I know many people that own a printrbot are having issues with a sagging motor due to heat radiation from the bed. I have developed a mount that holds equal pressure to the motor which eliminates any lateral movement. I am also getting away from the threaded rods for the base structure. My design so far has created quite a few good outcomes. Its a lot more ridged than I thought it would be at this stage. I more than likely will use acrylic to build a stronger base. I will update this post with further printrbot improvements. My goal is to eliminate as many downfalls as I can for the printrbot.

Moving forward with my goal of giving my Printrbot an upgrade and washing away its downfalls. I took a concept from my previous CnC build. During my CnC build I have to solve a problem with backlash and I came up with a great idea that can be implemented into the Printrbot setup. It consists of two nuts. One of them a standard and the other a longer nut, with a spring mounted in between. This will put pressure in apposing forces helping to eliminate any slop or play. It works real well for my CnC and it will fit well in the standard Printrbot printed parts. I will post pictures asap.

I finally figured out My Y axis end stops. The extruder will have a little peice sticking out which will trip the end stop when it gets close to the end of the axis. The best part is that It's easily adjustable. Now I need to get the other two axis setup and I'll new on to the next issue.

I figured out a better way to mount the motor with a heatsink. So it will not only keep the motor from moving or sagging but it will help lower motor operating temperature which will improve performance. I also mounted My base structure onto a piece of acrylic which will help with regitity. I finally got My belt mounted for the y axis, no improvements made yet to the y axis.

I made a new structure that will secure the entire base of My PrintrBot.  I used dampners to take out any movement when the machine is in operation.  Another reason I added this base free feature is to organize my wiring. In the picture you can see that there is a space or void between the base layers under the acrylic. This works perfectly as a cable pass through. I can organize and put My logic power supply under the 1St layer of the base structure. Another purpose of this setup is it allows for more adjustments. I can adjust the angle of the entire machine to make sure it is level no matter what the conditions. Like all My other mods I like everything to be convenient when configuring for transportation or just dial in My machine.

UPDATE: I used threaded rod to hold the z and y axis in place for mock up. It works great. I'm still working on how I want to mount My dual z axis motors.  I want to try and do something similar to the x axis. They definatly will need extra support and I want to have the option of cooling both these motors.  I'm not sure if I want to do active or passive cooling. Ill come back to this later. I started running and wrapping motor and end stop wiring and it working out well. I can already tell that the void I left between the base and the main support structure on the bottom was a good idea. It will help keep everything organized and give it a clean look. Check out the updated pictures. 
I will post new pics ASAP.

Here are some of the updated pics.

I finally got my fan mounted and dialed in. Its fully adjustable with 190 degrees of movement. I used a simple hinge that is bi-mounted to the extruder mount. I used a fairly small fan and it runs at 12v. I have the fan ran through a 4-way fan controller so it has a wide range of cfm it can put out. I have another mount, hinge, fan and bi-mount so I'm debating mounting another fan on the other fan on the other side. It is yet to be known whether it will be complete overkill. But with 2 fans that can be individually controlled it might not be a bad option. Only time will tell. I still have yet to figure out how I am going to reinforce the vertical rods. I'm leaning towards a concept that the mendal V90 has with vertically mounted acrylic that is tied into the sub structure. Check out the updated pics.

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I looked through everything everywhere to find a good Z axis joiner. I needed something I could remove easily for transport or adjustments and I really couldn't find anything that was light and strong. So I went back to the drawing board. After sketching up a couple of ideas that where way more complicated than they needed to be. It hit me, the saying: " Keep it stupid, simple." So that's what I decided to do. I needed strength but light, so I grabbed some aluminum tube stock and started bending. I ended up giving it a hammered metal look with paint. Its as bout as simple as it gets. Strong, light, adjustable and removable. It holds tolerances very well and it gives it a nice look. Multipurpose and that's the way I like it. I posted new pics if your interested in taking your printrbot to the next level.

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Gee, and I always thought the saying was "Keep it simple, stupid". Silly me...

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

lol...classic

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I prefer "Keep It Short and Simple"

I started the rough layout for the print bed. I can already tell I need to reinforce it. Which shouldn't be a problem, I just need to come up with a design that works for me. So I'm going back to the sketch pad. I will have to look through My log book for ideas. I thought I would post an updated picture for you all to see My progress. For some reason the attach file isnt working so click on my signature and ill post pictures asap.

Oh here's the link. Sorry.

