Help me get started with RepRap

Hey I'm new here, nice to meet you
I've bin dreaming for a 3d printer for a long time now and have finally decided to get started
As far as I understand you first build a RepStrap and then use it to make a "real" RepRap.. Right?

I'm an precision mechanic apprentice, and I'm able to make metal parts as well as plastic parts. I'm pretty decent at CAD (not so much CAM yet but I'm learning)
My "only real" problem at this point is that I'm not that experienced when it comes to the electronics (e.g. Arduino...never touched it before)

If I "just" build a "frame" like this (attached) with 3 axis, and connect a stepper motor to each axis (feedscrew) and one to the extruder, is there any "plug-and-play" drivers/ curcuits I can hook it up to or do i really need to learn how to make curcuits first?? :/

I'm trying to do this on a low budget, so I'm making the parts myself (most of them) so I only need to buy the electronics; stepper motors, driver and maybe extruder.
Help Me I Can't wait to get started
- By The Way, this sketch is just a sketch and I will use rods and bearings or similar instead of the drawer slides in the picture.

You don't need to understand the detailed electronics , you could buy a presoldered sanguinolulu / gen5 / etc etc and just couple your motors and limit switches up to the board. You'll probably have to do a bit of soldering to get stuff connected but nothing too tricky. Having said that the more you understand about the electronics the likelier you are to be able to sort the problems that you'll inevitably come across - but a lot of this learning can be achieved as you go through construction.
Good luck and have fun

Yes I was thinking the same thing, I guess I'll learn more about the electronics as I go (I'm willing to learn and I find it interresting)

Does it have to be a specific board to run the RepRap software?
Are you reffering to an Arduino shield or do I not need any arduino or what?
can I use something like this 5 axis stepper driver
or can you tell me what I'm looking for (possibly a link)?

thanks

I have no link with the vendor of the attached links (other than he sold me stuff for my mendel 90 which worked and answered all the dumb questions I asked) and there are plenty of others but you want something like :

[www.ebay.co.uk]

or

[www.ebay.co.uk]

Tegtech,

Are you considering building a leadscrew-driven machine or a belt-driven one?

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- akhlut

Just remember - Iterate, Iterate, Iterate!

[myhomelessmind.blogspot.com]

I was planning on building one with feedscrews. but I can see that everyone else uses belts, is there a reason for this?

thanks logrod; what are the difference between the two links? there's a pretty noticable cost difference?? is it because one is with and one is without Arduino or...?
if I buy either one is it then all (electronics) I would need? thanks for your help so far

Well, primarily speed is the issue. I've seen a machine that used multi-start leadscrews, but it also needed NEMA23 steppers and the appropriate dirvers. Not really an issue, just another component. All the drivers Repraps typically use are for ~1.7A NEMA 17's. So leadscrews are out and belts are in.

Don't let that discourage you though - if you really want to build a leadscrew reprap and have access to the tools then by all means! Just know that you are off the beaten path.


The sanguino is an all-in-one package, whereas the RAMPS setup requires an arduino mega. Both require stepper drivers, but RAMPS is more modular which is nice - blow something up amd you don't have to toss the whole thing. Although the same can be said of the sanguino - it's mostly through-hole construction, so you could easily replace a bad component. Either one will work.

Keep asking questions!

---

- akhlut

Just remember - Iterate, Iterate, Iterate!

[myhomelessmind.blogspot.com]

I think I'll go with belt drive then (for a start at least) don't want to be alone when I run into problems and need help besides the belt drive looks to be accurate enough when I look at the printed parts you people make. Btw. on one of the ebay links it says you can buy it with or without polulus... what's a polulu??
which curcuit would you say would be the easiest/ best?? I guess I'll have to learn programming a bit anyway, is it the same "language" or what?? thanks

Belt drive is normally used X & Y as it reduces mass and momentum, its less of an issue for Z as normally there is far less Z movement and its all one way (a big difference from traditional CNC) - unless you're building a Rostock- so many designs use screw drive for Z axis.
Pololu is a brand of stepper driver (generally well regarded). As Akhlut said you'll need stepperdrivers for each stepper in addition to the basic electronics board (they basically just piggy back on the boards)

