What to build? I have bits..

I have two CTC Duals and I'm considering cannibalizing the one.

It would give me a MKS GEN v1.4 board, 8825 stepper drivers 5 X stepper motors (1.8 Degree) a 24 v power supply, mechanical endstops and Rep Rap controler but I would probably want to upgrade the extruder.

I'm not counting on the heated bed although it works nor the rods and bearings until I get a chance to test them.

I'd need material to make a frame, linear rods, belt, wheels and so on, this isn't going into a commercial printer farm so I'm more interested in quality prints and the ability to print at higher temperatures than I am in speed.

Now for the drawbacks, I'm in the UK and the aluminium extrusions often used are frightfully expensive, from what I have seen looking at prices the frame will be by far the most expensive component.

I would like a published design with .stl's for the printed parts and I prefer, probably without good reason, the mechanical layout were the bed just falls rather than slides backwards and forwards.

I don't want a closed box design like the CTC they are a nightmare to work on and I very happy to build an enclosure so what can you recomend?



Many Thanks. Aamcle.

VRON 2.1? D-bot with enclosure mod? You could also make an cartesian like the MK3 and then a small encosure box over it

MK3 is that the Prussia?

Voron I know about, I'm a member of the TH group but it needs 2020 or 3030


I'll have to investigate a D bot.


Thanks. Aamcle

Do you want some more parts? Could have given you a complete MakerBot Mini and. Rep2 until last week

But last week the dirty turd that is the Mini received a good beating with a large hammer, and yesterdy the Rep2 suffered the same fate. I had considered ripping out the minboard and rebuilding with a new hotend and electronics, but anger at the dirty pile of shite got the better of me and yesterday it was given a damn good thrashing.

Got a pile of stepper motors etc here, think the smooth rods are now bent though, as is the chassis.

I am in Jersey, so postage for a pile of bits to the UK would not be more than tenner.

PM me and we can talki can send pics of the bits i have. Cost of postage and a beer or two

Neil

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/2019 09:16AM by NeilP.

I bet your inbox is full of messages from people wanting those parts.

I've had my sanity tested by a 3d printer before, mine was a Tevo Tarantula that someone gave me to fix up. They'd fixed it to the point where nothing worked. I got seriously pissed off at it quite a few times but I never actually got violent with it.

I did threaten it a few times though.

The problem with the Mini was the Smart Extruders, and with the cost of the new Smart Plus being almost as much as a Prusa clone, it was not worth it.

On reflection I could have kept the running gear/ gantry assembly and fitted a Ramps board and made a modified carrier to take a different hot end. but shear anger got the better of me, and it got carefully taken down the farm work shop and given a good talking to with a selection of tools, ..from the correct allen keys to remove parts carefully to large hammer and axe


The Replicator 2 could too have been fixed up, and again a new board or Flash the board with ......pins_MIGHTYBOARD_REVE.h, Marlin but that seemed to be going down a route I did not want to get involved in.

The last attempted print was after I had rebuilt the hot end to accept the thermocouple in a different place since the brass nut that the original thermocouple was mounted in had snapped off ...not me..... The old thermocouple was still working but I guess the hole where it is supposed to mount had a break through to the space between thermal tube and the nozzle. This used to be blocked by the brass hollow set screw the thermopile was fitted in, but removing it and fitting the thermopile end in the hole, with Kapton tape and heat transfer paste, it allowed PLA to escape the side of the alloy block, So after printing for a few minutes, molten PLA started pouring out the side of the hot end alloy block wheree the thermocouple used to be. That was its downfall...the complete hot end/ extruder unit was removed from the machine with a single blow from a large hammer. It only did not fly across the room and hit a car because the wiring stopped it


if I had spent £112 plus P&P on new MakerBott hot end, plus upgrades etc...Another £100 or more ..it would have been OK again..but after a month of fixing one problem after another ..it had to go. Plus I'd be spending more on parts for this OEM pile of crap than i could buy a complete machine for.


One thing I will say for the MakerBot Replicator2 (and I guess this has not been tested before) is that although the build platform arms are a little 'bouncy' they are strong. A 14stone man kicking and smashing down on it with full force failed to buckle or break them, though the alloy rear smooth slider bars did bend a little


Not sure if I want to even bother with any more 3-d printers at the moment. I wanted 3-d printing as a tool, to make useful stuff, not to become a hobby in itself.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/2019 09:47AM by NeilP.

Sorry, in my opinnion you are damned stupid.

There are so many people arround here, that would have been glad to buy this old machines from you for a few bucks, and they could have started 3D-printing after fixing your machines - and that would have cost about EUR 50,- (RAMPS + E3D Clone from China + some printed parts).

