So I want to build a Tantillus!

the title says it all! I have never built a 3d printer before and had my heart set on a Rostock but after researching this awesome machineI have decided that I need it in my life. I have questions so bear with me especially since I am new to all of this. Which Nema 17 stepper motors are required for this? I read that the max the should be is 40mm but I dont know which ones I should buy. I was looking at Pololu stepper drivers and I dont know which ones I am supposed to buy, the A4983 or A4988? I want to use Ramps with an Arduino board so at leat I have that figured out but which 20 position encoder am I suposed to buy? Can you use a heated bed with this printer.

deathstar Wrote:
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> the title says it all! I have never built a 3d
> printer before and had my heart set on a Rostock
> but after researching this awesome machine I have
> decided that I need it in my life. I have
> questions so bear with me especially since I am
> new to all of this.

Welcome to 3D printing.

Which Nema 17 stepper motors
> are required for this? I read that the max the
> should be is 40mm but I dont know which ones I
> should buy.

They should be 1.5 - 2 amp and as high of torque as possible. The ones supplied are 42BYGHW and I have one with 42BYGHM. You can use any of the ones recommended for RepRap as long as they are 40mm or less in length. You can use longer ones on the Laser cut machine if you are willing to modify the bed a little and lose a few mm in Z height.

I was looking at Pololu stepper
> drivers and I dont know which ones I am supposed
> to buy, the A4983 or A4988?

They no longer make the A4983 so you need the A4988 drivers.

I want to use Ramps
> with an Arduino board so at leat I have that
> figured out but which 20 position encoder am I
> suposed to buy?

As far as I understand I you can use any 20 click encoder with a push button in the center. You can also use buttons instead of the encoder with a minor change in the firmware.

Can you use a heated bed with this
> printer?

No one has yet that I know of but it should be possible. You would need a larger power supply since the bed draws a lot of current and you have to be careful that the Z-arms do not melt so they should be printed out of ABS.

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FFF Settings Calculator	Gcode post processors	Geometric Object Deposition Tool Blog
Tantillus.org	Mini Printable Lathe	How NOT to install a Pololu driver

So here is my list. please tell me if this will be acceptable for what I want to do.
Stepper motors [www.aliexpress.com]
Pololu Stepper Drivers [www.pololu.com]
Ramps I think the pre soldered board is the option I want [ultimachine.com]
Arduino Mega 2560 [www.arduino.cc]
SDRamps [www.lulzbot.com]
J-Head MK-IV-B [www.hotends.com]
16x2 LCD Panel [www.sparkfun.com]

Still looking for a 20 position encoder, 90 watt power supply, female barrel connector, and the fans. I am just concerned that if I pick certain fans that they will be to thick to use. I also want a laser cut case, I would like to go with a wooden case if I can find one but a an acrylic laser cut case would be good as well. So can you Pros tell me if the items that I chose so far will be good enough to build a Tantillus?

deathstar Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So here is my list. please tell me if this will be
> acceptable for what I want to do.
> Stepper motors
> [www.aliexpress.com]
> -lead-Nema17-steppper-motor-40MM-1-7A-58oz-in-CE-R
> OSH/703402_540429239.html
> Pololu Stepper Drivers
> [www.pololu.com]
> Ramps I think the pre soldered board is the option
> I want [ultimachine.com]
> Arduino Mega 2560
> [www.arduino.cc]
>
> SDRamps
> [www.lulzbot.com]
> ml
> J-Head MK-IV-B
> [www.hotends.com]
> oduct&product_id=83
> 16x2 LCD Panel
> [www.sparkfun.com]
>
> Still looking for a 20 position encoder, 90 watt
> power supply, female barrel connector, and the
> fans. I am just concerned that if I pick certain
> fans that they will be to thick to use. I also
> want a laser cut case, I would like to go with a
> wooden case if I can find one but a an acrylic
> laser cut case would be good as well. So can you
> Pros tell me if the items that I chose so far will
> be good enough to build a Tantillus?

Everything looks good. You do have a lot places to get the Ramps, SDramps and Arduino from that may save you money. The female barrel connector for the Toshiba power supply is really hard to find. I will have some available soon on Tantillus.org as well as the power supply and encoder. If not you can have a look at suntek store for them but be warned you may want to buy a couple in case of DOA.