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I love old skool stuff like atari, Nintendo and hammer pants. So I figured I would implement my old skool Nintendo controller for manually jogging the print head. This doesn't neccisarily have a real use, but I thought why not it looks cool and I know how to do it from my Cnc builds. The only difference with 3D printing is that for this use I will need to add another port for communicating with the Nintendo controller. In order to do this I will have to make sure I have a "flag" that will activate the controller only in GUI-mode and deactivate it during print cycles.

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So I've decided to build a custom 7" flat screen display for my printrbot. This display will show real time info stream while printing as well as loading from SD card and eventually I will be able to adjust settings using it. I will be able to navigate the screen options and menus using my Nintendo controller. This controller also doubles as a manual jog controller. This build as of now will be officially referred to as the Printrbot Nintendo Edition. The screen will be mounted between the horizontal stabalizer bars on the Z axis. I will have to change my setup over to RAMPS due to the extra available I/O pins. And yes due to overwhelming request you will also be able to play old skool games on the screen while you are printing. I haven't decided what games yet. It will more than likely be Tetris due to the demand for it. Another possible function will be 8-bit sound effects when the print head is moving. This function will also be able to be muted. I will update when I get the screen built and mounted as I need to order my RAMPS setup.

Options the screen will offer: * Extruder feed rates and adjustments * Bed and hot end temps * Manual jog of print head * Selection of prints through SD card * E-stop * Possible 8 bit game play *** And many more as well as a use full user interface.

I will update this as I go.

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After much research I have decided to change my belt setup for the print table. Due to the added size I think I need to rethink belt, motor and motor idler bearings position. I've noticed that this can be an issue for standard size printrbots and is definitely an issue as you extend the axis on the bed. Wobble is what it is commenly referred to as. I've decided to make it an option on mine whether I choose to run the belt from one side or run it from the middle. I have started to design and build the new setup. The nice part about the way I designed it is the fact that I can switch between either option in about 5 to ten minutes due to the the layout of my machine as well as the fact that I designed it to easily be able to switch between the two. As you may know by know I love options as well as being able to solve multiple issues with one solution.

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I've added a bunch of new updates and mods to the Printrbot Nintendo Edition. Click on the link to see all the new mods and a full updated build log.

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I'm working on a bowden mod for my printrbot. Right now I'm trying out new setups. One of them being a combo or hybrid between the two.

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I decided I needed to make my X-axis more stable. After looking around to find something I realized that there wasn't much out there. Most of what I did find was CAD files showing it in theory. So I decided to come up with something my self. I am currently creating another one to be tested on another machine because the one I designed It for is not yet done with design and modifications. For
*

*

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I have tested a new addition to my x axis stabilizer. I tested it on a motion and force test cad program I have. I am still building the addition which will be a vertical price that mates up with the piece I have already built. It will be a half rectangular box shape which will ad significant amount of stability. The original piece goes under the x axis belt and the new piece will be vertical going up the back of the x axis belt. On either end I have added triangular pieces that will help to mate the two pieces and add strength and rigidity. I will update as soon as I'm finished. Test results look good so far. I have added the original design to a fully built printrbot and it seems to be making quite a difference.

I have finished some more additions including 5/16ths threaded rods, 4 long nuts instead of the standard size ones and 2 springs that are mounted in between the two sets of long nuts. The reason I didn't use the standard size nuts is the fact that they have little surface space on the rods which promotes backlash. I also added the print in between the sets to keep constant pressure which along with my other mods helps to get rid of any remaining backlash. Its hard to tell in some of the pictures but the whole structure of my Printrbot is mounted on a dampened piece of acrylic. This creates a shock absorber much like you would find on a high end vehicle. It helps ready out any sway or movement while printing. The whole structure moves together. I accomplished this partly due to the extreme reinforcements and the shock absorber system. This system makes the vibrations less and the vibrations its left with won't effect the printing. Soon I will post pictures showing this along with videos to see if you can tell by looking at the finished print when it was bumped.

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New RODS and anti-backlash
I have finished some more additions including 5/16ths threaded rods, 4 long nuts instead of the standard size ones and 2 springs that are mounted in between the two sets of long nuts. The reason I didn't use the standard size nuts is the fact that they have little surface space on the rods which promotes backlash. I also added the print in between the sets to keep constant pressure which along with my other mods helps to get rid of any remaining backlash. Its hard to tell in some of the pictures but the whole structure of my Printrbot is mounted on a dampened piece of acrylic. This creates a shock absorber much like you would find on a high end vehicle. It helps ready out any sway or movement while printing. The whole structure moves together. I accomplished this partly due to the extreme reinforcements and the shock absorber system. This system makes the vibrations less and the vibrations its left with won't effect the printing.

