Big Ol' 3d Printer, by Awesomenesser

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Big Ol' 3d Printer, by Awesomenesser

Postby awesomenesser » Tue Feb 28, 2012 6:59 pm

I figured I should go ahead and start to assemble a buildlog for my 3d printer. I have a decent amount of experience building CNC's, I have already built a Buildlog 2.x Laser Cutter. You can check out my laser cutter buildlog here. Over time I will be attempting to assemble all of the useful information on this first post because it can be difficult to navigate through the many pages of these forum posts.

Mechanics
I have preordered the Hadron ORD Bot to use as the machanics platform. I have been very pleased with Bart's 2.x Laser Cutter so I figured why not get a 3d printer.

Control
First off as of right now I plan to make my 3d printer so that it is controlled using Mach3. I have a couple reasons for doing this first off is the fact that I already own Mach3 (for my laser) the second reason is that I have a grudge against using arduinos (Being a computer engineer I can't justify taking to easy approach). Instead I plan on using Mach3 to drive 4 Pololu A4988 stepper drivers. I will be using some custom circuits to monitor and maintain the temperatures of the heated build platform and the extruder. Right now I plan on running an AVR with PID control algorithms and a simple character lcd for monitor temps and to act as a simple user interface.

I am currently rethinking the Mach3 approach I will probably be making a custom control board.

Extruder
I plan using the Makerbot Stepstruder MK7 as the extruder for my Hadron ORD Bot. Makerbot has been sold out for the past month but luckily I was able to get one ordered last weekend so I should receive it in a couple weeks.I decided to go with the MK7 because of how professionally it was designed and I really like how low profile it is.

Software
In order to convert the gcode from the slicing programs I will develop some software to format it for Mach3. This software will be built into my laser gcode conversion software which you can read about here. I haven't done much research into what will need to be changed but I will figure that out later.

Parts List
Here is a list of the parts that I have ordered so far:
-Hadron ORD Bot (link FAQ queue BOM wiki)
-Makerbot Stepstruder MK7 (link)
-Prusa PCB Heated Bed (link info)
-Thermistor 100K (2x) (link datasheet)
-A4988 Stepper Motor Driver (4x) (link) (Also buy heatsinks)
-PLA 1.75mm (I bought 1 lb black and 1 lb red) (Many stores are sold out so I got what I could) (black red)
-Diablotek 380W Micro ATX Power Supply (link) (19A@12V, 18A@5V) (It does not have modular cables but it is cheap)


More to come later...

Last Updated 4/19/12
Last edited by awesomenesser on Thu Apr 19, 2012 8:58 pm, edited 8 times in total.
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Re: Big Ol' 3d Printer, by Awesomenesser

Postby awesomenesser » Tue Feb 28, 2012 6:59 pm

Pictures

Render1 (Resized).jpg
A rendering of the Hadron ORD Bot with the MK7 and MK2 Build Platform.


Hadron1 (Custom).png
Hadron with control panel.


P1020806 (Custom).JPG
A photo of the assembled Hadron on the 2.x laser cutter.


P1020978 (Custom).JPG
The Hadron with control panel and spring wire guides.


Last Updated 5/3/12
Last edited by awesomenesser on Thu May 03, 2012 8:59 pm, edited 5 times in total.
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Re: Big Ol' 3d Printer, by Awesomenesser

Postby awesomenesser » Tue Feb 28, 2012 6:59 pm

Videos

I will post some youtube videos as soon as I get the 3d printer up and running.

Here is a link to my youtube channel if you would like to view some of the videos of my laser cutter.

Last Updated 2/28/12
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Re: Big Ol' 3d Printer, by Awesomenesser

Postby awesomenesser » Thu Mar 01, 2012 10:20 pm

I received my power supply today from amazon. So I decided to take it apart and replace the mess of wires with a single bundle that had everything needed.

The power supply that I bought was a Diablotek 380W Micro ATX Power Supply (link). It has plenty of power (19A@12V) to handle the heated build platform, the mk7 extruder, and the steppers. One thing to note is that it only has 20 gauge wire (~11 amps max) so I couldn't use just one wire for the 12 volt bus. I was going to set the power supply next to the printer, but it is so small (4.8 x 3.8 x 2.5 inches) and light that I might mount it to the backside of the Z extrusion.

Here is a link to another thread discussing the use of atx power supplies here.

I decided to use some fancy 6 position MX150 connectors that I had in my collection from a previous project. The MX150 connectors can handle up to 22 amps on each pin so I know they can handle the power. They are a little bit of an overkill but they have a professional look and have a latch to release.

Connector Pinout:
1: GND (2 wires)
2: GND (2 wires)
3. PWR ON (Connect to ground to turn on supply)
4: 12V (2 wires)
5: 12V (2 wires)
6: 5V (2 wires)
(I should have plenty of copper to carry any combination of current that I need)

MX150 Part Numbers:
- Receptacle 0334720601
- Plug 0334820601
- Male Pin 0330000002
- Female Pin 0330122002

PS.JPG
A picture of the power supply with connectors.
Last edited by awesomenesser on Mon Mar 05, 2012 7:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Big Ol' 3d Printer, by Awesomenesser

Postby awesomenesser » Thu Mar 01, 2012 10:46 pm

Look at what I just got in the mail... I thought makerbot said the MK7 had a 10 day lead time?

