Profounddevices Mendel RepStrap

I assume everyone here has been following the Profound devices Mendel RepStrap Clone. Personally I though he was a scam at first (sorry James, I think everyone is a scam at first).

Personally, I prefer belt driven designs, but there are a few components on his I can't wait for him to bring open source. Some changes he made I would love brought over to the main Mendel build:

-Bearingless Y stage
-Bearingless X stage (I think)
-Parts list for his Non-Makerbot electrics kit
-I LOVE his way of attaching motors to drive, never thought of using plastic tubing, but it makes since.

His website says he is going to Open source all the designs, can't wait to see some of his inivations on Thingiverse I mean the RepRap Printable list.

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repraplogphase.blogspot.com

I mean the RepRap Printable list.

The wiki, surely?

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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!

spacexula Wrote:
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> -I LOVE his way of attaching motors to drive,
> never thought of using plastic tubing, but it
> makes since (sense).
>

I guess you've never looked at the McWire RepStrap design.

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Bob Morrison
Wörth am Rhein, Germany
"Luke, use the source!"
BLOG - PHOTOS - Thingiverse

... or here

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Viktor
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Aufruf zum Projekt "Müll-freie Meere" - [reprap.org] -- Deutsche Facebook-Gruppe - [www.facebook.com]

Call for the project "garbage-free seas" - [reprap.org]

Nope, only looked at darwin, Mendel, and Makerbot.

See you learn how dumb I am every day!

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repraplogphase.blogspot.com

[www.thingiverse.com] - posted y bar and fingered frictionless design with out bearings. sigh.... i hate needing video proof of everything. here is my test design. i changed the design a little bit to reduce jams and allow more play side to side and up/down. and allowed for use of a rod that is slightly bent, and it also has the side parts that hold the spring for the table. and the flywheel has been moved more center to the unit. the current version is posted online....

how do i post my parts on rep-rap without a lot of headache?

would it be too much for me to have someone post them for me, I'll just clean up the file names and make all the stl solid instead of open mesh?

james

also fyi it interfaces with any cnc with parallel port out, use a parallel port cable for pins 2-3,4-5,6-7,8-9 and pin 25.

and it uses an arduino controller, however to simplify instructions my pin out is different, but the code will be posted. all i did was make parallel pins 2-3, pins2-3 on the arduino, 4-5, 4-5 on arduino, and so on. simplicity. reprap has talent with arduino, ask anyone. they've done it. that is why i did arduino rather than a pic16f819 (what i wanted to do it with cause i have a few hundred of those in my cabinet....)


the code can even be swapped with Sanguino or arduino mega. in fact it is more open source and easier to find parts for than reprap is! reprap circuit parts are not cheap!

i chose to use a high quality cnc 4 axis board. but you can find useless ones that will do the job for 40-50$. since i order mine 5 or 10 boards at a time i get a little discount so that helps. (15$ off per board+free shipping, otherwise the boards are 129+19.00 shipping each! yikes)


so a majority of my discounts are from buying boards and motors in bulk. (why i have 3weeks waiting period, and for the mendel kits with just the plastic only, 2 days waiting for shipping.)

"I had links to cheap kits on this page. due to skeptics I removed them. it is a shame that i had to do that, but people just did not believe i would offer something that cheap. so if you are a school, a club, email me at jamesdanielv(replacewith_@)msn.com and i will work out a free kit for you. I'll do 1 kit a week. it will not have extruder, nor electronics, and it will not have any motors, it will be all the plastic parts, you will need rods, bolts, and washers, but you can probably get that donated locally. sorry, i had to remove the complete cheap kits. anyway email me if you are a school or a club, and i'll get parts out to you within 48hrs. i just ask that you blog or write about it. thx. james"

James, wrong lesson learned.

No one doubts your ability to produce the plastic. What there was concern over was you selling a complete kit before you could print with it. Offering a complete plastic set to a university doesn't help your case much. But don't worry, it's really easy to get all the critics to shut their mouths, and think you are a swell guy.

Show a video of your extuder operating on one of your other bots
Show a video of your Delta robot drawing a picture with a pen
Show a video of your Delta robot using a off the shelf extruder (like a Printruder, or Plastruder).

Want credibility? Contact the board members of rrrf.org. If even 1 of them says your legit, my check is in the mail.

BTW raising your price to $500 + shipping, on a printer that STILL has not printed a test cube, priceless.

