modifications

I had a few modifications in mind, but don't have the knowledge to calculate whether or not they'd have any side effects, so I thought I'd post them here and see what you guys/gals think.

1: Aluminum extruder assembly:
My wade's block has a small crack in it and I don't think it's because of overtightening, because I can't loosen it anymore without it running into the x motor assembly. So I figured maybe it'd be better to make the entire extruder assembly (not the carriage/fan duct/d connector) out of aluminum so that it'd be able to withstand more heat and pressure as well as longer life for the gears. My questions are would the increase in weight require a larger x motor and would the larger x motor then require larger z motors?

2: Aluminum bar/motor supports:
Printing at any appreciable speed causes a lot of vibration ( I can hear it all the way across the house) so I was wondering if it'd be worth making all the supports out of aluminum as well to make all the moving parts more stable. I know it'll be an improvement, but I just don't know if it'll be significant. Any opinions on this?

3: Insulated build chamber:
Has anyone done this with a mendel 90? And if I did end up doing this, what would be the optimal temperature? Would the heated bed need to be on anymore?

Thanks for any input.

BrianC Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I had a few modifications in mind, but don't have
> the knowledge to calculate whether or not they'd
> have any side effects, so I thought I'd post them
> here and see what you guys/gals think.
>
> 1: Aluminum extruder assembly:
> My wade's block has a small crack in it and I
> don't think it's because of overtightening,
> because I can't loosen it anymore without it
> running into the x motor assembly. So I figured
> maybe it'd be better to make the entire extruder
> assembly (not the carriage/fan duct/d connector)
> out of aluminum so that it'd be able to withstand
> more heat and pressure as well as longer life for
> the gears. My questions are would the increase in
> weight require a larger x motor and would the
> larger x motor then require larger z motors?

The Wade's block on a machine I have printing 24/7 since the first batch of kits has a few cracks stress cracks behind the bearings but it still prints fine. They do eventually wear out, especially if run in a heated chamber but since I started printing them at 95% infill I think they have all outlasted their hot ends so I have never have to replace one.

I think the Y axis weighs more than X, so until you make X heaver it will have little effect. Beyond that you will need to reduce the acceleration or use a bigger motor. If you use a bigger motor you might need different electronics to get much benefit. You might also want a wider belt.

The Z motors will be able to lift a lot more weight due to the mechanical advantage of the lead screws.


>
> 2: Aluminum bar/motor supports:
> Printing at any appreciable speed causes a lot of
> vibration ( I can hear it all the way across the
> house) so I was wondering if it'd be worth making
> all the supports out of aluminum as well to make
> all the moving parts more stable. I know it'll be
> an improvement, but I just don't know if it'll be
> significant. Any opinions on this?

Not sure if aluminium sheets would be louder or quieter. The PE core in the Dibond probably dampens the sound. My guess is solid aluminium would ring but it is hard to say because it depends on resonant frequencies, etc.

>
> 3: Insulated build chamber:
> Has anyone done this with a mendel 90? And if I
> did end up doing this, what would be the optimal
> temperature? Would the heated bed need to be on
> anymore?
>
> Thanks for any input.

I run my Sturdy90 in an MDF box. It runs at 45C, which is about the max temperature for the ABS brackets because the extruder motor gets up to about 65C. The heated bed is still required.

The ideal chamber temperature for ABS is about 70C but then you can't make the machine from ABS brackets. At that temperature you might not need a heated bed but you then probably have to use rafts as commercial machines do.

---

[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

ok thanks, definitely gives me a better perspective. About the infill of the wades block, is that the only one you print at a different infill? Or do you print each piece at different infill ratios and types?

And one more thing I'd like to get your opinion on is the steel rods. It looks like most of the weight of the x carriage comes from the motors and the steel rods. Would it be possible to replace the steel rods with carbon fiber tubes and still get the same amount of stability?

I use different infill type, ratios and layer heights for different parts.

The x carriage runs on steel rods, they don't add to its weight. They do add to the weight the Z axis has to lift but that moves very slowly so isn't an issue. The rods are h6 tolerance, hardened, ground steel rods to match the specification for the LM8UU bearings. I don't think carbon fibre rods would have the tolerance or the hardness required.

---

[www.hydraraptor.blogspot.com]

Are the different slicing settings available anywhere online? If not would you be willing to share them? I understand if you're not.

Quote
BrianC
Are the different slicing settings available anywhere online?

Yup!

[reprap.org]

Are they in the github repository? I just did a quick scan over the master file but I didn't see anything...I might have just missed it though.

They're on the reprap wiki - click the link in my above post!

Ohh, sorry for some reason I thought that was a signature lol. Thanks!