Manufactured RepRap Project

Hi Everyone,

I would like to get a team together to develop a RepRap variant which can be economically sold pre-assembled. I think we can appeal to people put off by the self-build idea with a low cost and reliable pre-assembled machine; requiring little time and skill in constructing and less calibration.

It will be fully open source, however I would like to manufacture and sell some machines and share profits between the developers, as well as encourage other manufacturers to build and improve it. I've been making and selling RepRap parts for a while so I have contacts and some of the infrastructure required, I also have some prototyping capital available; although I expect to use as much pre-existing technology as possible.

I was going to confine this to a small group but I think it will be far more successful with a bigger team of varying personalities. I have a specification in mind but I would like to get as much input as possible so please ask any questions below, give your opinion or PM me.

Mike

Having never done any large scale manufacturing design, what would a manufaturable reprap look like. Would it end up being a pre-built makerbot/ultimachine type bot or do you have some other design in mind? I guess the question is what are the basic differences/ requirements of your design to make it manufacturable?

Define "economically sold pre-assembled"

Thanks for your replies, I can answer both questions at once;

Makerbot/ultimater/reprap machines take hours to build, this makes them uneconomical to sell pre-assembled. The materials and assembly processes also add differences to each build. A redesign with a focus on assembly might see a single shell and it would be an extensive redesign, however it would still work the same way. Basic requirement; low component count.

Define "economically sold pre-assembled" - I thought I weeded out all the management speak

Let me guess michaelc, you don't have experence in manufacturing or assembling a Mendel. Am i right?

Prusa mendel takes 17 hours to print, and you have put 2-3 machine together you can go from components to fuctioning printer in about 6 hours. Components of a Prusa cost $400-$500 if you make it really easy on yourself, or $300-$400 if you do all the soldering yourself. For a commerical supplier you could likely get to a solid $300 is your using a vertically integrated system.

Assembed and calibrated mendels go for $1500+ easy, assembeled and non tested go for $1300-$1500, and component kits for for $725-$1200.

My basic point is your welcome to reinvent the wheel, but RepRap is already mass production friendly, I know. I am doing it.

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repraplogphase.blogspot.com

I'm not sure if 17hrs of printing and 6 hours of assembly of a few machines a week by yourself qualifies as mass production, but I take your point and thanks for the input.

If you have a serious offer / suggestion, I could be interested...
I am a developer in Hardware and Software and Rapid Production
is not a hobby but a bug I got rely bad... I can see some real
improvements that might be implemented...

So do you have anything more about your idea?

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Cheapest PLA on the net Supply3DPLA.com

I would love to see somebody using MakerSlide (Recently funded kickstarter project by an awesome guy who made an open source laser cutter):
[www.makerslide.com] and his laser: buildlog.net
It is highly repeatable, cheap and very high precision. I'm sure there are drawbacks but I think that its genius. It's basically a Misumi type extrusion which bolts together ridiculously easily and cheaply - and has an integrated V rail. It also has custom attachments like carriages (where you'd attach the extruder). It works with belts and lead screws and I think many DIY projects will move to it,.
It just makes the build process cheap and painless - and STANDARDISED...
I'm sure Bart - the inventor - will be making his own 3D printer (he started one before his makerslide project) but I imagine he is a very busy guy at the moment and would more than welcome any project using his system.

Something to consider

Oh and the extrusions are very light and strong - well Misumi's are...

I forgot to mention - I felt it was worth the extra post..

There is a makerslide program - He will send you the extrusions for free (you pay shipping) if you submit plans for the project - so you can make the prototype at minimal expense and see if it works.

Now I'm hoping if Michael doesn't follow this someone else will maybe even me if I get the time

Maker slide doesn't exist yet as far as I'm aware...

Andrew Diehl Wrote:
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> Maker slide doesn't exist yet as far as I'm
> aware...

No, but in the near future... It would take a while to design a 3D printer suited for manufacture and it can all be designed around the makerslide as of now - when we say manufacture here we still mean small time presumably. As in one or two guys in their garage making less than 10 a day.. Of course doing kits and cutting out assembly time can greatly exceed that number.

My thoughts were using makerslide would make it a breeze to setup and it would therefore be quicker for the end user to assemble a kit. I think everyone should assemble their own printer - as its still not a "perfect" concept and troubleshooting your own printer (with help) is a necessity.

