Plywood Frame

I am curious to know whether a single plywood frame will work for the Prusa I3. I have some plywood which is around 19mm thick. Will I still need "wings" for the frame or can I use it standalone as with the single sheet aluminium frame? Has anyone tried this before?

I would recommend to add some kind of braces.

What you're trying to build is what would be called a "single frame" type here too [reprap.org]

From what I observed, a lot of single frame prusa i3 owner often add braces linked from top of the main frame to the y axis rods using a long rods to make it look like box frame style (the one you would call "wings" at the sides)

Do correct me on adding the braces here

As for your question using 19mm thick, it should be fine just that you have to use longer screws for that one =)

Thanks for the response. I'll try that if I cannot get a reasonably priced aluminium frame laser cut. It will probably be another month or so before I get all the bits and pieces which I have ordered. I have completed the Y axis in the meantime.

Kind regards

Use plywood but I don't think single sheet is the way to go. I have used the i3 design and cut a piece of mdf to the single sheet design, then mounted that to a base board of the same material with triangular braces between the vertical and the base board. All biscuit jointed and glued, it's not going anywhere. There is a hole in the baseboard so I cane easily access the bottom of the platform.

This is so rigid, that if have taken it to other locations etc and do not have to recalibrate everytime, as it remains square and being on a rigid board I get no racking of the threaded rod assembly.

The more rigid the frame the better you printing experience will be.

Point taken! I was only curious because I thought 19 mm plywood was thick enough for a single frame. This is exactly the reason I joined this forum, to learn and draw from the experience of others. Thanks to you and all the others for sharing your knowledge and experience.
Would like to see a picture of your build. My next question is with regards to the Z axis top and bottom supports. I have noticed that the ones for a wood build have a support piece which goes around the side. The supports which I have are for a standard Prusa ie Aluminium single frame. Will this also work with a wood frame?

I have linked a photo of my printer with a frame made out of 10mm mdf.

The mistakes I made are the z axis is too far forward, although I have a fix for this, but have never bothered.

Next time I would put the braces closer to the printer bed and not on the edges, I think it looks better this way, but it would be more practical to mount the electronics on the outside.

Like all reprap printers it is a work in progress....

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/09/2016 03:14AM by ICon.

Thanks for the pic. That's a pretty decent looking machine you have there! What do you mean by the "z axis being too far forward"? Surely this is governed by the the support brackets.

I connected the z axis plate to the base too far forward and a a result the extruder is not at the back of the build plate when the plate is moved all the way to the front. This means my maximum build space is limited to 165mm y axis rather than the 200mm. I should note though that I have never needed the extra.. But I know the day will come.

Oh now I understand. Silly me! Thanks for all the info and support. I'll post in a month or two, depending on how long the parts I ordered arrive from China. I had to order from there. No choice with the weak South African Rand - currently around R16 to the $. I only purchased the printed plastic parts, stainless steel threaded rods, plain rod and nuts etc locally.

Best wishes and happy printing!
Until next time