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FFF Settings Calculator	Gcode post processors	Geometric Object Deposition Tool Blog
Tantillus.org	Mini Printable Lathe	How NOT to install a Pololu driver

I will hopefully order the acrylic from you soon I think that it is very reasonably priced IMHO. I may take a while to build this but I intend to see it through. I would love to use it in my shop to print out knobs and what not as spares for our helicopters in case we run out of stocked items

I run mine with a 12V 220W Dell DA-2 power brick (for some SFF PC thing). I know Sublime recommends 15V for the extra kick to the motors, but so far 12V has been fine for me. I've picked up a couple for ~$20 at Goodwill Computerworks, and they always seem to have a few around. I wind up soldering on my own connectors since the mini-fit jr style it comes with has weird contacts that don't work well with standard sockets. Of course, if you go that route you might as well find the recommended 15V supply and hack on a different plug.

I'm pretty new to this game as well deathstar but I can tell you with my limited knowledge:

1. This printer is good. I have run a uprint plus ($20K USD) 3d printer at work now for a year and this printer has better layer resolution...........

2. I am now running the black edition Pololu drivers (http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/2128) and the are really good thermally when you are doing stupid things like running your printer off 19V. Not saying you have to use these over the standard pololu drivers or the chinese ones. Or that you should run your printer off 19V (don't its a headache). Just that I have found pololu stuff to be high quality and a good company to deal with.

3. I got all my steppers, SD ramps, ramps, arduino, chinese pololu drivers, cables from [www.reprapdiscount.com] . Really nice chap i dealt with, they shipped my stuff via fedex for free as well. I just emailed them what I wanted and they sorted it out. They struggled to get the steppers for me (1-2 week wait) but they keep me in the loop which was awesome.

4. Sublime knows his shit, to be blunt. Buying through him will probably save you time/issues.

5. I have printed a lot of parts for one of the guys at work who uses them on a custom hex-a-copter. PLA while it prints well, does not like heat. PLA printed parts around motor/speed controllers for example is a bad idea............

6. Use the imperial PTFE tubing sublime recommends for the beldon tube. PFA, Nylon, urethane etc do not work well from what I have found.

7. I am trying to develop a 50W heated bed for the tantillus, and it is possible. I have a concept one running on the bench and will finish once life in general allows me to. I will post a proper thread up on how I did it once I am confident it actually works.

Thanks for all of the info so far guys! WhenI said helicopters I meant actual Blackhawks lol not the toy ones which is what I am assuming you were talking about Willworkforplastic. Although when I build my printer I will be printing out a quadracopter as my first project so thanks for the advice on using PLA. I am very interested in your heat bed I hope that you can get it up and going soon! Once again thanks for all of the advice. should I build the case first or get my arduino and rams set up first or does it not matter?

Keep in mind that PLA starts to soften around 130F if you intend to use printed objects outdoors.

Be careful buying the encoder from eBay. I bought two sets that wouldn't work. They were not the persistent state change type but only changed momentarily when clicked then returned to 00.
The spark fun ones work but have to glued in the laser cut case. [www.sparkfun.com] The Threaded version is too big and not long enough so it has to be drilled and still glued. On the upside you could wire some led colors in them....
Maybe someone can recommend where to buy one or the correct type on eBay.

I was looking at that very encoder last night. I think I will wait until Sublime has some for sale and just get them from him.

Just asking more questions here. So how long does a spool of filament last? on average how many Tantillus machines can be made from one spool or about how many items on average. What size filament are we using given the hot end you put in the build list.

Also does i matter if the lcd is 3.3v or 5v?

A spool can be all different sizes so its hard to say. The spools that the Tantillus spool holders are made for are 1kg rolls. Each Tantillus I sell uses about 700g but can use as little as 500g and still be strong. I also have one that used a full 1kg.

It uses 3mm filament.

The LCD should be 5V

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FFF Settings Calculator	Gcode post processors	Geometric Object Deposition Tool Blog
Tantillus.org	Mini Printable Lathe	How NOT to install a Pololu driver

thanks Sublime I luckily picked out a 5v lcd that I want to use. I sent you a pm with some questions about buying some items from you.