Spring mounted risers on bed;
I started putting on the glass bed on spring mounted risers. After looking at several different designs for bed mounting this one made the most amount of sense to me. Each spring mount is adjustable via an Allen key. I also mounted two cross braces, each one goes right to left as you are facing the bed. These two cross braces make for easier tuning later on. I took blue painters tape and ran it edge to edge vertically and then horizontally. After I mounted the glass to the acrylic bed I grabbed my level to check for adjustments. To my amazement it was completely level side to side and front to back. While I had my level out I thought I would check my Z-axis threaded rods as well as my Z-axis top stabilizer. Again to my amazement they too were perfectly level. It makes me feel good cause that is true evidence of a good design that was well built.

Y-Axis Re-Design;
Not being happy with the Y axis layout. I decided to completely redesign it. I've heard of issues with wobble in the Y-axis on a standard size Printrbot due to the belt being pulled from one side. With my build being much larger than the PB+ I decided it was time for a change. I could of done it like the Wallace but my build has no threaded rods for the base which will be a good thing for my design. It leaves me a substantial amount of room to figure out a new Y-axis. After lots of tinkering I came up with a method using over sized bearings and gears sandwiched between two pieces of acrylic. I will also be mounting the Y-axis motor to the acrylic. The motor will also be mounted to the base as well. I have put together a mock up and I will be posting pics soon. So far it is looking very good. When the bed starts to get to full extension it will only run on two of the gears and one bearing. The same going in the opposite direction. All other bed positions it will run on the two bearings and the two gears. I am still debating how to run the tensioners because with this design it leaves me lots of options.

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After my re-design I had two separate compartments under my print table to mount my Xbox power supply which is an upgrade over the stock Printrbot power supply. It puts out a few more usable amps and about 20-30 more watts. On the other side of the compartment I will be mounting my RAMPS electronics, I decided to not go with the stock Printrboard because I think RAMPS is a better option. I also mounted a fan to keep the electronics cool. I started mounting my end stops today as well, I went with mechanical normally open switches. Instead of my home being on the exact left front corner I moved the home position in about a quarter of an inch back and to the right. I also mounted a hamster style fan on the corner of the print bed which will be moved to the left side. This fan helps cool the first few layers as they are printed. I have done this before and it works quite well.

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I finally got around to cutting and installing my actual print bed platform. Before I just had a mock up bed that was quite a bit smaller than the bed I am currently using. The one I have now is about 400mm long. I also got new hi temp glass and wrapped it in blue tape. I also got my hot end 'hot warning light' mounted. It turns the acrylic piece on the extruder red when the hot end is on. I also got my 4-way manual fan controller and temp sensor setup. This will be used for the bed fan, electronics cooling, power supply fan, etc. ( the fan controller is the separate black box in the pics) I got a chance to start cleaning up and organizing my wiring as well, but I still have more to go. I also added a stronger ilder bearing mount on the x-axis. It is mounted through the acrylic x-axis back brace. Check it out and let me know what you think so far.

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oh yea NINTENDO !!!

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______________________________________
__my mixed bag blog || aka --> [http] || ___ so 3D printing is everywhere ... dont worry, hospitals can now 3Dprint body parts, they will charge you $1million excluding surgical fees ... you will die paying your debts. thats their aim ___ if every patent expires tomorrow, everybody will surely get a 3dprinter and make EVERYTHING ! ____ there is a "DIY-DTG" t shirt printing forum, you can mod an EPSON printer to PRINT like a pro. ___ CNCzone? overly commercialized it seems ___ my country? they will be taxing you for every cm of road you use and track you to your grave using GPS and its government authorized, now they will fire all the traffic wardens instead.___ EEVBLOG? there is only 1 way to do things --> take it apart like a pro

So I decided to add a temp display and warning light for my electronics and power supply. This is routed through the fan controller and will adjust fans as needed. I have a temp reading for my power supply, electronics and of course hot end and bed. The hotend and bed are run through a pronterface like setup and the others are run through a cooling controller that can be run in auto or manual adjustments. Here are some pics of the new setup so far.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/01/2013 05:40PM by REPRAP SQUAD.

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