Much better, 4th times the charm. lol I think my hexagon is starting to hate me...


Also received most of my openbuilds parts in the post today. Was missing the two spacer blocks needed for the Y-axis so I sent the parts store team a email. I am sure they will arrive before I even need them
I also want to give a big shout out to mark and the crew for supporting this build. Thanks guys


With parts in hand and a number of the printed parts done.


I decided to start the assembly. Beginning with the Base frame I cut down the 40x40 to 417mm long ( scrap printed parts make excellent scratch protectors. lol ). Threaded the two lower side 20x60 aluminum extrusions by hand front and rear.







I was a bit off 90 with my threading but they still worked great! Not to bad for my first time threading ever. Next I started to bolt on the out side corner plates.













More to follow, It is time for dinner then I have to get some work done. So far it is all going together like designed. The printed parts are fitting great with just enough tolerances to allow the bolts to thread through. Other then fighting this new white filament the whole way, It has been a very productive day.

 

A Little bit more progress tonight, at this point I have to wait for my other parts to finish printing before I can finish the base frame assembly.





Would anyone be interested in assembly videos? I only have my phone for my videos but can cover most of it as I go..

 

A short video of where I am at with the build.

 

@mgcrose No revisions planned yet, so far everything is going together as designed. I am working on two variations of a Z-axis upgrade for those who don't like a dual z motor setup and prefer one motor with synced leadscrews via belt. Giving the option of a dual or single z axis motor build.

I can confirm! each of my lead screws are 1040mm.

 

Quick Update before I crash tonight, Got a early day tomorrow. Complete X-axis is assembled, went together smoothly.. Bolts needed to mount x-axis motor: [x1] M3x16 [x2] M3x20 and it looks like I will need [x4] M3x50 to mount the y-axis motor.

 

Thank you! It has been a blast seeing this printer come together.

Yes, it was intentional. Some of the plates have recessed holes on both sides of the plate for bearings / counter sunk bolt heads / ect. I modeled them in a way as to allow them to be printed flat on the printer with out supports. You could look at it like support material built in. It prints a fragile single layer that is removed after printing.

It does indeed happen and is a documented issue.. Have I experienced it? No. But there are multiple ways to deal with it. Such as going to one motor. Something like Charles has on his cnc Y-axis for our Z-axis and have it run before each print automatically would be nice. Might not help for those who get out of sync during a print though.

Keeping the same footprint and moving the motor inside the frame would net a smaller build volume due to the travel on the Y-axis now taken up by the coupler and motor. There are ways around that loss. such as belt between motor and leadscrew with motor turned 180, or placing the motor/leadscrew/nut on a plane lower then the moving bed to allow the bed to travel over the motor/coupler like I did on my Fna linear rail upgrade. But I wanted to keep this build as straight forward and simple as possible.

Speaking of the Y-axis. It is mounted and rolling. Ordered the M3x50mm bolts I need to wrap up the Y-axis today. No luck with M3's that long locally. Should only take a few days to come in the mail.

 

My tolerances are drawn up to tight, so I will have to reprint / redesign 3 parts.. The motor mount / z-axis nut spacer / z-axis top bearing support They each need to be extended out a little more. I think 1.5mm out should just about do it. Will reprint tonight and find out.

 

I look forward to your spread sheet, I think a single 20x40 sideways would work fine. In fact my original design ( Rev1 ) was a single 20x40 and a lower parts count. It evolved to work with the tools I have on hand.

Then it became two 20x40's stacked then I ended up with the 40x40 in the design when OB released it.

1a: I use and have had great success three layers top and bottom with 40% Hexagon infill with three perimeter layers. This creates a darn near solid part. My failed bed mount on page one shows the infill well.

2a: I modified my Fina extruder design which in turn is a modified version of @carl lautr3k extruder with the original source being @skarab 's exturder as found on his github. It will work great I use that hardware kit in all my extruders and I only use 1.75mm filament. Any gear set that will work with a Greg's should work. Just chose your ratio.

3a: I use the same setting to print my exturder parts however I print the main body at 70% infill and use abs. It cleans up real easy with a pair or needle nose pliers.

