Wilson II Questions

Hi - I'm sourcing the parts to build one of these as my first 3d printer.

I'm in Australia, so the most viable source for components is China, locally in some rare cases (we tend to be reamed by local distributors).

The BoM etc is a little vague in places. Questions...

1. Given the GT2 pulley is driving a 6mm belt, what is the optimum pulley depth/gauge on the face engaging the belt - 7mm?
2. The NEMA 17 stepper motors are referred to as needing to be "high torque" - I'd like to get the largest/highest torque motors that will fit and not be too heavy. What is the ideal height - e.g. 48mm?
3. The MDF board in the standard kit is laser cut. Is there any reason it can't be hand cut and drilled on a bench drill? It doesn't look like sub-mm accuracy is needed. Is there a better material to make this from? Can I make it thicker without subverting the design?
4. The heated PCB bed is listed as a Mk1 - I assume there's no reason it can't be another variant; e.g. a Mk2a?
5. The heat bed PCB seems to be an odd size, and I am struggling to find it listed at reputable chinese sellers. I have seen references to ppl getting these delivered warped and then buying one from the US etc. I get great PCBs made in china often. Is there some exotic reason why I shouldn't be looking to get one from China?
6. Springs are listed as being an inch unsprung. Is it critical that they are ~25mm, e.g. 20mm won't do? Any idea of actual tension/gauge?
7. Hotend. I like the look of the E3dV6. Given the .stl for the fan duct is named for the lite, are they the same form factor?
8. Hotend. The Chimera looks cool. But I may be going into 'hamburger with the lot' mode. Does this require mods to fit? Should I start with the V6 until I know what I'm doing?
9. I would find a CNC machine handy. Is fitting a dremel for CNC'ing viable? Or is it better to have a separate, dedicated CNC machine.

Thanks!!!

@phibez3000

Just wanted to put it out there that I am in now way anywhere near an expert on any of this, and I'm also going to (hopefully) build a Wilson II soon.

1. I haven't seen a spec regarding pulley depth/guage, and any pulley branded as for a Prusa i3 should do fine. Easyreprap has a set of pulleys and belt for a good price.

2. For motors, the extruder needs a high torque motor, but the others don't *have* to be, and many cheaper kits have 1 high torque motor and 4 lower torque motors. I'm going with these which are all high torque motors (83.6oz.in) and 48mm tall. Any more than this is probably overkill for a Prusa i3.

3. The MDF board is used to connect the bearing / pulley system to the heated bed and doesn't have to be made out of MDF afaik. Using a thicker material shouldn't be a problem, but the screws used to connect the printer part to it might have to be longer since they go through the MDF. Also, I plan on using a jig saw to cut the MDF (not precise at all with my cutting skills. The only thing is that the MDF hits the endswitch to home the printer, so it should be cut half-decently.

4. I think its listed as a MK1 since its 200x300mm, when most are 200x200mm. I haven't seen a MK2a heated bed that size, but it shouldn't be a problem to use if it exists. I'm probably buying a standard sized heated bed since I would rarely print something bigger.

5. A heated bed is one component I wound't cheap out on, which is why I'm getting one from easyreprap, which as a decent price. As long as the seller has good reviews, you *should* be fine, but lesser quality heated beds take longer to heat up, if they can at all.

6. The springs for the extruder should be 'high tension' since they put pressure to make sure the filament goes into the extruder. I just found an ebay listing that said they are for extruders. 20mm vs 25mm *shouldn't* be a problem, since for the extruder the bolts could just be tightened more and the heated bed doesn't have to be raised the extra 5mm.

7-8. I have no clue.

9. As in put a dremel on isntead of the hotend and use it as you would a CNC machine? You might want to take a look at this [forums.reprap.org]

@awesomed1 - thanks. Some good advice there.

I also got a lot of good tips on reddit, and have decided to build a 300*300*300 Wilson II. I am going to consider CNC as a separate project/device, trying to do that on a 3D printer is clearly a bad idea for all but the slightest jobs.

I think I can source a 300*300 bed, but if not I'll get smaller ones and place an aluminium plate (failing that copper) over them.

@phibez3000

I've definitely seen 300x300mm heatbeds on ebay, but as I remember it they weren't cheap and I don't know how much shipping to Australia is.

Just out of curiosity, do you have a specific need for the larger bed size?

Quote
awesomed1
@phibez3000

I've definitely seen 300x300mm heatbeds on ebay, but as I remember it they weren't cheap and I don't know how much shipping to Australia is.

Just out of curiosity, do you have a specific need for the larger bed size?

No specific need - a few ideas, but really just want the versatility. There's another guy in Australia who's pushing the limits with a 430mm cubed build!

Wow I want to see how these turn out. It kinda makes me want to build a bigger printer .