How accurate are mechanical endstops

NeoandGeo · 27 Sept 2018, 06:02

In my unscientific experiments using mechanical endstops and the baby stepping (0.05mm) feature of the firmware, I have found that the repeatability seems to be the same lever or no lever arm, but without a lever arm the amount of movement between actuation and deactuation is reduced significantly.

Number of steps to (de)actuate:

With lever: 10-11 0.05mm baby steps
W / o lever: 2-3 0.05mm baby steps

Of course going no lever with virtually 100% striking chance is much more difficult. I always use XY with a lever and Z without.

Danal · 27 Sept 2018, 15:37

@digitalvision said in How accurate are mechanical endstops:

They also significantly reduce the force required for triggering which is important in many applications.

Good point. They trade more travel for less force. Which we don't need.

briskspirit · 27 Sept 2018, 16:05

@danal said in How accurate are mechanical endstops:

Removing the arm makes it harder to "hit", and much more precise when it is hit.

What that means? In case of 3D printers. I know exactly where switch is and I can precisely hit it, no? Or not to "over" hit? )

Danal · 27 Sept 2018, 16:14

@briskspirit said in How accurate are mechanical endstops:

@danal said in How accurate are mechanical endstops:

Removing the arm makes it harder to "hit", and much more precise when it is hit.

What that means? In case of 3D printers. I know exactly where switch is and I can precisely hit it, no? Or not to "over" hit? )

You've got it exactly right.

Taking off the arm, on a 3D printer, has almost no downside because we can align to the switch. It has upside because it makes the switch more precise.

briskspirit · 27 Sept 2018, 16:19

@danal Thanks for explaining! Now I don't understand why most 3D printers come with lever arm... but will try to remove mine on Z axis and later on X/Y

deckingman · 27 Sept 2018, 17:51

Just thought I'd chime in here as the title is " how accurate are mechanical endstops" but the thread seems to be about lever arm micro switches which are just one type of mechanical end stop.

I use a precision positioning switch for my Z axis. It's made by a Japanese company called Metrol which seems to be at the forefront of these things. Claimed repeatability is 0.005mm and after over a year of use, I have no grounds to dispute that claim. Since installing it, I have never had a need for baby stepping and never had any problem with the first layer. I did a bit of a write up on my blog here https://somei3deas.wordpress.com/2017/03/21/setting-up-a-metrol-positioning-switch/. There are links to the various web sites in the blog post.

The beauty of it is that it's just a simple switch so nothing fancy required to interface it. I chose the version with a built in LED so I had a visual indication of when it triggers which means that it needs to be treated as an analogue probe due to the series LED but the non LED version can be treated as a simple switch.

Oh, and if 0.005mm repeatability is still too course, they do a 1 micron version and I believe now there is also a 0.5 micron repeatability version too.

briskspirit · 27 Sept 2018, 18:37

@deckingman Wow, they are pricey...

deckingman · 27 Sept 2018, 18:58

@briskspirit said in How accurate are mechanical endstops:

@deckingman Wow, they are pricey...

Ahhh, well I didn't say they were cheap. TBH I can't remember how much I paid but it wasn't extortionate. Probably a bit more than say a BL touch but about a thousand times more reliable and easier to set up. The price will depend on the configuration you choose and where you can source one locally. You wouldn't want to use one for homing X or Y because positional accuracy in those cases isn't too important. But for homing Z, this is exactly the type of application that these switches are designed for.

deckingman · 27 Sept 2018, 19:17

Here you go - this is the Misumi UK site where I bought mine https://uk.misumi-ec.com/vona2/mech/M0400000000/M0402000000/M0402030000/M0402030100/

Part way down, "Contact Switches/Standard". Listed as a Misumi part but it comes with a sleeve on which is emblazoned the word "Metrol" (because that's who really make it). Price is 32 Euros which I don't consider to be extortionate for a highly reliable, highly repeatable, easily configured Z probe.

briskspirit · 27 Sept 2018, 19:52

@deckingman I've found them on Amazon US for $48, a bit later will buy for Z