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repraplogphase.blogspot.com

"due to skeptics i removed them"

ok, thats just sketchy right there. if your idea was solid and worked then why dont you prove it to the skeptics and make them shut up instead of giving in?

THAT RIGHT THERE is proof if anything that it does NOT work.

skeptics arent trying to be assholes, they are there to sort the gold from the fools gold

RyanGeorge Wrote:
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> "due to skeptics i removed them"
>
> ok, thats just sketchy right there. if your idea
> was solid and worked then why dont you prove it to
> the skeptics and make them shut up instead of
> giving in?
>
> THAT RIGHT THERE is proof if anything that it does
> NOT work.

It is proof of nothing. I really don't think he is "scamming", I think he might be a little over his head, but scamming no.

I am still hoping he produces a print video any day now. If not I REALLY hope any person that payed him money used a credit card. If he doesn't deliver the printer by the 59th day after purchase, they can run a stop payment, & get their money back.

But I am sure he will produce a print video any day now and quite all our fears.

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repraplogphase.blogspot.com

i never said scamming. i think the people are going to get exactly what they bought.

i just dont believe it is a complete working design, and i wont, until it is proven.

he seems legit, and actually pretty cool, its just... pretty sketchy too. not sketchy in the scamming way, but sketchy in the not all he claims way.

its just little things like that sentance. why would you say that or do that if you had a working model? you wouldnt. you would post a video of your machine working. he obviously has video posting skills. he obviously has many skills. which is why its simpily sketchy; things just dont match up.

how do i post my parts on rep-rap without a lot of headache?
Here you go:
[objects.reprap.org]

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Now, for the other topics, a general bulletin to all readers.
1: Arguing reliably kills uploads and derails contributions to RepRap.
2: Arguing reliably kills sales.
3: We all have better things to do than to police each other's actions.

James, I suggest tacking up videos and so on up on the RepRap website, along with photos of molds, electronics, anything that seems interesting to you, interesting to us, and isn't up there yet. I'm not saying this in order to demand that you prove your stuff works, or to prove you actually exist, or prove that you are not actually your cat, but just because I get a warm glow when innovative and neat stuff goes up there.

It's also better for you to get your docs up into RepRap wiki, because then the rest of us start doing customer support for you.

Complete and Utter Brainstorming: If you're confident that your stuff is good, and you are, then I gently suggest offering a simple warranty and a buyback offer. "Replacement parts if something breaks/doesn't work: 2 years." "Buyback offer: if you can't get this to work, I'll support it until it does work, and if it still doesn't work, I'll buy it back (and you can trash my reputation online)."

I don't recommend a generic 'satisfaction guarantee" until we figure out something that isn't "borrow a mendel for free, make your own parts, then ship it back to the poor bastard selling things, claiming you weren't satisfied."

Also, it sounds as though your prospective customers are very keen to see that it all works, and only then will they start buying. It may be more straightforward to show them than to argue with them.

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Reminder to all you prospective customers who are "very keen to see that it all works before you start buying". I believe this point has been made upthread and does not need to be repeated. I will start getting very sarcastic if I see more "dogpile of skeptics".

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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!

Is this where we are discussing the assembly of the kit?

I know a DVD is in the works, but since I have my kit there is no way I'm going to wait. James has placed a ton of videos on YouTube, but they are in no particular order.

First I compared my kit to component walkthrough.

I started by assembling the cage as described in vertex assembly. I found that not all the rods were the same length, and that the vertices did not hold there position well. Also, most of the rods had damage to the thread on one end which I fixed once, but then ignored the rest. The bolts will need to be removed on the upper pair of threaed rods, both sides, in the next step.

I reassembled the whole thing, matching rod lengths to be symmetrical and added an extra bolt on the inside of each threaded rod to tighten against. After sanding the outside of a few vertices I was satisfied enough to continue. I know more precise alignment will be necessary before printing, but that will wait for now.

mount z-axis upper
--As James predicted, I broke the outer clamp. Advice: file out the hole a bit to give enough room and make the z-axis perpendicular to the base.

mount z-axis lower
--mentioned lock washers early on, these will be for attaching motor in a bit. before attaching motor mount to threaded rod, run the long bolt which clamps the z-axis through its hole. If it doesn't fit, it will be easier to file out now than after it is mounted.

Shortest hollow rod for z-axis. Shortest threaded rod for z-axis.

Sand out x-axis mounts to accept tightening bolts before attaching bearings.

