Max Tepermeister published a new build:

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I can export the model to inventor. I don't know how well/if the constraints will carry over. In Creo, everything moves correctly. The model is changing a lot though, so it won't be current for very long. I'll post the files in a few minutes. I'll also try and get some pictures up of my current progress.

EDIT: I realized that the inventor I could export to wasn't autodesk inventor, but something else. I added zip files of the creo files as well as a zip of a STEP assembly that contains everything.

 

Okay. Finally took some pictures of the printer and rendered the latest revision of the CAD overnight. (The old render was from a couple of weeks ago.) The images show the whole printer as well as some details on the electronics wiring that I've done so far. I spent a long time thinking about and wiring the 120VAC side of the power supply to be as safe as possible. In the image that shows the z-belts, you can just make out the rear idler skewed up at an unnatural angle. I need to reprint that rear bracket stronger.

Another issue that I'm having is with the z axis pulleys on the leadscrews. The pulleys come with a 5mm hole that I drilled out to 6mm in order to fit them onto the leadscrews. (6mm is the smallest smooth end that you can get on an 8mm leadscrew from misumi). 2 of them are OK, but the third was drilled at an angle and introduces a lot of wobble and inconsistent tension in the belt. When I have access to a lathe, I'm going to try turning the hole down on that instead.

Enough talking. Pictures!

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Sorry about the quality of the photos. My phone camera isn't the best.

The next thing that I'm going to be working on is the heated bed. I just got the aluminum heat spreader and borosylicate glass from mcmaster today. My plan is to glue the 11.5x11.5 inch heating pad to the bottom of the 12x12 inch heat spreader. I would then drill and countersink holes around the 1/4 inch border of the spreader and attach it to the mdf using standoffs. (8? 1 at each corner and each side middle maybe). The glass would be clipped to the aluminum with part of the clip over the glass and the other part under the aluminum. (the standoffs are just long enough to allow this).

I'm struggling a bit to ensure the lead screws are completely vertical as my mdf bed was cut and drilled by hand. I don't have access to a cnc machine or laser cutter, but I was considering ordering a perfectly cut bed. All of my hand drilled holes are a tiny bit off and the error adds up. I compensated by drilling oversize holes, but I can't go much larger as they would break through part of the mdf. If that doesn't make sense, I'll try to get a picture showing it.

I would love to hear anyone's comments, idea's or suggestions!!
~Max

 

Here are some pictures of the bed mockup. I was just trying to get a feel for how everything fits together.

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It's late, so I'll talk more about what I did when I have time. Thanks for looking!
~Max

 

Thanks! I haven't updated it in a bit since I moved to college and haven't had a lot of time to work on it. I did get it printing, as well as refined/added a bunch of things (Spool holders, endstops, etc.). I'll post with pictures and more explanation in the next day or so.

Are you thinking about making my design or creating something of your own? If you re thinking about building something similar, I'll try and say what worked for me and what didn't. I really love how the X and Y axis turned out. Everything is smooth and rigid and pretty compact. The Z axis though has been a lot of struggle trying to get it not to bind. All of the minute imperfections in the build added up and led to leadscrews that got stuck. After spending hours trying things and a bit of lube, I finally got it to a place I'm mostly haply with. It does have the advantage of being incredibly rigid. I can't budge the bed at all since it's constrained tightly by the 3 leadscrews (vertically) and the 3 rods (horizontally).

For software I've been using repetier-firmware and repetier-host, with cura as the slicer. I haven't had any issue with repetier-firmware, it just works.

Sorry for a long answer to a short question, and good luck with your build! I'd love to hear more about what you're thinking of doing.

~Max Tepermeister

PS: here's a sneak peak of the mostly finished printer:

 

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Above is the latest render of the CAD. I'm home for summer break and I left the printer at school so I can only work on the CAD for now. The two things that I really want to improve are the rigidity of the z-bed and the cooling of my printer. I have been almost completely unable to print in PLA since it just melts into a blob. PETG is decent, but still might benefit from more cooling.

Yesterday I spent about 12 hours completely recreating wade's unhinged extruder in Creo. Today I hope to CAD mounts for a new cooling strategy.

I'm planning on using the same technique that the berd-air does. I sourced my own pump off of ebay, but will probably buy MakerHive's cooling ring.

crispin, I'm in Southern California. It only floods like once a century there (Though that seems to have been recently). More seriously, there's a gap of about a 1/4" under the bottom plate that protects the electronics from small spills. So far it has worked, and has been tested a couple of times XD. I also have been keeping it up on a table. If you have any ideas for how to move the electronics plate higher up I'd love to hear it! I tried, but couldn't find a clean place except for the bottom.

~Max

 

Still updating this as time goes along. I've switched to a zesty nimble remote drive, redid a bunch of the z axis, improved the wiring guides, and changed the x axis to buy ~20mm of print room.

Here's an updated high res render:




And a picture from a similar perspective: