Designs for i3 with Nema 23s?

Hey Guys

I've been planning on building a i3 for some time. I have access to a 3d printer, laser cutter and cnc mill.
I've also been given 4 Nema 23's...and so I was thinking of using them instead of having to buy a whole punch of 17s.
Has anyone ever seen an i3, with nema 23's, and if so do you know where i might be able to get models to print parts for it.
Or do you think I'm going to need to design parts myself? Also can i use the same Ramps board and motor drivers?

Thanks

here you go [reprap.org]

NEMA23 tells us nothing about their electric specification.
There are high voltage types and/ or high current types, which wouldn´t work well with Ramps.
4 big steppers are OK for a I3 frame ( IMHO doesn´t make sense, but OK ), but I wouldn´t recommend one for a direct drive extruder
-Olaf

Hi,

IMHO Nema23 are not the best choice for a I3 :
You don't need that extra torque and structure must be upscaled to stand that power.
Nema23 motors will vibrate too much at low speed.
That means on X and Y and extruders it's not a good idea obviously.
If you keep on with this choice, maybe it's wise to think about
a reduction on these two axis and extruder too.
Of course, don't ever think about a direct drive extruder.

Maybe you should consider any other printer achitecture like Delta or CoreXY.

Search for "Son of Megamax" on Instructable. If I remember well Nema23 are used,
but the overall structure is pretty different.

++JM

If I were in your shoes, I would try to trade the steppers for 5 NEMA17, 1.7A
-Olaf

I saw that the cartesia uses nema23s. I was thinking of building a more heavy duty machine down the line, perhaps making a 3d printer/cnc mill combo. But i thought i should start with something simple for starters to learn 3d printing. That's why i was thinking i3.

Perhaps i should set the nema23s aside until later...

Hi,

You're probably right.

IMHO, a CNC mill and a 3D printer must share nothing.
A mill produce dust it's precisely what 3D printer hates.
A printer needs to be light and fast,
and a mill needs to be heavy and its bits
don't need any speed at all.

Build a CNC with your nema23, then use it to build a 3D printer,
and save time and money

++JM

Ok, so I did some research on these steppers, and I actually think they might be perfect, because they almost spot on with the nema 17's required specs.

So I'm assuming that they bi-polar because of the four leads (they got 6 pins but only 4 of them have leads connected to them)
1.8 step, rated at 1.4 A, 54 Ncm holding torque.
These particular ones have a "low noise, low vibration laminated stator"

[www.eminebea.com]

I would think then the only problem would be their weight?
So I was thinking If I get a nema 17 for the x-axis, I could probably use these for the Z & Y axis, as well as for a bowden extruder system.

What are your thoughts?

BTW If I was to change designs, to a XY Core or Delta.

What would you guys recommend?

What I liked about Prusa i3, and what I'd be looking for in another design is:

I would like something that has a big community/support around the design.
I've already purchased an Arduino, Ramps 1.4 kit with LCD, so I'd like to use that if possible.
My preference is for the structure and majority of the parts to be lasercut or printed, rather than bought (I'm in South Africa, and the postage from china is incredibly slow and unreliable)
Oh, and obviously I'm looking for something that will be able to print to a high quality, once I've ironed out all the adjustments.