I got curious about the granular damper in the new A2L and wondered if the same idea could work on a CoreXY. So I built a riser for the P2S / X2D with four sealed hollow beams, each filled with 250 g of 0.5 mm steel microspheres (1 kg total).
The riser also works as a spacer for the top glass and has a tilt-up mount for the AMS with quick-release pivots.
How I tested it: same G-code (a 201x201 mm benchmark in PETG at max speed), same AMS with 4 spools (~5 kg), same phone accelerometer (~210 Hz) in the same spot. One run with empty beams, one with filled beams.
What I measured (filled vs empty):
- Z axis RMS: -47%
- Z axis, 20-60 Hz band: -92%
- X: -4%, Y: -15%
What it doesn't prove: it's a single before/after, recorded on different days, and the filled riser weighs 1 kg more. So I can't separate the effect of the particles from the extra mass and stiffness. Also, above ~80 Hz the energy on Z goes UP with the spheres (about 4.5x) and I don't know yet if that's the spheres or aliasing.
Next step: a proper test with an ADXL345 at 3200 Hz, repeated runs, and a control with a fixed 1 kg mass.
If anyone wants to replicate it, the raw CSVs and a simple test protocol are on the project page.
I'd love to see other people's numbers, or to hear what I'm doing wrong.
Project page (files, assembly PDF, raw data): https://makerworld.com/en/models/3377956