Hi Farmer, I believe 2 lead screws for the z axis are enough if you keep the building volume up to 500^3. However, if you plan to scale it up, you may want to consider using 4 screws for the z axis. I am currently building a 1.5 cubic meter 3d printer using openbuilds v-slots, and I found that using 4 lead screws for the z axis works wonders in terms of balance of the platform. Also, the larger the building volume, the bigger the screws might have to be. I use 4 pcs. Tr16x3 metric lead screws, approx. 1200 mm long, calculated to support a load of up to 250 kgs. Best regards, Val
That's a good point, and that's one of my main concerns. Are you using one motor with the 4 leadscrews? I may design a belt path for 4 screws with one motor, possibly 5:1 geared. I don't want the possibility of out of sync motors, though I could wire them in series.
I am using 4 nema23 motors, one for each screw, each motor rated at 425 oz.in. The reason I'm using a high holding torque is that I want the steppers to hold firm onto the screws, so as not to screw my vertical resolution, pun intended. They will be sync'd thru the controllers, to avoid out of sync. I am using the same nema23, 425 oz. in for the y axis (got two of them) but with a specially modified shaft of 6mm diameter, to accommodate two gt2, 17 teeth, pulleys. The only axis where I am using nema 17 (two of them) is the x-axis, because the only moving part there is my micron 3dp dual extruder, roughly 2 lbs, which should be more than enough for two nema17 steppers to handle. Be careful to avoid under-powering, or your motors might stall or skip. Hope that helps. Best regards, Val
Hi DocDawning, thank you! My Samson build has replaced this one, So I'll refer you to that one. I may still pursue this type of build in the future.
Hi Selvakumaran, I haven't pursed this built yet. I've mainly been working on my Samson build, which borrowed some features from Core-V.
Of all the builds I have looked at so far this one has been the most compelling. Having full v-rails for everything and a very solid build platform and frame while using a minimal amount of stepper motors to keep it all in sync. Brilliant! I would like to build something along the same concept as this printer but I am not too concerned about having a huge build area. 300mmx300mmx300mm would be perfectly adequate for me. For some reason I just don't want to build anything that uses linear bearings for any of the axis.
