SmartRap Mini 2

Hi all,

I picked up the Smartrap mini about a year ago and tried to build one. Well 10 months, and a lot of CAD and build time later, I have revised and updated the parts for this little printer. I really like this design, even with its flaws. It is low cost, simple to make, and takes a minimalist approach. People like it years ago, and there were actually too many forks I think, people got lost in which parts to get.

I am sure this will make it worse, but I put the parts files and cad files on a google site and also on Thingiverse.

I have some additional improvements I would like to try so keep a watch out for these.

I can also make plastic parts sets for a small fee. It takes about 24hrs of plate time and 1/3-1/2 roll of filament.
PM or email if interested.

Thanks for reading. Feedback appreciated !

Webpage up in google space. CAD, notes, hardware list, marlin 1.1.7 configuration.h
[sites.google.com]

I have also put a page up on ThingiVerse,
[www.thingiverse.com]

Some pictures,

Be sure to visit the google site. The assembly instructions are almost complete.

Setting stepper voltages and tuning are coming up next.

I am thinking screw sets, plastic sets and maybe rod sets are the things builders would want.

Do you think this is true?

If you have an old SRM, check out the Marlin page, for an updated configuration.h file.

Thanks!

There hasn't been much feedback here, since you published the SR2.
Who do you think, are your customers? Vintage 3DP collectors or Tech-Museum come to my mind.

Sorry to sound rude, but you must admid, this thing looks scary...at least not meant for serious 3D-printing.

Scary, not serious? I suppose. There does not seem to be much interest.
Vintage? The original designer started about 2013, the last thingiverse spins were in like 2016.

My machine, when running well, makes better parts than the Anet A2 I have. And I use my SR2 2-3times as often as the Anet, which is nearly everyday.

But remember in the overall landscape here there are dozens and dozens of designs, people tend to want the latest and greatest thing.
Some people have lots of money, if you are buying a Lulzbot for $3000, those folks dont reprap.

I think the audience is the person familiar with 3d printing, by using one, but who wants to know more, or wants to experiment.
That does kind of narrow the field doesn't it?

I wanted to learn all the ins and outs, but had little money, and this type struck me as requiring a minimum of space and materials.
There also seemed to be a great deal of lessons learned missing from the records, I was curious.

Thanks for listening.

Scary was a serious remark. There are so many parts sticking out here and there. Just one careless move and it's out off calibration or breaks apart. ( Just my gut feeling )

Don't be afraid. Its actually pretty tough !

The glass(I use glass as a build plate) can slide around, but I have simple idea to fix that.
I am trying to think of a simple, cheap effective way to get a heated bed and removable metal or plastic 'plates' using magnets.
This should fix the glass moving slightly.

Its open style is appealing to me. It actually sits in a corner of a desk very well.

These pics with wiring everywhere are part of the assembly pics, once all the wiring is bundled, its much cleaner.

Assembly page is mostly done. Enjoy.

It has a lot of bad potato pics. But should work, I tried to clarify the not-so-clear aspects.

SmartRap Mini 2 site

The next fix will be to the extruder. The bearing carrier will break or lose tension over time as it has no upper support.

Luckily someone on Thingiverse has already addressed the issue, so I will be testing that.

Also wondering if anyone cares about the zaxis switch location providing either a fixed zaxis on the rod, vs the one on the hotend.

The hotend mounted switch allows for using mesh leveling, but does anyone really care to use this?

I find I am not using that, and using a simple 1 touch probe to set z height and go print.

Some small revisions added to the Thingiverse site.
I found some errors as I printed out a few kit parts.

Plastic Parts for sale as a kit.
Screw Packs for sale as a kit.
See web page.

Webpage
[sites.google.com]

Thingiverse
[www.thingiverse.com]

TODO:
Assembly and tuning video
Better assembly doc/pdf, I dislike the slow loading webpage.
Mods for better parts that assemble without so many screws.
Mods for extruder bearing holder (still todo)
Mod to extruder for flexi filament, it will print TPU, but needs more support at the bearing/gear

Ideas?

Thanks all for being curious and reading the posts !
Over 1000 reads now.

I am still using my SmartRapMini2 for PLA prints. The extruder mod is still an open issue.
I may also revise the extruder base to allow for some flexible filament I got. Flexi will work, if you can feed it without it bubbling back out.

I did finally get frustrated with the kevlar line, and swapped in the GT2 belt addon. That is about 100% better, no more leaning prints.
So for about $5-10 in GT2 parts this is a much needed improvement.

I also think the belt will allow for a higher speed, since the toothed gear can accel the belt faster without slipping.
I think it may come to how fast the cheap e3d clone can melt and move plastic and/or vibration causing issues. We'll see.

Yeah, I mentioned to you earlier that I prefered belts to strings when I was using the Smartrap Mini.

Keep up the work...

