Building my first 3d printer.

Hi. I received a box of bits yesterday that I ordered from reprappro so I joined the forum. I couldn't believe how many parts there were in that box when I opened it.

I started building it at 7pm last night with some help from my 10 year old son. he gave up and went to bed at half past eight. I probably should have given up and gone to bed at about 10pm ready for work this morning.

I gave up at 3.30am.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/26/2013 10:38AM by RemoteFlyer.

I joined yesturday as well.
Built a RepRap a I3X with instruction for a I3 machine.
Lets just say I launched a couple of "f" bombs during my build.

IMO, take it slow and many breaks in between


Welcome

Thanks makovai. I wasted the first few hours and built a lot of the frame but had to undo it. I missed the locking washers. this is how far I had got by 3am...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/26/2013 10:58AM by RemoteFlyer.

Hi RemoteFlyer!

I had a whole 10 days of the odd 2am with my Reprappro mendel My eyes stopped working after that! Looking good so far.

I think at this stage I was fretting over how tight the IGUS clips where on the smooth z rods (even after fettling the holes in the x axis parts)

That first ball of spaggethi may seem like a long way away but it get's there in the end.

Cheers,

Rob

Hi rob. I don't think I could keep up that pace for 10 days.

last night I built and fitted the first hot end. I was surprised how well designed and made these parts are.

Pocketmoon, makovai, and remoteflyer, it sounds like all of you went the route or purchasing a kit. What was your reasoning for not sourcing it yourself?

I ask this having moved well into the process. Yes I am having second/third thoughts about going this route. My justification being that I keep telling myself it is the best way to learn how this works.

I will be curious as to your answers.

Cheers!

Cybermastif

Pure Laziness I wanted the experience of a self-build but the instant fix of getting a box full of stuff all in one go. It would have taken me 3x as long to get my first print out if I'd self sourced (I get a bit bogged down when sourcing stuff)

My next printer will be a self-sourced though.

RemoteFlyer - the quality was fine for me but the fan was duff and stopped working mid-print = overheated hot end = massive clog :/ RRP sent me a new fan which didn't work at all. I ended up sourcing a new fan myself. The original extruder kit they supplied didn't work - it fell between the old design and the new and you couldn't make either from the bits in the bag - they sent me a new kit which was fine.

Things I wish I'd spend more time on during construction;

Getting a smooth fit between x-ends, IGUS clips and smooth z rods. Fine going up , stick/judder going down.
Tidy wiring! After 2 months my heated bed wires worked loose from the controller (held with a single cable tie). resulted in a short and melt of the green screw terminal. In the process of replacing the terminal as the board seems ok (phew!)


Rob

Cybermastif Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Pocketmoon, makovai, and remoteflyer, it sounds
> like all of you went the route or purchasing a
> kit. What was your reasoning for not sourcing it
> yourself?

Same here,
I have been around CNC machines as well as I used to own my own Wire EDM business where I worked on the machines for years. I thought if I built it myself, I would understand how they work and be more successful with the overall project. Building this unit was frustrating but I feel I learned a lot more by making my own mistakes and learning how to correct them.

I'm the same as pocketmoon. I wanted to build the printer but wanted it fairly quickly. I have sourced parts for projects before but usually end up wasting time and money on the wrong things. the RRP I bought has been brilliant so far but I did smash the teeth a hotend fan with my pliars so had to source a new one. I have also purchased fan guards.


I went for the rrp because I liked the open frame design and the melzi controllers are tidy. now I have it printing I am looking to build a smaller printer using arduino and Ramps boards. I will be self sourcing and printing this one myself though now I know what a 3d printer consists of.

I also had problems with jamming on the z axis but found that undoing the bottom supports on the z rails and then tightening them where they naturally sat in the bearings helped to stop them binding. also I had to file the grips that held the plastic bearings as they wer compressed far too tightly againts the smooth bar.

this is my first complete print. the first print was a pile of noodles the second a set of legs, the third was legs and waist. some more noodles in various colours. etc...



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/01/2013 09:50AM by RemoteFlyer.

Hi,

Not bad for a print with no support material. Surprised you got it to stick The 'optional fan holder' will help avoid the 'stirred porridge' look of small sections;

[www.reprappro.com]

Cheers

Rob

ha. yes. I'm looking at putting a blower on the extruder and that model did need some support material. I went through four sets of legs before realising that.