It makes me sick to see such useless demolition, increasing waste on earth.

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Dancer
Sorry, in my opinnion you are damned stupid.

Yes, I know. but if you too had been working on the damn things near enough every day for ,,as long as I have been confined to home with a broken leg with metal pins etc,due broken leg, since November... and as soon as one bit gets sorted another problem rears its head... you'd be sick of them too.
No help or support from MakeerBot support them selves ,and I I joined up to three other 3-D forums, and not a jot of help or replies from any one about help with fixing them. Many posts requesting help and no replies .

Only posts I ever found about MakerBot confirmed what I was thinking about them too. on Ultimaker Forums..

Unfortunately I found this forum after the deed was done.

I did consider using the parts myself after a post on ThingyVerse suggest the word ' Rep Rap ' to me. Up until that point i never had heard of (RepRap) . I was thinking of using the the parts, like stepper motors etc in my own build....only after it was too late did I get to realise that the way to do it would have been to keep the 'running gear' and swap the board.

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Dancer
There are so many people arround here, that would have been glad to buy this old machines from you for a few bucks,

But they'd not pay the postage from Jersey.



There are not many people interested in buying the old machines. I was given both the machines after the previous owner failed to sell them, after months of trying , both locally and on e-bay.
He and I live on the island of Jersey, and small population and no one was interested locally. When he gave them to me, I said I'd sell them for him...he said, "no chance mate..I have tried." Unfortunately shipping costs from of our little island made it too expensive for anyone to want them , even if given away. See screen grabs of postage costs ...one to Germany and one to USA. for a 15kg parcel... Tracked and signed for ..and I'd not sell any other way...have been ripped off before by sell gin on e-bay , where the buyer sent bye mail and messages, asking to not send Tracked as it was too expensive. SO I did as her wanted, kept his e-maisl , got proof of postage from eh post office ...and then he claimed th item never arrived...E-Bay found in his favour and I had to refund hime the amount he bought my old iPhone for,plus postage costs...E-Bay are happy for sellers to be ripped off. I'll only send Tracked and Signed for now....

I did put parts up for sale on e-bay. ..a few watchers, for stepper motors, Bot Steps, PSU's etc, but not one bid. over a period of three consecutive 10 day sales, reducing the asking prices each time. It was always the postage the killed it.

USA postage £110. Germany £72

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Dancer
fixing your machines - and that would have cost about EUR 50,- (RAMPS + E3D Clone from China + some printed parts).

Yes that is what I'd have done too if I'd have found this forum earlier..and realised that I should have kept the frame and swapped to RMPS..

My last job was the I built a new hot end.. Custom machined alloy block for the heater element and thermocouple, new 24volt heater elements, printed ducted fan vents ....then somethgin else failed....thik a stepper motor failed and took a Bot Step with it.

To replace all the OEM maker bot parts would have cost more than buying a Geetech Clone...Thnk Smart Extruder Plus for the Mini is about £174..once shipped and imported to Jersey... New Hot end for the Replicator2..£144, plus P&P and import taxes..

they were just shite unreliable money pits. I used to see my mate printing away with his Geetec Prusa clone..no issues at all.. and his overall new price of rate machine was less than all the bits I'd have unneeded for replacing all the MakerBot parts.

Quote
Dancer
It makes me sick to see such useless demolition, increasing waste on earth.

I don't like waste either.

I have given the stepper motors to a friend who is building a CNC machine. I did eventually sell the MakerBot MightyBoard to a bloke in USA that had zapped his via static when vacuuming. The two Smart Extruders from the MB Mini went to he UK for £5. He wanted them for spares.
All screws and plastic clips salvaged, metal worked saved and gone in to the work shop 'stock steel' store.
Pulleys and stuff, gone to a mate ..


Would have bene better to have kept them , but after months of constant problems with them, I am better off without them . Months wasted of my time , 2 large spools for PLA filament wasted, arguments with the girlfriend as I was always in a bad temper as something else failed or went wrong



See the prices of some of these parts
[www.shropshire3dprinters.co.uk] reasonable...
[www.shropshire3dprinters.co.uk]
[www.shropshire3dprinters.co.uk]
[www.shropshire3dprinters.co.uk]

[www.shropshire3dprinters.co.uk] A glass build plate for more than the price of a complete Geetech Prusa Clone...hmmmmm.

[www.shropshire3dprinters.co.uk]

Bad design meant this was cracked and hanging off ..I printed parts on my mates Geetech to fix this..and put them up on thingyverse...
but ideally needed a new assembly
[www.shropshire3dprinters.co.uk]


All in all ..I am well rid of the dirty turds. Now I can concentrate on buying / building my now with a decent print volume..like a CR-10 s4