Beacon 3D Printer [img]http://i.imgur.com/urrRqaK.jpg[/img] [img]http://i.imgur.com/hnxw16v.jpg[/img] Here's a quick shot of my workbench with completed printer. It's been a journey through three massive iterations over the course of two years but this one works like a charm. Smoothieboard/MGN12 Rails/Misumi Extrusions Edit: please critique. https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,807842#msg-807842 Sun, 11 Oct 2026 04:36:10 -0400 Phorum 5.2.23 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,816545#msg-816545 Re: Beacon 3D Printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,816545#msg-816545 Do you think you could release your files in the wild ?

Any way good luck with your study, I've been there, and it was the fun part so enjoy it !]]> Archiclem General Fri, 30 Mar 2018 02:26:58 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,814826#msg-814826 Re: Beacon 3D Printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,814826#msg-814826
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Melty
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MatthewHall
Being a student is rough.

Hey, just wanted to say good luck and keep at it. Education is important, at any stage of life. (tu)

Thanks for this! Sometimes I wish I could spend more time on projects but school "gets in the way" haha]]> MatthewHall General Sat, 17 Mar 2018 13:59:51 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,814409#msg-814409 Re: Beacon 3D Printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,814409#msg-814409
I think you will find that the price of a Duet is comparable to the price of a genuine Smoothieboard once you include the price of the add-on 5V regulator for the Smoothieboard (which is included as standard on the Duet).]]> dc42 General Wed, 14 Mar 2018 16:59:56 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,814394#msg-814394 Re: Beacon 3D Printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,814394#msg-814394

I might consider it, I think these day the €/£ is not that bad...
I'm particularly interested in the "silent" aspect of the duet, as my current printer, a Kossel with a Smoothieboard is quite noisy it's keeping me from running it a night, which really reduce the thing i can print...

Is the duet comparable to the TMC2130 (used in the prusa I3)? I've just read that the duet use TMC2660 ?]]> Archiclem General Wed, 14 Mar 2018 15:10:01 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,814390#msg-814390 Re: Beacon 3D Printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,814390#msg-814390
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Archiclem
For the electronic I was thinking to buy a cohesion mini or another smoothieboard... As I am familiar with that firmware... What did you used ?

Have you considered a Duet? it comes with an an amazing web interface, quiet stepper drivers (up to x256 microstepping), stall detection, power fail detection, hardware floating point maths, and more.]]> dc42 General Wed, 14 Mar 2018 14:29:26 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,814386#msg-814386 Re: Beacon 3D Printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,814386#msg-814386
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MatthewHall
Being a student is rough.

Hey, just wanted to say good luck and keep at it. Education is important, at any stage of life. (tu)]]> Melty General Wed, 14 Mar 2018 14:11:57 -0400 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,813101#msg-813101 Re: Beacon 3D Printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,813101#msg-813101
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Archiclem
I already got the motors, belts & some pulleys... So to build the printer i will only need electronic and extrusions and linear rails...

Where would you source them? i build a kossel not that long ago using robotdigg stuff (wich is okay, but the whole china sourcing is kind of not that eco-friendly...).

For the electronic I was thinking to buy a cohesion mini or another smoothieboard... As I am familiar with that firmware... What did you used ?

I used the Smoothieboard it works amazingly. MGN12 Rails can be found for around 20 bucks a pop on eBay. I'll publish the STL files as soon as I can. Extrusions use Misumi US if you can, it's the best.]]> MatthewHall General Mon, 05 Mar 2018 22:30:37 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,813078#msg-813078 Re: Beacon 3D Printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,813078#msg-813078
Where would you source them? i build a kossel not that long ago using robotdigg stuff (wich is okay, but the whole china sourcing is kind of not that eco-friendly...).

