PCB Feed Rail Adjustment
I bought the "with rails" version of the Neoden 4. It comes with a set of extensions which support manually feeding the PCB into the rail system. The first time I tried to adjust the spacing of the rails, one of the sliding nuts under the rail stripped.As this is going to be an operation performed regularly, it needs to be fixed right and not be a recurring problem.
Method of Alignment
After email discussions with Neoden support (they have been excellent!), I became aware of slight step in the top of the rail, made to assist alignment. Here is a way to align the rails.
Details
The M4 nut is a custom machined part that slides in a guide under the black PCB rails. It is a steel part, but the bolt has minimal engagement. The top 1-2 threads stripped out. Removing the nut was easy. Attempting to re-thread from the rear went ok. However, that did not fix the lack of threads in the upper portion of the nut.
I locally procured a longer M4 bolt. Note that in 25-30mm length range, sizes will likely be in 10mm increments. 30mm is actually TOO long and required grinding some off the new longer bolt in order to not bottom out below the sliding nut.
Sorry for poor focus on closeups.
Below is the stripped sliding nut, which I removed, and set it on top of its PCB rail. If the nut were 18mm, the width of the black rail, it would be much easier to align.
The new M4 cap head bolts that are "30mm" which refers to the length of the THREADED portion. The original bolt measures 21mm. As you can see, I ground a 30mm bolt down to approx 25mm. This engages more thread in the sliding nut. Pay attention to prevent letting a long screw go through the sliding nut and hit the bed. I will replace all 4 bolts with modified new ones.
Your well considered comments are welcome (8-)
Method of Alignment
After email discussions with Neoden support (they have been excellent!), I became aware of slight step in the top of the rail, made to assist alignment. Here is a way to align the rails.
- Loosen the LEFT rail, front and rear.
- Place 2 blank boards in the small guide on the TOP of the rails (do not insert the PCB). Place one over the front and one over the rear adjustment points.
- Slide the rail to align both front and rear.
- GENTLY Tighten screw to hold the rail.
- Remove the PCBs.
Details
The M4 nut is a custom machined part that slides in a guide under the black PCB rails. It is a steel part, but the bolt has minimal engagement. The top 1-2 threads stripped out. Removing the nut was easy. Attempting to re-thread from the rear went ok. However, that did not fix the lack of threads in the upper portion of the nut.
I locally procured a longer M4 bolt. Note that in 25-30mm length range, sizes will likely be in 10mm increments. 30mm is actually TOO long and required grinding some off the new longer bolt in order to not bottom out below the sliding nut.
Sorry for poor focus on closeups.
The new M4 cap head bolts that are "30mm" which refers to the length of the THREADED portion. The original bolt measures 21mm. As you can see, I ground a 30mm bolt down to approx 25mm. This engages more thread in the sliding nut. Pay attention to prevent letting a long screw go through the sliding nut and hit the bed. I will replace all 4 bolts with modified new ones.
Your well considered comments are welcome (8-)
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