distance as vibration frequency changes with length. The distance between the pegs on the tension meter does not change.
The values for different printers will only really vary based on belt thickness. They all use roughly the same motors, belts and hardware. The different recommended values just show its not a critical fixed number but instead having it uniform for each of your belts is what is important.
I agree. The best way would probably be to position the X-Y gantry in different positions and test the tension to see how much variability you get. If the tool offers a good degree of repeatability, and there is no mechanical issue with the printer, the tension should not change much with the different gantry positions.
Cool, I also plan to upgrade my Ender 5 Plus to a Mercury One. Good to know that the tool works there too.
Just a note: When you DIY your own version, you can use the alternate method of calibration if you do not or are unsure if you have the correct music wire on hand to use. It's literally using a jug of water, but this should technically be as accurate, if not more so, since it's a direct weight measurement.
Finally - could never get the tone apps to show anything close to deterministic results.
thanks for sharing this, I am going to go down the DIY route and purchased a parts kit from vyper workx in the uk.
I bought mine about 6 months ago. Spent about $30 on overnight shipping alone when I got pissed off with the phone apps lmao
They are so frustrating. A few times I’ve used them without any issue and other times it’s like they don’t register the strums. The mk4 build was kind of my last straw.
Using these apps made me dread touching my belts or doing anything that needed me to mess with the belts. Now I don't care with this tool. One of my favorite tools
The apps are worthless outside a quite room. Just try them while a couple other printers running.
I bought the DIY kit a couple months ago. Ironically, at the build stage of my 2.4 where I need to do the AB belts. Have to print and get this thing built! 😂
Thanks for the video Daniel. Great review, very informative. Looks like my projects list just got one item longer 😆
Thanks buddy!! Haha at least this is a relatively small one. I know that all too well though 😂. The ever growing list.
I think this isn't quite correct: If i'm not mistaken, you should tune only one belt, in a core xy (and try to make the same adjustement on the other one, so half a turn on each), and then you adjust the other belt to eliminate the induced racking, regardless of the tension this will provide. Please let me know if this is wrong or not
I think frequncy actually varies with the square root of tension so you would have to square the ratio of frequencies to get the ratio of tensions
And now they are sold out! 🤣Good job, ModBot! 🤣 Now I want one, but can't have it! 🤣
UPDATE: I broke down and sourced all of the parts. Gotta love Amazon! 🤣
you can get digital belt tenioning meters for 3d printers for much cheaper, they're using digital tire gauges with addon
Never seen or heard of a digital one. Got a name?
... and West3D is sold out 😆
lol they were sold out when I went to buy mine. I had to wait a week or two for a shipment. They seem to have been gaining popularity for some time.
Kit it is I guess 😅
RatOS for Rat Rigs has a belt tension macro that so far works rather well, but it's a rather tedious process because you have to have it run, tighten/loosen, repeat until they're matched up. Might look into one of these to at least speed things up.
Sold out.
Are you sure you are using EPDM belts? Afaik they are usually black on both sides. With 1.9 you are still in the range of both. You might want to adjust the values so that nobody is confused.
That b roll is amazing. Mod bot
since you have your printer tuned with the tester, can you please test on longer belt segments to see if that matters? My guess is that it won't as it's testing the distance the belt moves between the two pins on the tester, but it would be good to have confirmation that you don't need to fuss about the 150mm belt segment
(for the sound based testing, it makes sense that the length matters, for this it shouldn't)
I love the way bambulab deals with this! but this is useful :)
How do they deal with it?
@@Valintone they just have a simple spring putting a predefined amount of pressure that's equal to both idlers, you lose the idler, move the gantry around so it moves around, then lock the pulley again.
I mean calibrating on known Violin string only works if outcome is calculated to exact belt you own. So given that every one uses Gates 6mm belts this device may measure properly. Or Designer of that device checked other belts and is giving calculation tables for then too. Otherwise this work just for one belt type
The recommended values are with different belts, yes they are gates- but there are values for rf, epdm, gt3 (I believe)
nice review
Thank you :)
Sold out at reseller, project owner paused his etsy store, so far only one way is try and self source
Just relisted, the maker does these himself and pumps out a lot but the demand certainly outpaces supply :)
When you adjust the other belt a half turn, are you turning it opposite?
I wish you had first tuned the belts using the strum test and then used the tool to show how close the app test got and if its at least good enough.
I use a highly precise measuring device called a fingerometer👀 It's accurate to +/-0.5NM and hasn't let me down yet🤷♂
As someone who has needed to use a tension meter professionally... The sound meter method for checking 3d printer belts has always made me cringe a bit.
When moving an assembly that sits in the middle of a tensioned belt, you want to check the tension on each side. Depending on the direction you moved the assembly, the tension may be a bit higher on one side than the other. You can average the measurement for better accuracy. This may not be as much of an issue with the relatively lighter weight and smaller size and belt paths in a printer though.
Hello Daniel will this be applicable on a bambulab p1s ?
In theory yes, however, they have a built in semi automatic tensioning system so unless there is a specific reason that isnt working I would opt to just stick with that on the P1S.
Will this work on the Magneto-X?
Can you use these on the Creality Ender series and Elegoo Neptune 3 and 4 series?
The belt material affects the frequency... They have had tool like this since the V-belt days
could i ask you to look into the ender 3 ng project?
Is there any alternatives?? There sold out
I’m surprised that there someone hasn’t come up with a belt tensioning capability based on hooking an opposing axis to a belt and measuring torque on the stepper driver or something.
Love it when they do reviews on something I want, but it's always out of stock with no preorder, which tells me that it isn't coming back I guess? 😭
I just put some back in stock, we do restocks every week or two. We don’t pre-order because we like to deliver a high standard of service and when things slip so does the experience.
