Here is the results I'm getting with my finished c-bot, I'm very happy with the quality I'm getting at 100 micron. I also compare a print of a dragon printed on a makerbot replicator 1 and a cat printed off my c-bot and you can clearly see less ringing with the C-bot print.

 

I think I got excited a little too soon...on further testing .... With line 747 uncommented the extruder heaters do not work, maybe the bed too as I don't have mine connected. The fan will run at 100% with the pin change. If someone knows C code better than I maybe u can track this down. The guy coding it doesn't seem to have a grasp on this.

 

PLA should be fine Carl, post pics!

 

Matterhackers ended up sending me the fan for my second E3D Lite6 but they also included an E3D V6 minus duct, thermistor and heater cartridge. Have to say they have my vote now

Gonna compare print quality of the E3D Lite6 and V6 tonight.

 

Time to stop lurking I suppose, been following this thread for a while: I'm friends with sheffdog, and seeing his success has inspired me to build one of my own. I've ran a Rep1 for the past 3+ years, and am ready for something.... bigger....

Much bigger actually. And thus my question: I'm seeing people build these with a roughly foot-squared build volume. But I'm interested at going 2' tall: xy 305mm, z 610mm.
I can see that expanding the xy past 305mm would probably need a bed redesign (like others have done, triple-c bot, etc). But it seems like there shouldn't be much penalty going up on Z. Or is there? Would extra supports be needed along Z to reduce flexing, etc?

Any thoughts on the matter appreciated before I start buying parts.
Thanks!

 

Carl, how do you have those cooling fans mounted? And are those shrouds custom or ones you found?

 

OK, I got it..........
the only thing necessary with a default load for EEB, CoreXY, and Quickhome (only works in 1.0.3 dev ver) (excepting chgs for mechanics) is to mount the expander bd so that it is shifted over 2 pins. Fan_Pin is set to 4 default. For some reason using pin 11 does not work. I do not know why. Using 4, 5, or 6 does work. It could be my Arduino has a bad pin 11 but b/c Marlin was set up for 4 I am suspecting there is a conflict in Marlin. If ur does not work on 11 then that would be the case.

 

As for the bed I have 4x 20x40 rails and 3 screws, belt driven-similar to Adamcooks. I didn't like the cantilever part of this design for any height. -- everything else I love - thx again Carl......I'm at 305 on Z. But IMHO height is not a factor in the bed design. I had to trim slightly b/c my bed grew in height but it looks like I can get the other 10mm if I need it.
My bed travel is 335, 305 (extra 30mm for dual heads). I made a special wheel support (only 1 wheel on each corner) - my 3rd version - which appears to be very solid. What surprised me was learning Sketchup so I could model the whole thing. When I designed the wheel support they fit like a glove. I designed and printed 2 other pieces that went together like the display case fits. Incredible, for me at least.

As for dbl height, I think the challenge is the corners and how rigid & square u can get the frame. U may need some cross bracing on the sides. I think Adamcooks had a little issue with this. Mine is pretty solid without bracing. A simple 1/4 wood panel 4 to 6" wide should work. Other than that, I don't see an issue.

 

Did I miss the stl post? Didn't notice anything in the file section.

 

My oldtimers must be setting in. Where did you add it at? Couldn't find it in the file section.

 

@carl
Did u post a process to align the hotends? I seem to remember something but can't find it now. I am so close but can't seem to nail it down and I need to retighten things as the heat break is loose on one. I'm going in circles now.

 

that was it - the right one. I have it within a paper width of even but need to disassemble and tighten things up so I have to do it again.
I saw one had a different width but I didn't realize it was on purpose.

 

crafty geek, if I may make a suggestion here: try aliexpress, they're really cheap, I recently purchased a customized 1.3 x 1.2 meters etched foil silicone pad with controller for a mere 370 USD.
if planning to check it out, contact the shenzhen ali brother technology co. ltd company, they are the ones I dealt with. usa prices are expensive, checked them myself.
good luck.

 

Ended up buying the Home Depot 84 piece spring kit for $4.3x and glad I did. It actually came with quite a few springs that can be used for heated bed, extruder, spring loaded bed leveling switches and removing slop in the ball linkages on a Delta style printer. They include four of each size with most having beefy wire size for good rigidity.

Also picked up the 8 M5 60mm bolts I needed for the Z axis rollers.

 

My roommate just got the same box of springs. He needed one for his extruder. After looking the whole box of springs he also found different springs to use for his 3d printer.

 

Thanks - I did have a quick look on aliexpress a few days ago....i'll have a closer look & see what I can find!

 

Just wanted to say thanks for the replies on my build build volume questions. I've pulled the trigger and ordered all the parts. I'll probably be posting more... soon
And big thanks to Carl for this awesome build!

 

Don't use Alie Express, their shipping is high, and if you order a lot of a item the prices goes up on shipping. Bang Good is a sister company to them without the high shipping .

 

Hey all,

First off Carl, thanks for sharing such a wonderful design, and everyone else thanks for all the wonderful insights! I've enjoyed reading through the discussion.

I've been working on a large printer (roughly 3ft build volume) over the past few months. Just piecing it together as I had the funds. I'm using the design as posted for the x and y axis and it's performing wonderfully. I've obviously reworked the z axis quite a bit to accommodate the increase in size. I fully expected the nema 17 (78oz) motors I already had would be too weak to handle moving the platform and (sadly) I was correct. It looks like I can easily upgrade to these https://www.pololu.com/product/2133 which will drive a stepper at 2.5A. The problem I see with that is based on a preliminary search most of the steppers at 2.5A have around 165oz of torque. I'm a software developer by trade, I just dabble in electronics, so I'm unsure if that amount of torque would be sufficient for my needs if I print something that takes most of the build space, not to mention just the bed and frame for this size printer is fairly hefty.

So, two questions. Is there a method I can use to determine roughly what amount of torque would be necessary to turn my screws? I'm sure there's some kind of formula based on the screw thread and the load but I have no idea where I'd find it. Secondly, if the torque is greater then what I can supply via the driver above does anyone have any suggestions on external stepper drivers that have their signal provided by a ramps 1.4 board?

Thanks!

 

Well, I am nearing the end of my build. Just about have everything finished. Waiting for a new hotend to come in (hotend on my Printrbot went out and had to put it on that one). One of the last things I have on my "to learn" list is how to level the bed and set the height of the hotend. My other printer is a Printrbot Simple Metal and I guess I have gotten spoiled with the auto bed leveling and height adjustment using the probe. So what is the correct way to get this all setup? I'll be ready to do a test print when the new hotend is here. I have 2.5mm glass over the heated plate.