MK7 Kit.JPG
The MK7 Kit of parts.
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Finalizing Design + Control Panel

Postby awesomenesser » Thu Apr 19, 2012 8:34 pm

I received my Hadron last week and did get it assembled. As a note I did not have issues with anything during assembly. After assembling my 2.x laser cutter the Hadron was a piece of cake. I do need to get some lubricant for one of my delrin z nuts it is a little tight (I ran it up and down a dozen times using a drill).

I am rethinking my decision to use Mach3 to control the Hadron and will be using a custom board that I am working with sleepisfortheweak to develop. Because this will be a custom controller I wanted to a slick user interface panel so I have spent the past couple weeks developing one.

Features:
-2x16 Character LCD (White on Black) (link)
-Rotary encoder with click (encoder) (knob)
-4 Button pad with RGB leds (pcb) (buttons)
-Full size SD card slot (Molex Part# 5009980900)

FYI, I found some limit switches on digikey with the correct mounting holes and roller. (Part# EG4552-ND)

Hadron1 (Custom).png
View of my 3d model of my hadron with the control panel.


Hadron2 (Custom).png
A view of the back of the control panel.


Hadron3 (Custom).png
A view showing the mount framework and clearance.


The next thing that I needed to tackle was how to mount the MK2 Heated Bed PCB. I plan on mounting it on springs for two reasons: the first is for safety (just in case I ram the extruder into the table), and the second is to be able to level the table. I had some difficulty finding a spring but I think I finally found one that should work perfectly. Below is a picture of my current spring mount design. Once I get the parts I will let you know what I think of it.

Hadron4 (Custom).png
A view of the PCB spring mount.


Just to clutter up the page a little more here are a couple pictures of the internal control panel design. The panel will be laser cut from acrylic. I designed it so that all of the accessories that I wanted would be mounted at the correct depths so make it look as professional as possible. I was going to enclose the unit completely but I like the way it looks so I am not going to add cover plates. It was designed in 3 layers to avoid showing the heads of the screws. The back layer is used to mount all of the components and attach to the mount which connects to the underside of the Y makerslide. The next layer is used as a spacer to cover all of the screw heads. Then the front layer is the clean interface bezel which only has enough screws to hold it on.

Hadron8 (Custom).png
A view of the control panel without the plastic faceplates.


Hadron5 (Custom).png
A view of the control panel with only the mounting plate.


Hadron6 (Custom).png
The control panel with the spacer plate.


Hadron7 (Custom).png
The control panel with the faceplate.
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Re: Big Ol' 3d Printer, by Awesomenesser

Postby LeonS » Thu Apr 19, 2012 9:33 pm

Hi Awesomenesser,

I used a captured nut holder (http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:10216) to stabilize the nuts for the heated bed adjustment screws. I mounted them diagonally underneath the aluminum plate with the nyloc nuts trapped against the plate. I mounted the holders diagonally because the holes in the plate are pretty close to the edge. It looks fine and works perfectly. You can adjust each screw with one hand and a screwdriver with out the need of the other hand and a wrench or pair of pliers. It makes bed leveling a snap.

I found some spiral springs at the local Sears hardware store for 45 cents each that are perfect for supporting the heater. They are conical (pyramidal) in shape so the can compress all the way to flat without bunching up and limiting the amount of possible adjustment like a ball point pen spring would.

Would your controller work with Marlin? Are you going to post your design to Thingiverse? It looks awesome as I would expect from your user name.

Cheers to you and your design,
Leon
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Re: Big Ol' 3d Printer, by Awesomenesser

Postby awesomenesser » Thu Apr 19, 2012 10:31 pm

Leon,

I really like the trapped nut design, thanks for the idea. I will redesign it and make it so it can be laser cut.

I doubt the controller would work with Marlin out of the box. The LCD and buttons/leds might work without any modifications, but the rotary encoder would require some extra coding.

Once I make the control panel (to verify it works) I will go ahead and post it to Thingiverse.

Update:
I designed a laser cut version for locking the nuts so the table height can be adjusted with only an allen wrench. Only require 2 M2.5x10mm screws and a couple drilled holes. Thanks again for the idea.

NutLock2.png
A view of the two layer nut lock.
Last edited by awesomenesser on Thu Apr 19, 2012 11:15 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Big Ol' 3d Printer, by Awesomenesser

Postby Enraged » Thu Apr 19, 2012 11:14 pm

There is a fork of Marlin with code built in for an I2C LCD and a rotary encoder, but there doesn't seem to be much documentation on it. http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:12663 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pL8Y0NA ... e=youtu.be
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Re: Big Ol' 3d Printer, by Awesomenesser

Postby awesomenesser » Thu Apr 26, 2012 9:06 pm

After receiving my mcmaster order I decided to build the PCB mount that I posted earlier. It looks like it is going to work out fairly well.

Part List:
4x Spring (Mcmaster#:1986K43) or (Mcmaster#:1986K43 (Not as stiff))
4x M2x20mm Socket Head Screw
8x M2.5x10mm Socket Head Screw
8x M2.5 Flat Washer (4 more if you want one on top)
8x M2.5 Hex Nut
4x M2 Lock Nut
4x PCB Mount Base (3mm Acrylic)
4x PCB Mount Cover (1.5-2mm Acrylic)

3dPrinterPCBMount (Custom).jpg
A couple pictures of the PCB mount on my Hadron.
Attachments
PCBMountDXF's.zip
PCB mount .dxf files.
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