Missing screw at bottom of scanner

My scanner seems to be ok and working but there is obviously a screw missing at the bottom:



Did anyone else see this issue?

mine scanner is also missing the same screw. Try a M3 screw but didn't fit.

Mine is also missing the same screw. the hole is actually blocked about halfway up the larger part of the cylinder; most likely a design error with the final components they ended up shipping with. I doubt it affects the operation of the device. If it really bothers anybody; I would suggest getting a short screw of the same size and gluing it carefully in place.

Thanks for the feedback! So I don't have to worry about it too much

It would be nice to get confirmation from Eora that no damage will occur due to operation with the possible missing screw.

There seems to be no thread behind the hole of the missing screw. So I think it's not critical to use the scanner without this screw.
But no one knows for sure ...

Having looked inside the unit, I can tell you for sure; the screw is not critical to operation. It does have threads behind it, but they are all the way up at the top of the unit as the screws are very long. The threads for that screw are just blocked by the stepper motor housing as it is turned in such a way that the housings securing screws (different screws than the ones we are talking about) block the path to those threads.

It is a very simple device on the inside of things. Nicely made though.

Thanks for the clarification!
Did you take photos from the inside you might share?

I have not, but that can certainly be remedied. I'll get some internal photos as soon as I get a spare hour or so to take and edit them.

Mine are Not missing. All 3 crews are inside the scanner.

Very interesting indeed ...

I found out exactly why the third screw is missing. Some units were assembled wrong at the factory. When screwing on the gear reduction unit, they oriented it wrong as the screws allow it to be positioned up to four different ways. The good news is that this should not impair the function of the scanner.

If you want to fix it I would recommend against it at this time since these things are already rather touchy in the malfunction department; no sense poking the tiger. However I will state the steps to do it, if you want to take the chance anyway.

I figured out how to remove the scanner head with very little difficulty.

WARNING: only attempt this if you are comfortable noting the position/orientation of everything as you disassemble it. Notably, there is a spring in there that needs to be re-positioned exactly the same way you see it when you reassemble. It is not as difficult as it sounds as it is set loose and only tightens when the head is rotated back to starting position by the software.

Basically:

1. Unscrew the main housing by the three main casing screws as normal.

2. Pull the top off carefully as to not damage or disconnect any wires until you can access the servo motor.

3. Take a fresh pencil eraser (still on the pencil) and hold it tight against the stepper motor axle so the friction stops it from turning.

4. Unscrew the top (the laser housing) of the scanner just until it stops gripping the threads of the gear shaft.

5 Once it is loose in this way, just use the pencil eraser like a friction screw driver to rotate the stepper motor axle and unscrew the top the rest of the way. At this point it is important that you turn the pencil, not the scanner top, as it scanner top would start twisting wires too far and such.

Since the gear box has such a large ratio, you will have to unscrew with the pencil for a very long time to fully release the top, so I would suggest gripping the pencil in an electric drill just like a bit and using that to unscrew it. I did it by hand and it took forever.

Once you have done this, you will have access to any part of the scanner you may need to repair/replace. Then you can just reverse the process to get it back together.

In the case of the four screws holding the motor in the wrong position, you need to do a few more steps.

1. Unscrew the LED circuit-board from the aluminum plate attached to the gear reduction unit. There are two screws holding it in place.

2. Once you lift the circuit-board, you will also have to remove a plastic spacer that sits between it and the aluminum mounting plate. It will reveal 4 more screws. These are the screws that hold the gear reduction unit in place.

3. Unscrew these four screws and note the position they held the plate onto the gear reduction unit. the plate you just removed is the one they failed to positioned correctly in the factory.

4. you now need to rotate the plate one quarter turn in either direction. I would recommend whatever direction keeps the wire that goes into the stepper motor as far away from a possible housing screw path as possible, but it looks like either way will work.

5. refasten the 4 screws in their new positions and your motor is now re-oriented.

6. reverse the steps to re-assemble the scanner.

7. You will need to purchase a third machine screw that same size as the others of course, and then use it in the now functional hole.

hopefully, this made enough sense to follow the directions. Let me know if it was too confusing. I plan on 3D modeling up the internals of this thing and showing the results here, so it will likely be more clear then.

The directions may sound like a lot or sound confusing, but it really is a rather simple device. Once you see it for yourself, you will likely find these directions a lot less confusing.

Great! Thanks for the detailed description!
Sounds not too difficult. I already opened my scanner an looked inside but did not go any further. Perhaps I'll give it a try some day.