Clip required for mk1 Ormerod to use Alumimum X-Arm upgrade

Hi All,

Can anyone help please I am new to 3D printing and have just purchased an Ormerod Mk1 Kit, I have already purchased Davek's Aluminium upgrade bed. Also his Aluminium X-Arm Kit so I can fit whilst building, I also need a clip that helps lock the extruder on which I can also install when building, if someone could make one of these clips for me I will pay for the materials time and P&P. I assume it would need to be made of ABS and not PLA for strength, see link below for clip thread and downloadable file.

[forums.reprap.org]

Thank you in Advance,

You can print OK without that clip, just make sure the extruder is not tilted so as to hit the X carriage. I've been printing fine without it for over a year (and have had an aluminium X arm for at least 6 months). If you are planning to print with ABS you will need to reprint quite a few parts and can upgrade to whatever designs you want when you do so.

Dave

Hi Dave,

Thank you for your reply from what you are saying it looks like I could build the printer, then print off the part myself would any disassembly be required to fit it ?

I would still prefer to obtain the part so I could fit during initial assembly, from what you said and from looking at other information printed in PLA would work fine.

Brian.

You will probably want to print various new pieces with a different design once you have a bit of experience with your printer, and printing such pieces also gives you something useful to print while you are in the learning stage. There are several extruder designs that are better (IMO) than the original - I am using a design that has a PTFE tube for the filament input, which prevents the filament cutting its way through the extruder after a few months. I am also using the double herringbone gear design. There are other designs available such as the sprung-loaded extruder that handles filament that has poor diameter tolerances and makes it easier to clean the hobbed bolt if/when it gets clogged. Changing some parts of the printer requires fairly serious disassembly, but changing the extruder parts is pretty straightforward because the extruder is a standalone unit that can be completely disassembled and re-assembled in 15 minutes or so without affecting any critical printer adjustments or any need to recalibrate.

There is also the aspect that if you start with too many modifications before you have a good understanding of how all the parts of the printer function, you may find it difficult to assemble correctly because there are no detailed assembly instructions available for most of the modifications.

Dave

Hi Brirob44.

Just do what I did, get a cheap aluminium ruler and bend it into shape.

Has worked fine for me for more than a year!

Please notice the stl file on thingiverse..

Ormerod RepRapPro 3D Printer. Extra support for the extruder
[www.thingiverse.com]

..is no good, have noticed the maker, hope he will post a working one soon

Erik

Quote
ormerod168
Please notice the stl file on thingiverse..

Ormerod RepRapPro 3D Printer. Extra support for the extruder
[www.thingiverse.com]

..is no good, have noticed the maker, hope he will post a working one soon

Erik

Yes, I've just seen that. It is in any case unnecessary to have a clip. If the existing extruder clip is loose causing the extruder to droop, a part similar to that referenced but without the clip section can be bolted to the back of the motor - it only needs a short bar over the top of the X arm to prevent the extruder dropping down at the back. I may knock up a quick design and post it later.

To the OP - you will probably find that your extruder fits the slots of the aluminium arm well enough to prevent droop (mine does) and so you will have no need for this part. If however you find that it does droop enough to cause a problem, you can temporarily keep it from fouling the X-carriage by positioning the extruder elsewhere on the X-arm or on the top of the arm rather than in a slot, which will work perfectly well and allow you to print whatever you need for a permanent solution (you may well decide on printing one of the alternative extruder designs). Fitting the rear support if you decide to print one is a question of merely removing two bolts from the extruder and replacing with the part held with longer bolts, so will take 5 minutes and does not involve any disassembly whatsoever.

Dave

This is a quick design that should do the trick in principle, though I made it without having the printer with me. The SCAD file is included and is parametised so easy to change if I have any measurements wrong.

Dave

Quote
dmould
This is a quick design that should do the trick in principle, though I made it without having the printer with me...
Dave

..and the thingiverse verision is now fixed, so start you engines gentlemen..

[www.thingiverse.com]

Erik

Hi Guys,

but this is an easier way .
Just a piece of folded paper between the extruder and holder clamped and that's it ..
This solution works for me since about 1kg filament properly.
Sorry for my english, google translate ...; -)

greetings
Kistenschieber

Hi Dave,

Thank you very much for your help and design, someone printed one from the thingiverse file for me.

And Thank you to everyone else who answered with helpful ideas.

Brian.