I've been following the 3D printer scene for a while waiting for a really accurate fast 3d printer. The Ultimaker seems to fit the bill however I'm not a huge fan of the plywood cabinet since I tend to move around a bit which lands me in humid locals sometimes. In short I'm looking at a t-slot bot in ultimaker fashion with a bigger build area/heated bed. I do realize that there are limits when dealing with a bowden extruder in length but I'm fairly certain some... creative engineering can fix anything. Looking to use RAMPS 1.4 setup since it seems to be the most hack-able atm. Might add some goodies like an auto x/y/z so hackability is a big plus. I have some concerns with only putting 12v to the steppers and lacking acceleration for those ultra fast movements without losing steps. I read I can hook a bigger powersupply to the board but I'll lose the ability to run PC-less which I would eventually like to do. Is the 12v accel issue even an issue? I'm also looking for the size of the linear rod and the material (alum, steel, stainless, etc). I'll have to go bigger but I'd like to know what works for them. The last mystery is the gear ratios on the x/y I assume they are similar to Mendel. Lastly those of you who have built larger printers, what is the practical limit on build area for on of these machines before warping goes out of hand even with a heated bed? If anyone can answer some of these questions it would be very helpful. https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?152,114805,114805#msg-114805 Thu, 10 Sep 2026 10:19:30 -0400 Phorum 5.2.23 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?152,114805,115245#msg-115245 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?152,114805,115245#msg-115245 TheGremlin General New Machines Topics Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:08:09 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?152,114805,115234#msg-115234 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?152,114805,115234#msg-115234 Stock Drive Products? I didn't look for your particular size, but they're a good resource.]]> Dale Dunn General New Machines Topics Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:31:17 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?152,114805,115205#msg-115205 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?152,114805,115205#msg-115205
I'm having some issues tracking down a MXL 20T pully with a 8mm bore. Misumi stops at 6mm and McMaster-Carr seems to only carry imperial bore sizes. Any one know a vendor that stocks these or should I just bore them out.]]> TheGremlin General New Machines Topics Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:18:06 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?152,114805,115149#msg-115149 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?152,114805,115149#msg-115149 Andrew Diehl General New Machines Topics Sun, 22 Jan 2012 22:34:14 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?152,114805,115088#msg-115088 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?152,114805,115088#msg-115088
I think I've found info for the rest of my questions about the mechanics. From what I read about the Bowden extruders there is a problem with compressing the filament. Has anyone tried mounting a encoder to measure and control filament feed rates?]]> TheGremlin General New Machines Topics Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:22:51 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?152,114805,114966#msg-114966 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?152,114805,114966#msg-114966 rhmorrison General New Machines Topics Sat, 21 Jan 2012 16:17:01 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?152,114805,114943#msg-114943 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?152,114805,114943#msg-114943 -------------------------------------------------------
> If you are printing with ABS then you need a
> printed bed - period.
...
I think you mean heated bed, eh?]]> Dale Dunn General New Machines Topics Sat, 21 Jan 2012 14:14:12 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?152,114805,114907#msg-114907 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?152,114805,114907#msg-114907 printing with ABS then you need a printed heated bed - period.

When printing with PLA it depends on the shape and size of the object but anything that gets near the limit of the Mendel print bed size of 200mm x 200mm you also need a heated bed.]]> rhmorrison General New Machines Topics Sat, 21 Jan 2012 08:35:56 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?152,114805,114805#msg-114805 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?152,114805,114805#msg-114805
Looking to use RAMPS 1.4 setup since it seems to be the most hack-able atm. Might add some goodies like an auto x/y/z so hackability is a big plus. I have some concerns with only putting 12v to the steppers and lacking acceleration for those ultra fast movements without losing steps. I read I can hook a bigger powersupply to the board but I'll lose the ability to run PC-less which I would eventually like to do. Is the 12v accel issue even an issue?

I'm also looking for the size of the linear rod and the material (alum, steel, stainless, etc). I'll have to go bigger but I'd like to know what works for them. The last mystery is the gear ratios on the x/y I assume they are similar to Mendel.

Lastly those of you who have built larger printers, what is the practical limit on build area for on of these machines before warping goes out of hand even with a heated bed?

If anyone can answer some of these questions it would be very helpful.]]> TheGremlin General New Machines Topics Fri, 20 Jan 2012 15:27:38 -0500