This is a test rig for measuring the maximum drive force before failure. It was designed to be lasercut and will fit a Plastruder MK4.

For more information on how we used this, check out this blog post: http://blog.makerbot.com/2010/05/21/mk5-drive-gear-now-with-science

1. Unclamp filament drive, remove the motor, and clean the teeth.
2. Re-attach motor, and set the filament idler wheel distance.
3. Clamp down extruder filament drive with output hole right against the force gauge probe.
4. Rest the force gauge to record Push force in Peak mode
5. Run the filament drive forward at 255 PWM (full-on)
6. Wait until the filament reaches the force gauge probe and fails (you can tell because the force gauge numbers climb and eventually stop at the peak.)
7. Record the peak force reading