I've redesigned the RepRap. Videos. MSF printer.

I've posted some videos of my new RepStrap. I eliminated all threaded rods and associated hardware, all belt loops and tensioners, all connection parts for the rods as well. It's fully adjustable to square the frame up and make everything true. The frame is the base and just 8 other parts. I plan to get that down to 5 parts with the redesign but for now I just want it to print so I'm leaving it as is. the build area is about a cubic foot. come check out the videos and read the descriptions, I welcome your input!

Peter

[www.youtube.com]

I like it! I especially like the mechanism for aligning the frame. I hope you can make a page on the RepRap wiki for your machine, or a github repo, or a Thingiverse page, hackaday page, whatever.

If you're trying to raise funds to make a kit, you might consider using Bounties. Not many people have used them for open source hardware yet, but I think there is potential...

Using the belt is a rack is not a very good idea there's a lot of lash and there is only one tooth engaged at a time. They are meant to be wrapped around the pulley

I love the z.

The belt/rack is a potential fail point. You can probably get good results at first with the right amount of force against the pulley but as the teeth fatigue and break off you could get some slipping.

You could achieve the same basic movement with a string that ran along the edge of the board and around a friction pulley a few times. (Or some other variant of that.)

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ConceptFORGE
Wally, GUS Simpson, LISA Simpson, THOR Simpson, Sextupteron, CoreXZ

It's a nylon fiber reinforced rubber belt. There won't be any teeth coming off it. I use the same drive system on the Y platform which is very heavy and also has a heat bed and a sheet of glass on it. It shows no sign of slipping. I'm not a fan of the friction pulley. You always know where a fixed tooth is in relation to a fixed point but a bit of string that can stretch or wiggle up or down the spool. I plan to get the part count down to about a hundred on the next design.

I know it's sort of against the reprap ethos, but would it not be worth opting for steel rack & pinion set up.
[www.ebay.co.uk]
they're reasonably priced and way over engineered for the application.