Just an aside , the stepper controller you linked originally while often used for CNC isn't used very often for RepRapa as far as I can see mainly due to the fact that you still do most of the processing on your PC with that system rather than on the Sanguino/gen7 /ramps etc, with the commands then being passed down the parallel interface cable. You'd then end up needing to run PC based CAM software rather than the arduino based firmware most people use. Most of the current electronics now seem to have the ability to run off an SD card so once you've completed set-up via your PC it doesn't need to be attached the whole time. It probably makes little differnce when you're first starting but could be important later on.

Logrod,
Thanks it makes sence! it's sounds like a very good idea to use sanguino and pololus since I then can use the Reprap without it being connected to the PC (very usefull!). And it looks to be a lot of usefull info about that out there since thats what most (many) others went with, so I'll go with something that's bin done (and documented) before.

Is there any thing I can/ should do to make the machine faster (faster printing).
Is it the motors (alone?) that control the "top speed" of the reprap or is there any particular mechanical design that is good for "fast" (as possible) printing?
It could be nice to have a machine that spits a part out now and then instead of using a week a part (I think I'll be to excided to wait when i press "print" )

Btw. if I go with the sanguino (which I'm thinking about) is it then the Brains of the RepRap?
Do I plug it to the PC and then "just" program it?
Or is there another link between the sanguino and the PC?

...and thanks for your very usefull help so far!

I feel I should issue a "government Health Warning" here - I'm happy to give you my opinions etc but I'm a very inexperienced RepRapper still very much at the start of my own voyage of discovery so don't take every thing I say as correct - get as many opinions as you can

Answering the easy question first - yes the Sanguinolulu is the brains and you just connect it to your PC with a USB cable (you'll need to install the arduino development environment on your pc - instructions in the wikki)

Regarding speed I think its much more complicated and you definitely need to be asking someone else, but for what it's worth I think speed is a combination of various factors

Ability of the electronics to give stepper instructions fast enough 9and the stepper drivers to interpret the individual instructions)
Power/torque of the motors to move and accelerate the mechanics (which is obviously effected by the weight of the mechanics and the resistances eg bearing types)
Ability of your hot-end to deliver the plastic in the right quality fast enough

Tbh I'd ignore maxing speed and try and make your design robust and easy to tweak as I think you'll find (as I am atm) that the commissioning phase is quite long

I hear what your saying, it makes sence.
I'll start making a robust and steady frame/ body and then later on (possibly) upgrade it speed wise (if "needed")
So the sanguinolulu is programmed the same way as an arduino (with the same software)?

But I might as well buy "strong" stepper motors to begin with I guess it can't hurt? (if i can find them for a reasonable price)
btw. what stepper motors do you use? what is the torque?

On most reprap designs I've seen there is 5 stepper motors X:1 Y:1 Z:2 Extruder:1

and so there is on the diagram on the bottom of thisSanguinololu wiki page but on the top of the page, it says there can only be connected 4 stepper motors???:

"...Small design - board is 100mm x 50mm (4" x 2") - barely an inch longer than a business card!
Sanguino clone, Atmel's ATmega644P - ATmega1284 drop-in compatible!!
Up to 4 Pololu stepper driver boards (or Pololu compatible) on-board (X,Y,Z,Extruder) (without voltage regulator)
Supports multiple power configurations..."

ok i am finally starting to build my machine

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tegtech Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> On most reprap designs I've seen there is 5
> stepper motors X:1 Y:1 Z:2 Extruder:1
>
> and so there is on the diagram on the bottom of
> thisSanguinololu wiki page but on the top of the
> page, it says there can only be connected 4
> stepper motors???:


you connect the 2 z steppers to 1 driver. I have a Sanga board myself and very much happy with it, although im thinking about going to the Reprapworld megatronics kit wich has moreoutlets for LED and Fans. Sangaboards are pretty much basic and not really as expandable as other types like megatronics or RAMPS or whatever. but best bang for buck i think