Anyone who has assembled a NexDome has noticed tje inherent thumping, as the dome turns over the walls. In some cases the dome sections are NOT level with each other and this presents a more profound problem. This can cause the dome to stall or stick which can effect the dome rotation kit to jump the track or grind the gear.
Several have mentioned filling the space so I did. I used a modeling clay and filled the spaces between the dome sections. In a few areas I added material to level out a few of the uneven transitions.
It worked for exactly 2 days. First the added leveling material fell out as the dome ran over the wheels. Even after the clay fell out the dome was much quieter and ran smoother with the spaces being filled. The dome also didn't thump, stick or stall. The next time I was in the dome, all but a few, of the clay remaining in the spaces fell out. Other than cleaning up the clay the dome is no worse for wear.
I wanted to use a material that could be removed easily, in case of having to remove the dome for any number of reasons. I did not sand or otherwise rough up the area and I'm thinking that might be required.
If anyone has tackled this please post here.
I will keep reporting back as I try other materials or techniques.
Steven
So it has been awhile since I worked on controlling the thump thump thump of the dome while rotating. I ended up using gorilla tap, found it in white, in ~4" strips between the sections of the dome making sure it was stretched tight. I have to say the thumping has been reduced by at least 70% and the wheels no longer get trapped where there is an offset to each section. It has held up well over the summer, and it has been setting record highs, and appears to be my solution.
Like everyone else, I've experienced the "thump-thump" which is an unavoidable byproduct of the way the panels must be molded. If you want to fix this once and for all, the product you need is called "Apoxie." It's an epoxy modelling clay that has the consistency of putty, sticks to anything, including ABS plastic and cures rock hard. It's not cheap at $25 (Amazon), but you'll be pleased with the result.
Stacey, please report back after several weeks about how well the two part modeling clay works. As posted elsewhere the regular modeling clay I used shrunk and fell off.
@Steven Green This stuff isn't like regular clay. It's epoxy-based so it won't shrink and it gets as hard as a rock. I was shocked at how well it sticks to shiny ABS plastic. You need a knife and a hammer to break even a small piece loose. I've had it in place for several weeks. It's not going anywhere.
Stacey, good to know. I’ll pickup some on Amazon. Thanks
I'll be interested to know the result too. Even though in my case the thumping is reduced by the fact that I did my own wheel circle like Alex Tardiff with bigger 125mm wheel, I would like to make it as smooth of a ride as possible.
I can also confirm that the dome is everything but round :) (as my wheel were carefully installed as a circle .. and the dome was not turning properly .. so some adjustment was needed which is easier to do with support wheels on bracket and horizontal wheels on bracket too ).
Rodolphe, do you have a source for the wheels? What brackets are you referring too? Thanks.
I'm not using the standard Nexdome walls, I had a square structure build and tried to use the ring that comas as the dome+ring kit. Didn't work well at all so I did the same thing as Alex Tardiff :
I got the wheel from Amazon but they won't fit on the standard wall as they are much bigger :
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07K57YM2X/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I also put 16 wheels instead of the original 8 vertical ones (and use 8 of the original ones as Alex did).
So this helps a lot but is probably not doable on the original Nexdome walls
Rodolphe, I read his entire journal, thanks for the link. I purchased the entire dome kit with 2 bays. The modifications Alexander Tardiff and you implemented would require a major modification to the dome walls which I’m not able or willing to do at this time. However, I will be thinking about changing out the dome rollers to facilitate smoother operation. I have one each of the wheels at one bay that only touch the dome about 20% of the time.
Even with the new wheel system me and Alex are using, sometimes some of the wheel are not touching, because the dome is not round and not "flat". So having more wheel helps as more of them do touch at any given time.. but they never all touch at the same time... at least not in my case.
Rodolphe, I totally get it. At first, I thought it was something I did during assembly then maybe the floor wasn't level. It turns out that the components that make up the wall, in my case, and dome are not precision made. Everyone that I know has had problems with the panels fitting together and or not having to modify a few holes to put it together. For me I had to tear it down once and reassemble to ensure the walls are round, and they are.
I am going to order the Apoxie Modeling compound clay Stacey Mills recommended then at least the rollers won't hit that gap between each panel.
Right now we're getting ready to start unpacking our evacuation, must save, belongings due to the fires near our home in the south Bay Area of California. Air quality is horrible, visibility has been so bad I couldn't see the moon the past two nights. Ash from the fires are everywhere. Temperatures are now down into the mid 90s F, and we've had some overnight foggy/smoke cooling into the 60s F which is helping to contain the fires.
I wouldn't worry about all the wheels touching. Mine don't either. I also have a Technical Innovations 10' ProDome which is also a fine product. Its wheels don't all touch all the time either. Doesn't seem to be a problem.
I'm in the bay area too so yea.. air quality is really bad (I'm slightly north of Berkeley). It's probably better here as we're not in direct line of a fire but the last few days have been fairly bad. Safety first .. so do what you need to do to stay safe !
Let me know how the Apoxie Modeling compound works as I will probably do the same.
Rodolphe
I just put my order for the Apoxie clay at Amazon. We'll see how it does but I'm confident it will do the job. In one of Stacey Mills replies she said it has been on a couple of months and is holding up very well. Now I just need to get my dome to connect to my computer and the shutter to stay connected to the rotator and have the shutter motor stop sputtering.
North of Berkeley that's like another country. Good to know I have a NexDome neighbor. I'm trying to figure out how to PM you. As I remember you're a TSX user and I have questions.
@Steven Green Hi Steven, I'm actually a male "Stacey." I think it's down to me and Stacy Keach! I've updated my avatar since that's a VERY common mistake. I've put some stuff on the FaceBook NexDome forum under "Linda Mills." That's my wife. I have no real interest in joining FaceBook so she lets me post from her account. I think this is a better more permanent site for NexDome info. Good luck to all with COVID, the fires, and now the hurricane(s)!
Stacey, sorry about the gender oooops. I haven’t post on FB under my wife’s name (Becky Stromska-Green) because their usage of personal information.
I totally agree this is a better site for Nexdome related stuff. Now if we could get rid of all the non-NexDome related posts.
Stay safe,
Steven
I don't see any way to PM users here. Check my website and you should be able to find my email there :)
And your website is? I can't make it out from your Avatar.
Steven
one link among others : https://rti-zone.org/macosx_x2dome_plugins.php