Assemble x-axis by adding hollow rods to rolling carriage, then 2 motor mounts, then opposite rolling carriage.





Next step will require both z-axis rods to lift out of their mounts. No need to tighten the bases. Switch the order of build z-axis and build x-axis, so x-axis first.

[www.youtube.com]
z-axis riding carriages (x2)
Each side will require an inside and outside mount. Starting with the outside mount, insert a 3" bolt through mount, then a washer, then a section of tubing whose length is slightly less than the width of the bearing, then a bearing over that tube, then a bolt, another piece of tubing, another bearing, then a washer. Repeat for each of the other 3 bolts on that side. Place the outer mount, then 4 washers, then bolts.

After assembling the riders, they must be fit over z-axis rod. If the rider does not fit, examine the bolts and determine which bolt must be moved and remove the bolt in order to sand out the mount.





[www.youtube.com]
mounting bar
Choose a solid looking piece of the machine and place it under the motor mount. The vertices and other parts are wide and strong enough to hold the motor when you attach the rod. Attaching the threaded rod to the stepper motor is a lot less frightening than it looks in the video if you stand and look down the length of the rod as you insert it.

[www.youtube.com]
y-axis sliding table


[www.youtube.com]


[www.youtube.com]
had to redrill two holes


[www.youtube.com]
assemble feeder
first part of video is description; second part is assembly
problem inserting pincher roller

[wiki.makerbot.com]
ignore the makerbot holders at the top of the page. This description of the Ni-Chrome and thermistor was much better.

Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 04/04/2010 10:37AM by KrisC.

Has anyone with the James kit constructed his circuits yet? His wiring diagrams are a bit confusing and I could really use a little help. James has not been responding to email lately.

I was just about to test my motors, all wired up. Then up for umpteenth time I decided to pull out the hollow rods and rearrange them. So I will get a break soon while I wait for the super glue to dry.

Let me test what I have first.

Here are two handy pages that helped me figure out the motors.

I got this site of the motor controller board. If you have a different manufacturer, I don't suspect it would not matter. Nonetheless you are obligated to check. http://www.easy-cnc.com/

This explains a lot about stepper motors: http://digital.ni.com/


I have been doing everything I can to avoid finishing the extruder. I'm not sure how that gets power. I don't know what the thermsistor is supposed to look like or how it should be mounted. Time soon to scour the sources for clues.

I have my profound printer fully assembled, with the exception of the extruder circuit. I know how James intended it; however, my kit was missing the 1K resistor and one bearing. I emailed him a few days (perhaps a week) ago about this, but he has not responded.

It really is not an issue for me - I am not using his extruder drive mechanism. I do not have faith in it and did not want to waste my time trying to get it to work. I am not saying that it will not work; however, I do not believe that it can reliably push filament. His videos showing it at "100mm/s" is not accurate. Perhaps his drive mechanism is moving that fast, but the filament is not coming out at 4 inches every second... I decided to go with the drive mechanism that is being sold by RustySpoon for $30 in the For Sale forum. Because of this, I do not need the missing bearing.

As for the resistor, I do need it, but I am close to running a few miles down the street to the electronics store for one. I was more interested in seeing how well he responded when I contacted him regarding the missing parts.

Currently, I am having some communication issues with reliably communicating with the main board. I don't think that these are necessarily issues with the setup, but more with the reprap host software. If I use hyperterm to communicate, everything works fine. When I use the reprap software, it seems like buffering or interrupts are not working correctly on one end...

As soon as I get my circuit assembled, I'll take pictures and post. If you have specific issues or questions with the printer, ask - I will help if I can.

Buzz

Has James's software worked for you?

It is the only thing I have tried here, and it works. This version is the one I am testing things with so far.

Finally I had some time to look at my parts I have recieved from James. And start the build. Too bad the bolts (M8) were missing so I have cut new M8 rods for my build..

Too bad I haven't received my extruder and xbar items as promised.. Tried contacting James for the last 2 weeks requesting for shipping numbers or replacements..

But no answer so far..

You can see it on my blog at (http://www.webvize.nl/Weblog.aspx)
Images are at picasa

I decided to buy a plastruder from makerbot and hopefully somebody will sell me a wade based extruder :-)

Then I'll find a way to hook it to my xbar and then hopefully will be able to print something. In the end I hope to be able to print a load of substitute items as I don't like them them much. cracks, holes to close at the edges, offcentre.. etc.


with kind regards,

Michael

Ok, this is getting rediculous.

