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3d Printer

PostPosted: Fri Sep 30, 2011 11:49 pm
by Jolijar
I am working on designing a 3d printer and I am thinking about using the Makerslide
I started design before the makerslide was around using 8mm rods.
here is what I have so far.

It has a useable build area of 12x12" not sure what the z will be exactly as the heater barrel isn't designed quite yet.
it can be scaled to just about any print size you need but anything more that 12x12" is overkill
If I go to the makerslide the x axis will be stationary and the Z axis will be mounted on the x carriage... but that's not 100% set in stone. I will have to wait my turn to purchase some slides since I didn't see the kick starter till it was over..

Also have some ideas for an automatic tool changer so it can be a printer and a router / pcb etcher / driller
but they are not drawn yet only in my head.

I have most of the parts printed out and I have ordered the materials for the rod based machine.
total cost to build should be between $400 and $600

Re: 3d Printer

PostPosted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 7:55 am
by JerryOfMauiMakers
Interesting design. You could use a MakerGear or Makerbot print head and electronics to make the build a bit faster and easier. Print heads have a long history of development now... with Makerbot on their 7th major released design (and bog knows how many unreleased attempts).
One aspect of printer designs I've seen is that moving build platforms give some issues with minor errors in the build. Some of the newer designs move only the print head.

Re: 3d Printer

PostPosted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 11:58 am
by Mark K
I agree with moving the head not the work piece. I was building a tall thin walled piece that had an infill. The infill was only about 2mm and that made for very rapid back and forth movements. About every 20mm in height the part would start to resonate to the frequency of the platform motion and cause misalignments and imperfections. I am going to a fixed table and movable head(s) in the next iteration.
Mark

Re: 3d Printer

PostPosted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 8:14 pm
by bdring
That looks like a classic H-Bot. That can be controlled with two motors and a single belt. I have seen 6 digit price tags on commercial 3D printers that use the H-Bot mechs.

Re: 3d Printer

PostPosted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 11:50 pm
by Jolijar
I don't really like any of the extruders I have seen thus far. They are all more complicated then they need to be. I agree it would probably be better to move only the nozzle. I have a prusa using carriage parts I designed to use lm8uu bearings and I have no problems with errors in the part or ghost images of holes unless I go faster then 50mm sec but if I go faster then that the extruder chokes on the filament anyways. My main concern is my aluminum build platform I just got is very heavy... I really like Bart's mill design and would love to adapt that to be a 3D printer / router.

Re: 3d Printer

PostPosted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 1:09 am
by Enraged
Have you looked at the http://blog.ultimaker.com/ print head design? It moves the servo to the chassis to reduce the weight of the print head.

Re: 3d Printer

PostPosted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 6:43 am
by Jolijar
The extruders that have the stepper off the x axis have major problems with oozing. I think my design will work quite nicely however I won't be able to test until I get some parts I ordered. I am using a single stepper motor on the x carriage that has a rc car pinon mounted to it. I know axial loads are not favorable but it should perform adequately. I do not think it will work for 3mm filament which is why I am planning on using the 1.75mm stuff... I'll post updates once I get the parts I need.

Re: 3d Printer

PostPosted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 7:13 am
by BenJackson
Firmwares with decent trajectory planning and acceleration support are finally maturing so I think it's becoming less and less important to minimize your carriage weight.

Re: 3d Printer

PostPosted: Wed Nov 30, 2011 4:57 am
by Jolijar
My design has gone through quite a few changes... Still haven't printed with it yet but its shaping up quite well... you can see it over at http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:14101