Even if we were talking pre-assembled - makerslide/misumi extrusions would make it rigid enough to post. But I would still have to say kit = better.

I'd suggest a t-slot (aluminum extrusion) RepStrap done up in the wiki. With a good write-up and a parts list like WolfStrap or the 1X2 bots.

No one has done this, and it has been five years now.

I think what happens is once they get the machine working, they lose interest in writing it up. Because they have what they need, so they're gone. It is a little bit frustrating. I created a dedicated forum, and even that didn't help.

q: "But I'm doing one up in my blog / google groups / in ballpoint on the inside lid of a pizza box / encoded in the movements of a highly intelligent flock of trained birds."
a: "Right. And, the wiki doesn't have any photographs. Or text. Or an (extensible) BOM, or a partial set of build instructions other people can improve as they build theirs. And the german developers aren't going to translate it into german like people easily can with wiki-native documented stuff."
q: Oh.
a: yup. The best way is a good wiki page.

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-Sebastien, RepRap.org library gnome.

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Remember, you're all RepRap developers (once you've joined the super-secret developer mailing list), and the wiki, RepRap.org, [reprap.org] is for everyone and everything!

Heh I understand your frustration, especially seeing as you must have started a lot of people off on their projects.
When you've completed your build that's when the fun begins - nobody really likes writing things.
That being said I reckon I'd like to share it and others seem to - I follow many blogs but none of them are in the wiki. Maybe you should gently nudge people into copying and pasting some of it up there. That's where all the good information is - especially about building it, problems they've run into, configuring and refining etc.

Sebastien - do you have a blog/wiki page, you post so much, I reckon yours would be a great read!

SebastienBailard Wrote:
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> I'd suggest a t-slot (aluminum extrusion) RepStrap
> done up in the wiki. With a good write-up
> and a parts list like WolfStrap or the 1X2 bots.
>
> No one has done this, and it has been five years
> now.
>
Give me time Sebastien. 31st May I am unemployed and will have time to start collecting the bits and finalising the design.

T-slot, built in the Philippines - just as fast as I can put it all together.

Bill

Quote

Of course doing kits and cutting out assembly time can greatly exceed that number.

If you sell complete units in Europe then you would have to comply with EMC and LVD directives, possibly the machinery directive as well. Selling kits that people make themselves seems to avoid all that and the associated liability.

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[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

SebastienBailard Wrote:
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> No one has done this, and it has been five years
> now.

I'll get my pages finished as soon as I can, but I can't be the only one using mediaWiki for the first time, so actually working out how to get pictures, tables, lists and bullet points etc. is a task in itself. Maybe what we need is a forum to help with the Wiki? Or maybe I just need to spend more time fighting with it.

>
> I think what happens is once they get the machine
> working, they lose interest in writing it up.
> Because they have what they need, so they're gone.
> It is a little bit frustrating. I created a
> dedicated forum, and even that didn't help.

From my point of view after building two t-slots, you realise how good the Mendel design really is, I can see quite a few people that started with t-slots who actually now run a Mendel (or two, or three). That said I do have another t-slot planned that'll be even easier to build...

>
> q: "But I'm doing one up in my blog / google
> groups / in ballpoint on the inside lid of a pizza
> box / encoded in the movements of a highly
> intelligent flock of trained birds."

I was planning doing it up at the sub-atomic level on the wiki so you will need a really good resolution screen to read it

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[richrap.blogspot.com]

yydoctt: thanks for the info on the makerslide, its so simple is well worth looking at. He's got plenty of funding so hopefully it will be in production soon. Makerslide Kickstarter.

Nophead: Thanks, I wonder if people who currently assemble and sell also need to be compliant...

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/23/2011 10:56AM by michaelc.

I just pointed out here . Makerslide is much alike PBC Linear's Integral V system. Back on topic, that is commercially available, although I am uncertain on the cost. If someone has a dimension in mind I can find out though. Also, they have a design that's more interesting as far as possibly redesigning into a printed system, their UGA Guide .

The key to a good T-slot bot is copying most of the Mendel's mechanics, but with the higher rigidity and ease of assembly t-slot and 12mm shaft offer.

I'm almost done with my commercial version of the T-slot bot. There will be a full entry in the wiki as soon as I'm finished and have opened up sales.

The T-slot makes the whole project look exponentially more professional. It also makes a bot you can stand by...and on