single sheet prusa i3 I now using box parts?

All,
I'm currently printing parts for my single sheet prusa i3 aluminum frame. When I look at the documentation in the git repository it seems like you are encouraged to use the same parts now for both the single sheet frame and box style prusa i3. Is this correct? I feel like the z motor mounts would not be secure on the sheet frame because you can only anchor them with a single screw.

Can you mix and match parts between the old sheet parts and the new parts? In other words I like the new x ends that include a tensioner but I do not know if I can use them with the old z motor mounts.

All help is appreciated.
Dorian

Which of the (unfortunately many) single aluminum sheet frames are you looking at?

Prusa3alu-frezovany-v4.dxf
Pretty standard. And looking at it I can see that the new z motor mounts won't even work with it. Thereby making the documentation in the git repository positively infuriating.

So now I'm left wondering if there are z mounts for this frame that allow me to use the new x axis and carriage.

If you are looking at Prusa's git repos, then yes, moving stuff all into the folders that used to be box frame specific has made things harder to sort out. His vanilla repo is a bit easier to dig through, but not as up to date.

Bollocks. I have to answer my own question. Look if anyone else falls into this trap there is a flag in configuration.scad I_am_box. Set the bunghole to zero so that it generates the correct z mounts. That is all. Nuggets. Just Nuggets.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/07/2013 09:13PM by Dorian.

Sometimes progress (unifying all the stuff) is movement in reverse ....

Use the vanilla repo for the single plate. I've printed several over the last month or so and they work well. The box x carriage you can use with the single plate and the box x ends and idlers but with a Gregs you'll lose about 30 mm of x build envelope. Use one of the compact extruders and you'll gain it back. I like kilment's x carriage and end designs with the use of bolts to secure the LM8UUs much better but the Prusa design will work well. What I've been using lately are the x ends and idler from box wtih the the Misan compact (based on sgraber) and carriageand it works well. If you mix and match pay attention to the hole spacing on the carriage so it's compatable with the extruder. There are compact carriages (IIRC Misan has one) that have a 22 -30 mm slot to be able to accept the older and newer extruder mount spacing.

The Prusa3alu-frezovany-v4.dxf is the standard for the single plate and is what all the popular single plate variants are based.

Vegas, Thank you for the response, however, I will proceed with my build using the latest parts from the repo. I believe having the same parts across models is a move in the correct direction. I will not have to mix parts. I found my answer above. If I'm using the latest parts I am more equipped for later upgrades. Beyond that I don't care for the vanilla parts. The new parts are more developed and it shows. The whole purpose of this project and what makes it unique over a commercial printer is the constant evolution. I'm not starting ten steps back if I can help it.

Though you may not realize it, we approach this in a similar manner in that it appears that like me, you want to use the most current or best tool for the application. The reason I use the box parts where I do is that I think those that I use are better for the app. Mixing parts doesn't impact your ability to upgrade your printer. In fact, quite the opposite, mixing parts allows you to be on the cutting edge. Once you start building and using your i3 you may find that you'll want to mod parts or replace them entirely. Though Jo does refine the design the bulk of the improvements these days come from others. Hence one fo the beauties of open hardware. By confining your build to that repo alone it doesn't necessarily mean you''ll have the latest parts or technologies. Thingiverse is full of other ideas and parts, many more finely tuned than what is currently in the repo. I don't think of Jo's repo as an end all destination, rather the beginning of the journey where one is able to create something that fits their needs or desires. One place where the designs in the Prusa repos fall short in my opinion are the extruders. Others are doing better jobs with extruders. Jo's done an outstanding job but I think the best thing he's done is open the design so many more can participate and contribute.

Vegas,
I appreciate your insight and make no mistake I noted your recommendations above. I am concerned about losing 3cm on the build envelop. I guess I'm just reluctant to baseline off the vanilla parts. I do understand where you're coming from.

You lose that build envelope due to the extruder not the carriage. There are some Gregs variants that eliminate it or it's not an issue with the the compact extruder.

Given the vertical space available, you could move the extruder up quite a way. It might get a bit top heavy up there, but you would have a lot of Z axis on the printer.

Misan has a variant that does exactly that and it fits well. The current crop of compact extruders work well also.