Replicator™ Gantry Re-alignment

It’s possible for The Replicator’s gantry — the system of rods and belts that supports and moves your Stepstruder — to become misaligned. If one side is too far out of alignment with the other, the Y-axis motor could stop the Stepstruder from hitting the X-axis endstop, which will stop The Replicator from working normally.

If your gantry isn’t aligned correctly, the Stepstruder will stop in this position.

Note the gap between the Stepstruder and the X-axis endstop

Don’t worry — it’s not difficult to realign.  First, immobilize the left side of the gantry like this:

Immobilize the left side of the gantry.

Don’t push it all the way to the back of the bot — leave some space to grip the right side of the gantry.

Once you have a firm grip on both sides, pull the right side of the gantry towards the front of The Replicator.  You might hear a noise as the belt skips a few times. It sounds unpleasant, but it shouldn’t cause any damage. Just a few clicks should be enough.

Pull the right-hand side of the gantry towards the front of the machine.

After you move the right-hand side of the gantry forward, push the extruder all the way to the right side, and then to the back.  Slide it back and forth to make sure that it doesn’t hit the Y-motor.

Push the Stepstruder into the back-right corner. Make sure that it clears the Y-motor.

Now we’re going to make sure that we didn’t pull the gantry’s right-hand side too far forward.

With the Stepstruder assembly in the back-right corner, grab the right-hand side of the gantry again.  Push it towards the back of the machine.  If you’ve pulled the gantry too far forward earlier, you’ll hear the belts pop back a click or two.  The Stepstruder will run up against the Y-motor, so you won’t be able to push it too far.

Pull the right-hand side back until the Stepstruder contacts the y-motor.

Before we finish, let’s double check the alignment by pushing the gantry all the way to the front of the machine.  The gantry should contact both pulleys at the same time.

If the two ends of the gantry still don’t line up correctly, try the process again, or contact support for additional instructions.