For the electronic I was thinking to buy a cohesion mini or another smoothieboard... As I am familiar with that firmware... What did you used ?]]> Archiclem General Mon, 05 Mar 2018 16:52:36 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,812821#msg-812821 Re: Beacon 3D Printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,812821#msg-812821 Melty General Sat, 03 Mar 2018 22:37:16 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,812642#msg-812642 Re: Beacon 3D Printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,812642#msg-812642
It's Friday right now so I'll be printing the final components tomorrow and uploading hopefully Sunday. Being a student is rough.]]> MatthewHall General Fri, 02 Mar 2018 09:03:10 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,812536#msg-812536 Re: Beacon 3D Printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,812536#msg-812536
This may be one of those interesting designs where the most economical way to build it is to buy a full kit for a different printer, then just use those parts as the vitamins for this one. Sometimes the generic 2020 i3 kits or the like can be a pretty good value for the components, and you save a lot by buying all of the items together at once instead of shipping a bunch of random parts separately from different sellers. Being a cantilever design, it also could be much more forgiving for tolerances on some parts, such as having random/arbitrary lengths of the extrusions, or not requiring 8x of them cut precisely to keep a cube square.]]> Melty General Thu, 01 Mar 2018 13:29:57 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,812371#msg-812371 Re: Beacon 3D Printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,812371#msg-812371
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Melty
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MatthewHall
Haha well I'm testing the final models right now. Stuff should be posted in entirety (CAD sources, STL, tutorial) by the weekend.

Looks like a nice clean design - looking forward to seeing the rest of it!

I'm sure you will have a BOM as part of your build instructions... but what would you estimate the build cost to be?
Price should be between 350 and 400 depending on what you already have in stock. You can use any controller board, so the price will obviously be much cheaper if you use RAMPs over Duet, etc]]> MatthewHall General Wed, 28 Feb 2018 12:02:06 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,812293#msg-812293 Re: Beacon 3D Printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,812293#msg-812293
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MatthewHall
Haha well I'm testing the final models right now. Stuff should be posted in entirety (CAD sources, STL, tutorial) by the weekend.

Looks like a nice clean design - looking forward to seeing the rest of it!

I'm sure you will have a BOM as part of your build instructions... but what would you estimate the build cost to be?]]> Melty General Tue, 27 Feb 2018 23:09:48 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,811981#msg-811981 Re: Beacon 3D Printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,811981#msg-811981
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slingle
I registered just to tell you I can't wait to build this.

Patiently waiting for a thingiverse upload.

Haha well I'm testing the final models right now. Stuff should be posted in entirety (CAD sources, STL, tutorial) by the weekend.]]> MatthewHall General Sun, 25 Feb 2018 15:07:25 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,811632#msg-811632 Re: Beacon 3D Printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,811632#msg-811632
The Ormerod used an infrared sensor not only as the Z probe, which in itself I think was novel for the time, but also as the X endstop - saving a microswitch and the associated wiring.]]> dc42 General Fri, 23 Feb 2018 12:56:55 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,811622#msg-811622 Re: Beacon 3D Printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,811622#msg-811622
Patiently waiting for a thingiverse upload.]]> slingle General Fri, 23 Feb 2018 12:21:57 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,811466#msg-811466 Re: Beacon 3D Printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,811466#msg-811466
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MatthewHall
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MechaBits
I was wondering how/why you decided to stagger the carriages on Z probably a good choice, more support, easier to fit, better for your 2020, I cant remember why i decided to put mine inline, probably to save on Z height, and probably because I was just thinking linear, straight lines....
,

Basically cause they wouldn't fit next to each other on the 2040 rails lol.

I knew there had to be a reason :)]]> MechaBits General Thu, 22 Feb 2018 14:37:30 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,811419#msg-811419 Re: Beacon 3D Printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,811419#msg-811419
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Archiclem
So as it is close to the first release, How are you gonna handle the position of the electronic and power supply ? Cable management and heated bed ? And, why a Dual Z rail, one would be sufficient ?

I think I will build one as soon as it is available :)

P.S. How do you ensure the belt are evenly tensioned ?

Electronics will be located under the bed. Glad to see such interest! It should be a relatively inexpensive build because it will work with any electronics setup and the extraneous cost is the MGN12 rails.