Would this work with creality k1c?
Any idea on using this for a Rat Rig Vcore 3?
What printer was that at 2:40?
If only there were a printer that automatically set the belt tension
Wouldn't a Loos Gauge do the same thing?
So this won't work on a Bambu Labs p1s?
Just out of curiosity went to the site and they gone... Guess i caught the video a bit late lol ..
Even worse, I've seen belt tensioned so tight it bent the machine frame! Be careful with those belts.
The phones apps suck and prusas in particular is hot garbarge. It picks up the strumming exacting 10% or less of the time
Stratasys did this 20 years ago
Its completely sold out. Nice job....
The moment you said the way to measure belt tension was with the _phone microphone based on pitch.._ yeah no thanks hahah, I recently got recommended a belt tensioner on ali for ~10$ and they mostly seem based on generic digital calipers. I might buy one and try it out honestly, as I've also always wondered over the years "how tight should my belts be?"
Sadly, it doesn’t work for 9mm belts.
According to docs it does
@@ModBotArmy not gt3
Never thought to use a guitar tuning app to tension the belts on a printer... just sounds like a bunch of nonsense..glad this tool exists now though, will probably be picking one up in the future
I made 6 of these for a whopping $18 USD.
Cool tool but it definitely isn’t a new concept. Car mechanics have used these for many many years and call them a belt deflector tool
A digital one costs 3 dollars on ali, this is homemade thing isnt cutting ir.
Most of the ali ones are just tire gauges/calipers. I have both that style and this printed one from west3d.
On the ali one, the plunger is a sharp point instead of something rounder and more fit for the profile of the belt, which makes actually using it to get a reading difficult.
There is no way to reliably "zero" it.
There is no guide for calibrating it s that you can match deflection to a specific hz of tension.
It seems like it should be better but in practice, the ali one is useless.
The printed one is calibrated, can be re-calibrated easily, fits on the belts properly, and is easy to use.
If the ali one wa more developed to overcome these issues, it might be the other pick. But as is it is hard to recommend.
The feedback I have seen on the Ali ones are horrible. Both from the quality of the tool/it arriving damaged, to it not working well due to the shape of the arms/prong on the tool. If you can find one that works well for you then by all means, but if its not reliable or repeatable then its worthless.
@@caramelzappa the ali ones have a bit too little area for the belt to grab onto as well, iirc by the reviews
I used them and having no problems, i think allot of people have a opinion about them without trying them. Digital always beats analog in measuring, only dummies think otherwise.
@@TheOneAndOnlySatan
How do you reliabley "zero" yours for repeatability?
How do you convert your measurement in MM to HZ?
How do you handle the sharp point wanting to slip off the belt?
I would love to make some use out of mine.
I was expecting to see print comparisons BEFORE and AFTER using the tool. Without them this video is just an ad supported by just your words. That's not enough. 👎
An ad, for what exactly? The completely open source tool?
@@UloPe yes. The tool which is being sold. Do you have any idea on why there is completely zero comparison of the print results "before" and "after"?
@@paragongamecom2497 It's only being sold as an option for people that don't feel up to the task of assembling one themselves...
I have no idea why there is no comparison but I would imagine because it's very difficult to see minute belt tension changes in print results in an otherwise well tuned printer.
@@UloPe my point exactly. Why to spend time on making a video and attract attention to a tool (sounds like an advertisement) and not show ANY influence of the tool to the print results.
To me it is misbehavior. An attempt to make some positive impression not backed up by... Anything.
Case closed.
@@paragongamecom2497 To me the point of this video is to show an alternative to using apps for getting proper belt tension. It’s well documented that improperly tensioned belts can lead to both poor prints and increased wear.
Why ABS/ASA though?
Thats a great question. I didn't see an obvious answer or reason for this.
Durability over time. PLA will creep more under load, that tenioning spring is a constant load.
But also it was designed and tested in ABS/ASA so using another material with different shrinkage properties could lead to tollerance issues.
@@ModBotArmy i have printed and assembled this few weeks before (great tool), i can try to print in PLA and compare it , but my guess would be model tolerances(gear meshing) compensated for shrinking of ABS a tiny bit of ABS durability (PLA change over time with stress forces)
PLA creeps under load, so this tool may not remain calibrated if printed out of that material. ABS is a lot better for long-term dimensional stability.
Every plastic creeps under load. PLA with the higher stiffness would probably be a better option imho. However, the tool should come with a mode to relax the spring for storage. Every torque wrech (with a few special exceptions) has to be untensioned before putting it back in to storage too, as the spring that sets the torque "creeps" over time too if it's constantly loaded, so your wrench would move out of specification faster if you always keep the spring tensioned.
The fact that this belt tension tool comes with a calibrator is actually nice, as you know where the tool is just before you use it. With a torque wrench, you usually don't have a calibration tool that can test the torque before using it, unless you work in a bigger workshop that has torque references.
Your comments about the similar and cheaper existing alternatives without trying them makes you sound a little bit biased towards this project, probably it's not your intention but as I really like your content I kinda felt like giving my feedback, who knows if there would be a follow up video showing people that the alternatives are that inferior or not 😅
Are you referring to the apps that I mention in the video? Or are you talking about the digital Ali meters a few have mentioned?
0 print tests.
This tool is crap. 2 Essential object missing in this tool.
?? It’s just a tensiometer? That’s just a regular tool lol, like a torque wrench
A quality one can be north of a thousand dollars. The feedback I have seen on the cheaper ones is awful. From just arriving completely damaged to not being suited to work with belts due to the point on the probe this one has been designed specifically to overcome these issues.
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