I can print Wades extruder in 2 plates, takes about 2 hours.

For you guys to get operational, would that be enough?

What other Mendel parts would you need to get from where you are to printing?

Extruder, 2 bowden clamps... what else?

I will have kits for sell tomorrow.

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repraplogphase.blogspot.com

For the ones that don't have received their x-bar perhaps the parts at [www.thingiverse.com] I guess that then you can finish a build.

I just found out that the tubing can be purchased at an aquarium store.. (missed that tubing too.. ) .


I am in for this.. PM has been sent!

with kind regards and thanks for your help!

Michael

The parts you mention are not manifold, and out of scale for blender. If you want to spend the time to clean the designs up, I will print them. (if they fit on my HBP).

I though most of you needed extruders. I can print those tomorrow.

If you can get together the parts that are printable, that would turn your PF Catylist into a functioning Mendel, I will start printing for you guys instead of printing more Mendel pieces.

PLEASE have me some parts you need tomorrow, I have having my printer sitting.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/12/2010 03:41AM by spacexula.

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repraplogphase.blogspot.com

Sorry. I've got no idea yet on how to do that..
But with the parts you've mentioned I think I can always figure out how to get it connected to the x-bar..

And then hopefully it can print some replacement parts. Doesn't matter how slow that might be.. as long as it does.. From their on I should be able to improve

Are you just looking for a redesign of the table supports? That's certainly on my agenda. Shouldn't take very long.


As my assembly is complete and testing begun, let me offer my opinion. James' website got the situation right where it says that the kit is for people who have assembled a 3D printer, or who want to learn the process. My kit was nearly complete (only missing limit switches), and James was quick to send them to me.

Unfortunately the idea that the kit is good for those who already have assembled a printer doesn't mesh with the price point. As a decidedly minimal kit at a minimum price, the pricing puts the kit as entry level. And, IMHO, an entry level kit ought to include detailed instructions. I understand there exists a taboo amongst electrical engineers which suggests that complete assembly instructions endanger the assembler. A degree of proficiency with tools and concepts is required for safety. But without adequate instructions it's not a kit. (And some of the videos show more hands than parts.)

That being said, the kit was exactly what I was looking for. All the parts I need. An opportunity to learn each assembly (and individual component) in detail. A chance to contribute to the reprap community. And a bit of a challenge at times.

It's just a good thing I don't get frustrated easily.

--Kris

indeed the table support is one of the first, but also the x.. it seems to fragile to me! Fragile in the meaning of flexing and bending..

Let me correct myself if I didn't get through correctly. I never ever have been in the illusion of having a ready to go printer.. I knew this would be a project for tinkering and adjusting..Playing and learning so to say!

The only problem I have is that I miss a couple of items and have not been able to contact james for the last 2 weeks.

Frustrated? Me? I only look for solutions for the situation I am in. I want to go on :-) and start tinkering!!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/12/2010 05:59AM by mhensen.

The table is fragile... and I misread. I've got the table mounts set up in Blender, when I realized you need the X mounts, not the Y, lol. Oh well, I was going to do the Y soon anyway.

Fixing X would be easier, except the Thingiverse files are not what was shipped.

I'm not finding the X mounts to be fragile. I've had to file them down a bit to even get them to slide. The bowden mount is a little wobbly and I'm not sure how to modify the piece. Think I'm going to add another screw across the mounts.

--Kris

PS mhensen - I didn't mean you were frustrated. Just wanted to let prospective buyers to know what they would be getting into. Hopefully we can get all the bugs ironed out so future assemblies will be more streamlined.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/12/2010 09:14AM by KrisC.

KrisC Wrote:
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> Fixing X would be easier, except the Thingiverse
> files are not what was shipped.

Kris - what do your X parts look like? Mine look like what is on Thingiverse. Actually, when James shipped my extruder and X parts, he sent the wrong style. The next day he shipped me another package with parts that look like what is on Thingiverse.

Buzz

Where each of my mounts has a single hole for the bolt which braces across the extruder, in James version on Thingiverse one side has 2 holes and the other side has a rectangle cut out.

I started from scratch and made new models for each of the printable pieces of the mount. Link. The measurements for the model I took from my machine, and I compared it to James's. They are compatible provided the differences I mentioned above.

--Kris

this looks what is in his photo's.. :-)

Who can print one? including the wade extruder..

I'll take it of your hands!

A wade extruder and what other part?

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repraplogphase.blogspot.com