Mike

i dont understand y people play with this printrbot jr derived machine.. it is not worth the trouble .. rather even a prusa is not worth the trouble . after a few years of using a prusa and then a mendelmax i changed to a corexy completely made out of aluminium extrusions and laser cut steel plates. the machine was a breeze to assemble . It just 10% more than a printed parts machine and aligning things was very simple as the frame is a box. It has worked enlessly for over 2 year with the belt slipping only once that too because of my stupidity.

point being a corexy mechanism is superior to all these idiotic mechanisms. Easy to setup and align ( this is more important ) and bulletproof.


please dont waste you time .

Well if you had written up a lessons learned about the smartrap design and posted it I could have avoided learning anything.

Thanks for being a positive influence in a dying community.

Be sure and tell Josef Prusa his system is idiotic.

The problem with many of the regulars is that they have slaved away at the coal face of 3D printing themselves and feel that this makes the opinions formed in the process are correct - even when they differ from the opinions of others who have hewn as much coal as they have.
I have read the forum entries of many of the regulars who espouse one absolute rule or another without being able to acknowledge that many truly excellent printers break many of their rules. Even worse is that their hard won certainty that other systems are "idiotic" stops them from learning anything new and debate becomes two or more sides shouting their "truths" at one another.

Mike

Sorry if I offended people but I have built a printrbot jr in the past and it worked well but not as good as a rigid frame corexy . I do try new mechanisms even if they look not good enough . I have been building a gus lately . Also I meant a prism i2 was not a very good option not the i3 .

Sure you can try substandard mechanisms .but promoting them as superior is plain wrong .

I dont recall promoting this design as superior to anything, except cost maybe.

Well, most people here are going to be hobbiests, so I dont think many are interested in the 'best', 'be-all-end-all' solutions.
Sure a corexy is rigid. Some here spent $2000US on such systems that are IMO overly complex to me, but suit their aims.

I personally have learned a lot with this smartrap.

I think you should be promoting experimentation, and also this site. I think its sad theres not more activity here.

Will reprap and 3d printing mature without accomplishing a lot? I hope not.

/OA

Keep doing what your doing Orbitalair. Having built and used a Smartrap Mini, I know what the Pros and Cons are. It’s a great learning project, It prints well when if you leave it stationary. It’s finicky if you try to oversized it, or move it often. If you build it, and like 3d printing for very long, your gonna tear it down and use its bones for parts on your new printer... I still keep my old smartrap parts in a box... because one day I might put her back together...

sure you can make it and gain experience and then move on thats all there is to it..

fyi a corexy with lasercut cut steel parts and aluminum frame can be put together in under 300 dollars provided you know the right places!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/19/2018 03:39AM by ekaggrat.

Hi orbitalair,

Nice project !

it is ideal to discover the world of 3D printing.

The amount of 3d printed material is small and everything is based on standard material.

I'm a bit surprised of the harshness of some comments. For sure it is not a plug and play super sexy 3D printer, but to start in 3D printing at low cost it is for sure one of the many good starting points. Of course I would not introduce 3D printing in a big industrial company with this model, many people would say that it is not a serious technology, but at home to learn and discover it is for sure perfect and funny if you like the DIY.

For me the spirit of Reprap, as I understand it, it is a lot of trial and errors, research of self-sufficiency, simple and low cost solutions. We don't all have access to laser cutter and so on. According to my professional experience in engineering to identify, find a good solution, you often need to have 2 or 3 concretes "first" solutions in the hands. So for sure it is very instructable to do this project.

@orbitalair
Just for my curiosity, do you print your parts kit with your Smart Rap Mini 2. I find your pricing very fair / how many kits have you already solds ?

Best Regards

Alain

Hi Alain,

It was a great learning process I am glad I did not quit midway thru.

The guys here are 3D printing to achieve great accuracy or super fine repeatable production processes, so they have their opinions.

I am a hobbyist, I bought a chinese kit first, and got into wondering about other designs. As I looked around and studied, I saw that Reprappers would make stuff, then change, and evolve and not document any of it. If they had made lots of notes, my curiosity would have been satisfied.

I picked this design because it appealed to the minimalist type person I am.
And a lot of people made them, and a lot of people made mods to them. There are many on Thingiverse.
I have made some minor changes, most have not improved the design, many I reverted back to original ideas.

Anyways, I have not sold anything, as the experts say, everyone wants bigger, stronger, faster.

I have a couple sets printed in ABS using my chinese kit, not the best.

I have 1 maybe 2 sets made on a SmartRap2 in PLA.

I must get back onto the webpage and update it with some notes I recently made. The GT2 belts are a huge improvement, kevlar line is simply too finicky.

Thanks for your interest !!

Hi All,

I have taken the google page which loads really slowly and cant be printed, and made a PDF Manual.

I will be expanding, revising and extending the Manual as I get time.

My own SmartRapMini2 has been working well for the past year, used at least every other day making some part to fix something around the house, or something.
The GT2 belted system is very reliable.

Get the SmartRap Mini 2 PDF on the Thingiverse page Files section.
SmartRap Mini 2 Thingiverse page

Thanks.