As we approach the day when the eShapeOko kits are ready to ship, I am going to try to keep you up to date. \u00a0This is the first of these updates.<\/p>\n
Yesterday I received a shipment of 18-tooth MXL pulleys. \u00a0Unfortunately,\u00a0they are utter\u00a0crap. At least half of them are unusable, and the rest are just awful. \u00a0Some are more eccentric than the eccentric spacers, all have the\u00a0toothed part slanted with respect to the flanges, and none are bored\u00a0straight. \u00a0Most flanges are not parallel, and the distance between the\u00a0flanges varies between less than 7mm and about 7.5mm.\u00a0 They’re not anodised (as they should have been), and the tooth\u00a0profile is inaccurate, with valleys too wide and ridges\u00a0too thin: they would have lots of backlash. \u00a0To add insult to injury, one of them (just one!) has 20 teeth,\u00a0not 18. I have no choice but to write them off. \u00a0(Of course, I will try to get a refund, but I’m not holding my breath.)<\/p>\n
Fortunately, I know where to buy good pulleys, so the kits won’t be delayed because of this setback. \u00a0They won’t be cheap, but I won’t increase the price of the kit. \u00a0The dual-Y upgrade also includes one pulley — I won’t change the price of that either. \u00a0However, I have to give up my plan to sell extra pulleys in the store, because I can’t offer them at a reasonable price.<\/p>\n
I am ordering the fasteners and Z threaded rod today, all in nice shiny stainless steel, from a UK-based supplier I trust.<\/p>\n