Printing the case.

I am so happy to see everyone printing the case already. I've added a section to the Tantillus wiki and would like to ask that as you print the parts to add any tips and advice to the wiki page. [reprap.org]

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what's with those screw-loops to connect middle & top part 1 & 2

really feel there is a better way to print this without support .. maybe some diagonal posts going upward outside of screw clearance?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/24/2012 07:50PM by buZztiaan.

buZztiaan Wrote:
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> what's with those screw-loops to connect middle &
> top part 1 & 2
>
> really feel there is a better way to print this
> without support .. maybe some diagonal posts going
> upward outside of screw clearance?


If I understand which parts it is you are talking about they do have diagonals but slicer does not print them because they are too thin. Skeinforge did print them.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/26/2012 12:56AM by Sublime.

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Sublime Wrote:
> If I understand which parts it is you are talking
> about they do have diagonals but slicer does not
> print then because they are too thin. Skeinforge
> did print them.

Ah yes, I see them now

Cura didn't print them either .. might tune it a bit and reprint them

The tabs may not even be needed.

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I see that the people building the printed case machines have been updating the Wiki and I would like to thank you. Keep up the good work, it is your efforts that will make it clearer for the next person.

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Would it be possible to make a 2-part or 3-part printable case, for printing on machines with a 200mm x 200mm build area (e.g. Prusa, Mendel Max, etc)? It would eliminate many of the connector plates and quite a few fasteners. And I think it would make the case more rigid and robust as well as more accurate, since any variance from poor connector fit would be along the Z axis only? I started working on this myself, but I'm absolutely terrible at Blender & 3D modelling in general.

j.samuels Wrote:
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> Would it be possible to make a 2-part or 3-part
> printable case, for printing on machines with a
> 200mm x 200mm build area (e.g. Prusa, Mendel Max,
> etc)? It would eliminate many of the connector
> plates and quite a few fasteners. And I think it
> would make the case more rigid and robust as well
> as more accurate, since any variance from poor
> connector fit would be along the Z axis only? I
> started working on this myself, but I'm absolutely
> terrible at Blender & 3D modelling in general.

There is a one piece case in the repos that you should be able to cut in three parts. But be warned I did try to print the case in three parts and it warps really bad. If you have any warping in the top section you will have to throw it away and start over as the bearings need to be level with each other. With the case in 12 parts it is easier to get them all warp free, square and level.

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Hmm, good point. I printed the first piece (Base_1.stl) and have around 1 mm curl along the bottom printed edge. The curling actually pulled the blue tape off the acrylic build platform (I'm printing on Ultimaker) at the corners of the print, I never saw this happen before. I will need to tweak and reprint I think. But I don't have a heated bed (yet).

1mm warp on the base and mid parts seems to be acceptable. The only damage I think it causes is some gaps at the corners when you throw it all together. Like Sublime said it's the top pieces that need to be really flat. However, because they have a larger surface area they should stick a bit better than the others. I printed with a newer Slic3r that includes brim, and between that and an HBP the warp on my top parts is minimal.

Try printing one the top rear pieces first if you want to get the most difficult ones out of the way.

Thanks for the advice. Brim looks quite helpul, I didn't get Slic3r tweaked well enough yet to get good objects off the printer I'm using, so I guess I have something to do now!

You can make a brim with SF too by setting the skirt to 10 wide and 0 space from the object. You can also add some tabs to the corners of the parts in a modelling program so they do not lift as much.

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Tantillus.org	Mini Printable Lathe	How NOT to install a Pololu driver

First thanks for a nice small desktop reprap.

Until now I have printed the four lower caseparts and have started on the next layer.

Every part takes a long time to print and here comes my concern! The very thin sidewall of the second elongated hole on base_2 is very difficult to print nicely. On base_2 it doesn't matter as far as I can see from the other parts of the base.
The top parts may have the same problems at the motor mounts.

My suggestion is to make thin walls in the holes to be cut out after printing.

I don't have the skills to modify the .blender- or .stl-files, yet.

At this moment I'm ready to put the printed Tantillus on hold and then make either a wooden or plexiglass version instead.

/Niels

oz9ny Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> First thanks for a nice small desktop reprap.
>
> Until now I have printed the four lower caseparts
> and have started on the next layer.
>
> Every part takes a long time to print and here
> comes my concern! The very thin sidewall of the
> second elongated hole on base_2 is very difficult
> to print nicely. On base_2 it doesn't matter as
> far as I can see from the other parts of the
> base.
> The top parts may have the same problems at the
> motor mounts.
>
> My suggestion is to make thin walls in the holes
> to be cut out after printing.
>
> I don't have the skills to modify the .blender- or
> .stl-files, yet.
>
> At this moment I'm ready to put the printed
> Tantillus on hold and then make either a wooden or
> plexiglass version instead.
>
> /Niels

Can you post a picture of the part you think needs improving? Either an actual picture or a screen shot. If it is the one in the back wall right in the center where it was split then you can just print it and not worry that it does not print. I do not think anyone has actually printed that thin section.

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Had to chuckle when I read ox9ny's post. I feel your pain.
Yes, the printed case takes a looooong time to print - 4-5 hours a piece, 12 pieces. I'm still not done as I ran out of blue PLA. Funny how 1kg spool runs out quick when you make mistakes during prints (configuration-wise) or when you accidentally print the wrong piece twice, and only notice after 4-5 hours.
But everything else printed out beautifully - gears, extruder, axis, etc....

But back to ox9ny's post, I think I hit the same problem. It's that 1mm side of the elongated hole?
For me, that side wall would break with any slight pressure as it was too delicate. Printed it twice with the same result.
Fortunately the rear connector / "motor stiffener" covers this up and offers additional support.

I'll probably go acrylic next time around if things work out for me in this build.