Flex Problems, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[ZoranC]

Originally Posted by Dieseldan

I agree zoran and hope things get better for you

Thank you!

[Bri]

Originally Posted by blkyukon

Excessive Detail check your hex screw on the backing plate and make sure it's not loose....when I got my Flex, all the screws on mine needed to be tightened. If the backing plate is loose I could see it causing excessive rubbing when pressure is applied.

With that being said, I can see if you do apply pressure on an angle (using the edge of a pad) that it can cause the backing plate to rub too.


When I was testing the Flex I did apply pressure and never experienced any "plastic burning". I don't normally use pressure with it though...if I need more cutting, I just slow down the passes.





The Flex 3401 is new but not that new....IIRC, the Flex XC 3401 was released over a year ago.

What hex screw are you talking about? Is it the hex screw shown below: if not, can you please explain further on what to do?



I did tighten this bolt down and it still had room to go.

Thanks guys!

[Bri]

Also, I noticed that my Flex is really REALLY noisy and it vibrates a lot! It seems that the black piece in between the white part and the metal part is loose. (Shown in picture below) Even if I already tightened the bolt shown above. Is this normal?



Thanks guys!

[ZoranC]

Originally Posted by Bri

What hex screw are you talking about? Is it the hex screw shown below: if not, can you please explain further on what to do?



I did tighten this bolt down and it still had room to go.

Thanks guys!

Yes, that is the one. Make sure it is properly seated though before tightening, it can sometimes be finicky to get it seated right and if you don't it will be loose. Also, you might want to try using two washers underneath the bolt's head.

[NSXTASY]

And here I thought the UDM had an unusual number of problems.

[Bri]

Originally Posted by ZoranC

Yes, that is the one. Make sure it is properly seated though before tightening, it can sometimes be finicky to get it seated right and if you don't it will be loose. Also, you might want to try using two washers underneath the bolt's head.

What do you mean properly seated? I can't jiggle it or anything. I was just able to tighten it by a quarter of a revolution. Is that enough?

Also, is your Flex noisy as well? Does it vibrate like crazy? It seems that the black plastic below the metal head is loose. When I turn the machine on, it seems like the black piece is loose and vibrates a lot. It's not solid. What do you guys think about this?

[conan777]

I did tighten mine. It was already pretty tight to begin with but I tightened it pretty hard this time and have not had this problem any more.

[ZoranC]

Originally Posted by Bri

What do you mean properly seated?

See that squarish opening in backing plate? See that squarish notch on part that bolt goes in? That needs to get seated in and it is bit hard to do it right because "bolt's seat is free rotating, it keeps "slipping away", that is why I say jiggle a little bit to make sure it went in fine. You can hear/feel when it does so.

Originally Posted by Bri

I was just able to tighten it by a quarter of a revolution. Is that enough?

I would have to see you do it to know.

Originally Posted by Bri

Also, is your Flex noisy as well? Does it vibrate like crazy?

All of them are noisy and vibrate, that is how they work, better question is how much, please search for posts by blkyukon, it has link to video that will tell you how loud. Keep in mind you should judge noise/vibration when tool is used, on paint, not when it is free standing in air or it will be much louder and vibrate much more.

Originally Posted by Bri

It seems that the black plastic below the metal head is loose. When I turn the machine on, it seems like the black piece is loose and vibrates a lot. It's not solid. What do you guys think about this?

Black plastic below metal head is backing plate, it does move in certain pattern as machine works, so we can not say whether yours is unusual or not without seeing how exactly it moves on yours.

[ZoranC]

Originally Posted by NSXTASY

And here I thought the UDM had an unusual number of problems.

It has been a while since I stopped paying attention to UDM so my memory might be failing me (and if it is I apologize in advance and will stand corrected) but IIRC UDM had more than one kind of a problem, one of which was brand new machines stopping to work after very little use, which is not easily addressable by owner.

XC 3401 VRG has just one issue I heard of so far, it is easily addressable by owner if it happens (it takes 5 minutes and allen wrench to swap in new backing plate), and I have not heard of any that have died.

So what is your statement supposed to mean?

[ZoranC]

I went ahead and just took felt out on mine. I will let you know if I end up regretting it but at this moment nothing indicates that I would.

... and yes, approximately querter of a turn to tighten bp down sounds right now that I have been paying attention when doing it.