4a: Correct, The e3d lite will also work just the same ( what I went with ) at a good cost savings if you want to stick to abs and pla.

 

That is all she needed, Z-axis lead screw is running really smooth now. No binding and perfectly aligned with the new parts. Here is a demo vid and the new stl files. Printing the other three for the right side as I type..

 

That would be my concern as well. I think some sort of idler setup would work depending on how it is laid out.

So I hit a bit of a stumbling block had to take apart the whole Z-axis and X-axis. I could just not get the Z lead screw to run smoothly ( on the side with the x-axis motor ) reprinted several parts removed the Leadscrew bearing supports. ect ect.. So I did what I usually do when stumped, I stared at it while drinking a nice cup of coffee.. lol

Then it hit me, the way I have the plates mounted directly to the X-axis v-slot needs a perfectly square and parallel cut! If the cut is off then the inside plate is off 90 to the upright v-slot and then the wheels and the outside plate in turn where the nut block is mounted to. With the wheels and nut block not square and running parallel to the upright extrusion it is causing undo friction on that lead screw. Not enough to stop it from being forcefully moved up and down by hand but enough to definitely be noticed.

I hope that makes since. Looks like I will need to get another 1.5m 20x40 v-slot to cut down for the z-axis uprights and x-axis. And take better care with my cutting or perhaps get it precut?

For now I am off to test my electronics, the box arrived ALL Banged Up.. Fingers crossed..

 

Everything going back together, I have been working on figuring out the best way to show building it for the assembly videos. Decided on sub assembly's vs bottom to top like I built it initially.

 

It is coming along well, I have been trying to wrap up little details like end stop mounts and ramps / lcd holders / wire clips and wire routing ect.

Excellent spread sheet, very well put together! Thank you for sharing.

Here are the stl files. I ended up not restraining the Z lead screws with a bearing on top. Instead went with a plate to join the two extrusions without the bearing. I also used a slotted motor mount to allow better alignment with the Z axis nut..

Next time I run to town I will pick up the glass and will be able to do a first print.

 

LCD Mounted, x y and z end stops designed mounted and tested. Here are the stl files.

I will note: Fit is for the geeetech 2004 lcd which does not have the same connector locations on the pcb for the ribbon cable as my other lcd from makerfarm. They are 10mm higher up. and the lcd screen itself is mounted 3mm lower on the main pcb. the changes I made to the case to allow mounting and fit of this lcd should still allow other brand's to fit. However ymmv.

Endstops used are also geeetech makerbot v1.2 style endstops. First time using pcb mounted endstops so I am not sure if there is a size difference among them..

 

It is going great! I am only able to work on it for a few hours a week right now as I am not home. I got hired out of town to move in and take care of a house over winter as the owner did not want it empty while he was away. So I don't have as much free time at present. I should be back to my regular schedule come late Feb.

Cool! Feel free to post some photos or even a build log, I know myself and others would love to see how your build is progressing. I have not updated my base sketchup file with the new endstops and such as of yet, however I do have the sketchup files for them on my desktop computer.

I plan to make a trip home Monday or Tuesday to check on my C-beam delivery. I will make sure to upload and post the endstop sketchup files while I am there.

 

Here is the original sketchup file for the endstop mounts. I am including a sketchup 2015 and 8 file.

 

mgcrose -- Looking good, you guys are well on your way. Always nice when builds like these can be shared with the family.

When I purchased my m5 tap, I purchased a hand tap. (that has worked well, but... ) a couple days after I finished tapping the needed holes I learned about those drill / tap combo units. My next build that requires tapping I am buying a set. lol I like the idea of a electronics base to the unit sort of like a one shelf mini server rack housing all the electronics.

snokid -- What error is it giving? Is the whole zip file corrupt or just the sketchup file within, any problems with the stl's? Any one else having problems? I can re-upload the file tomorrow if needed.

 

Sorry about the corrupt sektchup file. Having to redraw everything can be a pain. Here is the sketchup file alone unzipped. I also re-uploaded the zip file to the main files tab.

I look forward to seeing the plates cut out of hdpe. That is my end goal once I get some time to assemble my C-beam machine; is to cut what I can out of aluminium. I look forward to following your build.