I don't think belt tensions is as crucial as it is on say, CoreXY because each axis runs independently.]]> MatthewHall General Thu, 22 Feb 2018 07:56:25 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,811418#msg-811418 Re: Beacon 3D Printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,811418#msg-811418
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MechaBits
I was wondering how/why you decided to stagger the carriages on Z probably a good choice, more support, easier to fit, better for your 2020, I cant remember why i decided to put mine inline, probably to save on Z height, and probably because I was just thinking linear, straight lines....
,

Basically cause they wouldn't fit next to each other on the 2040 rails lol.]]> MatthewHall General Thu, 22 Feb 2018 07:55:15 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,811413#msg-811413 Re: Beacon 3D Printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,811413#msg-811413 ,]]> MechaBits General Thu, 22 Feb 2018 06:56:00 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,810608#msg-810608 Re: Beacon 3D Printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,810608#msg-810608
I think I will build one as soon as it is available :)

P.S. How do you ensure the belt are evenly tensioned ?]]> Archiclem General Fri, 16 Feb 2018 16:21:23 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,810532#msg-810532 Re: Beacon 3D Printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,810532#msg-810532
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Archiclem
When do you think you would release these files ? Keep up the good work...

Well... the CAD is almost complete so probably this weekend I'll start printing parts to test than hopefully I'll upload them. I want to do it right the first time, so I'll wait until I've tested them all.]]> MatthewHall General Fri, 16 Feb 2018 07:48:07 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,810009#msg-810009 Re: Beacon 3D Printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,810009#msg-810009 Archiclem General Mon, 12 Feb 2018 15:59:28 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,809994#msg-809994 Re: Beacon 3D Printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,809994#msg-809994
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Archiclem
I really like the cantilever design, If you look for something to stop your head crashing into the bed, I would suggest you to watch closely the Cetus 3d, they realeased a printed part that goes on the Z axe to prevent this...

Looking forward to see the files one thingiverse... And build one ?

Haha yeah once I started working on my design I found the Cetus printer. They are quite similar. I might add a component like that to stop the Z from falling.

Currently working on the final CAD file update to print, test, and release on Thingiverse.]]> MatthewHall General Mon, 12 Feb 2018 13:44:14 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,809928#msg-809928 Re: Beacon 3D Printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,809928#msg-809928 You might need to put an adjustment screw in the mounting so you can adjust controlled, but it would work.
Looks like a nice machine! Congrats.]]> Lykle General Mon, 12 Feb 2018 05:03:59 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,809077#msg-809077 Re: Beacon 3D Printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,809077#msg-809077
Looking forward to see the files one thingiverse... And build one ?]]> Archiclem General Tue, 06 Feb 2018 15:55:56 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,808335#msg-808335 Re: Beacon 3D Printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,808335#msg-808335
Put a dial at the end of the X arm and apply let's say 1N. See how much it flexes,to be done in Y and Z.]]> MKSA General Fri, 02 Feb 2018 04:47:08 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,808302#msg-808302 Re: Beacon 3D Printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,808302#msg-808302
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the_digital_dentist
Your belt arrangement on the X axis is sort of opposite what it needs to be. You've got the bottom half of the belt loop running inside the t-slot, so it is parallel to the X axis guide rail, but the top half of the loop that attaches to the extruder carriage is not parallel to the guide rail. That will result in distorted prints and varying belt tension depending on where the extruder carriage is on the X axis. The belt loop half that attaches to the extruder carriage should be parallel to the X axis linear guide. The same applies to Y and Z axes, too, which I can't see in the photos.

Do you do anything to stop the X axis from falling if power to the Z motor is cut/lost?

The X-axis is geometrically parallel I just didn't fasten the belts to the carriage in a good way. I bought a new E3D head (the one attached currently is old) and have started designing ones that will keep the belts even. It was a rush job for sure.
The Z-axis just slams down if I cut the power lol but I did design it so the extruder can rest without touching the bed while it's off.]]> MatthewHall General Thu, 01 Feb 2018 20:22:42 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,808206#msg-808206 Re: Beacon 3D Printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,808206#msg-808206
Do you do anything to stop the X axis from falling if power to the Z motor is cut/lost?]]> the_digital_dentist General Thu, 01 Feb 2018 10:02:56 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,808191#msg-808191 Re: Beacon 3D Printer https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,807842,808191#msg-808191
@o_lampe the bowden tube is just because that's what I had already :)

@Mecha_bits the belt drive system was preferred over a leadscrew because it's easier to mount accurately. Way easier.]]> MatthewHall General Thu, 01 Feb 2018 07:57:34 -0500