Portable reprap discussion.

Hello there! I have recently gotten involved with the 3D printing movement, and since building a successfully functioning Prusa i3, I am thinking about obtaining a portable-esk reprap either by kit, or by self-sourcing. I have looked over a few 3D printers that would either fold, easily disassemble, or carry around nicely that would be great for what I am looking for. My price range goes up to about 350$ Some repraps like the foldarap, teacup, and tantilus have caught my eye, however I have been also looking over the printrbot selection aswell. The simple makers kit seems to be nice, where it is small and at my price range. However, it may be difficult to disassemble the needed parts, and than reassemble them in a short enough period of time. I have thought about self-sourcing a printrbot jr, as their printing beds seems to be able to fold up. Does anyone have any other ideas? Has anyone either tried self-sourcing these printers, or lugging them around? What do you guys think? Thank you for helping me with a portable reprap dilemma. Have a great day!

Another idea: [reprap.org]

I'm currently sourcing this machine . There isn't many documentation about it, but I work with the pictures and the Mendel90 Bill Of Material. If you already build an i3, you may be able to build such a printer (if you like it).

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Prusa i3 - e3d v5 - Gnu/Linux - Pronterface - Slic3r - Octoprint - Rpi - French

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kimented_
Another idea: [reprap.org]

I'm currently sourcing this machine . There isn't many documentation about it, but I work with the pictures and the Mendel90 Bill Of Material. If you already build an i3, you may be able to build such a printer (if you like it).

Good idea! I have not seen this concept before. I will definitely consider it.

Has anyone here built/own their own foldarap? It looks like an interesting project, along with the original portabee.

Bump please.

Does anyone have any more suggestions?

I can cart my prusa i2 around in the back of the car without damage and not having to do much setup when i get to my destination.
I secure the bed with some velcro straps to stop it moving about.
Would be more convenient in a box.

But most printers if built properly are fairly robust and at the most would need fixing to some kind of base board then lock the moving parts in position for transit.
I have been considering puting my i2 on a base then building a transit box up around it that can be removed or used to shield it from cold drafts. As usually where your going to be printing the conditions arnt as controlled as at home.

However if i needed to move around more without a vehicle that wooden case based one is a very clever design.
I liked it the first time i saw it on hackaday months ago.

Gordon.

Good idea! I do like the durability of the i2. Good suggestion. Right now I am hauling my i3 to Chicago in a storage bin. Not very stable..

Delta printers such as the Mini Kossel are reasonably transportable. The rigid frame that encloses almost everything and the fixed bed help.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/05/2015 03:11PM by dc42.

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Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].

When I designed my SCARA printer, portability was at the top of the list of features. There is a thread in the Polar bots forum with lots of pictures. I'm in the process of designing and building another that is smaller and lighter.

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[scara3dprinter.wordpress.com]

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dc42
Delta printers such as the Mini Kossel are reasonably transportable. The rigid frame that encloses almost everything and the fixed bed help.

Okay, thanks for the input!

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Evil Monkey
When I designed my SCARA printer, portability was at the top of the list of features. There is a thread in the Polar bots forum with lots of pictures. I'm in the process of designing and building another that is smaller and lighter.

I have yet to look into scara arm 3d printers. It is a good idea though. I like the scara you are working on! I imagine that the bed folds into the casing. It looks like a cool idea. I am not too familiar with them, though.

Here is another take on the "suit case" style portable printer.

I love Ben Heck

[www.youtube.com]

Hi,

The SmartRap Mini is kinda portable.

Pull the Xbase off the Z rods, remove the Z rods and threaded rod, this packs it down to about 12x14x6 inches or so.

Not a briefcase, but a pretty small box. Toss in powersupply brick and spool.

I reckon something with an H style gantry and some sort of Z axis that collapses the printer down/raises it up would be the ultimate in portable printers. No folding out, no set up on location, just plug and play.

[reprap.org]

here's a thread sorta linking to/discussing the printer. I'm debating creating something similar but I find myself wondering why. I personally don't have to transport my printers very often at all, and if it's just moving between desks or rooms in the house I imagine a more rigid cube like design would be better. The space saving aspect sort of appeals to me though, but overall it seems like a novelty.

EDIT: Actually, this seems like a neat idea for an engraver/mill so you can pick up the machine and place it on larger work pieces and have it work from anywhere. Sort of like DjemonD's delta in a tube idea.

EDIT2: Here's another implementation [www.youtube.com]

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/21/2018 02:53AM by Trakyan.