No, I'm afraid I'm not nearly as qualified to answer particulars on the difficulties of printer setup as many of the others in the forum, who have far more practical experience with the printing process and can advise you far better than I. Certain things I can comment on authoritatively, (hardware being one) but that's not one I can provide yet. I could make guesses, but I think it's prudent forby xiando - Reprappers
Regarding the pulleys....Personally, I'd recommend that you purchase machined aluminum pulleys with IDs that match your motor shaft diameters and the type of belt you've employed. ~ $5-10 ea, it means a bit more cost up front, but in the end you'll be thankful for the improvement in your consistency and reduced frustration level. I don't know about you, but my time is worth far far more than $5by xiando - Reprappers
If he can get all the original files for the design in question in another cad format, great. Had you read my replies to him, you would know that I said as much already. Further, I was not trying to score political points by promoting a specific cad package, which, in my understanding of the origins and spirit of the open source movement and one of its children, the reprap project, would be contrby xiando - General
off topic, but thank you nophead for yet another sound bit of reading and equally sound advise. You are a real asset to this forumby xiando - General
KeithSloan, true enough. My point was simply that it is the most universal format available at present. And push comes shove, if stl is the only thing available, then at least one can print and although not ideal, import it and work from the files within many editors. Not nearly ideal, but far more so than encountering designs that only offer files one can neither open nor use to print. Obviouslby xiando - General
I suppose that could be a real benefit for those who are creating SAE versions of the printers. The build cost for a printer isn't chicken change, but the cost of plastic is an ongoing one that adds up to well over the initial investment in very short order for an aggresive "printee". Thanks for the heads-upby xiando - Plastic Extruder Working Group
karabas, do you mean "the belt is too tight" or "tighten the belt"?by xiando - General
So yeah, as you can see, there are a variety of native source files available, Some authors post their designs in whichever native format they work in, some provide both their native format and something that most folks can at least print and import (STL) Probably the best bet if you're attempting to get as many files in their most original format is to download (and when necessary purchase) andby xiando - General
I'm not aware of skp for the mendel. I've only downloaded STLs at thingiverse for various components. The various reprap wikis may also contain suitable files. So the short answer is I don't know. Thingiverse, wiki...that's all I can really offer.by xiando - General
EDIT: yes. If I'm not mistaken, all of the CAD packages I've noted above either integrate STL importers directly or they can be added on. Someone else will have to confirm for packages I don't use or can't use. (I use Sketchup and both import and export are free addons) I would note that for the fullest import of a fundamental design, STL is not ideal, since native CAD info is lost during conveby xiando - General
Presuming the FET used for the extruder is the same as that used for the heated bed, you should be fine. Although a bit more of a pain in the ass to find than I'm used to from the past 30 years of specifying components for far more serious endeavors, it appear the nozzle in question uses a 4.7 ohm resistor as the heater, which @12V source works out to a bit over 2.5A continuous. (ie, at 100% dutby xiando - Controllers
There are several parts to the equation In general, One designs in cad, then exports to a file format suitable for path generation, whose output is sent to a final program which is used to control the printing operation. In terms of what one uses to design a part, that's dictated solely by the choices you make and can afford. Some use free programs like Sketchup, Autocad123 (or whatever they'reby xiando - General
slip in your y-drive gear possibly? Did you file flats into the shaft to reduce slippage?by xiando - Reprappers
yw, and good luck. sourcing can be a bit of a pita (pita = pain in the ..derriere)by xiando - Stepper Motors, Servo Motors, DC Motors
Well, I can't do anything about that. I did what I could for you. In terms of purchasing foreign-made items, I'm not in any better position (aside from not being subject to any tariffs that Europeans insist on applying, which I do not believe has a counterpart here, at least for steppers). I purchased a set of 5ea, 56 oz-in motors a few months back and their shipping cost was equal to (actuaby xiando - Stepper Motors, Servo Motors, DC Motors
Hmm...Well, I'm not sure about Italy's access to ebay, but here's one for $8.30 US You could always email Wantai @ sales@wantmotor.com (where the motor is from)by xiando - Stepper Motors, Servo Motors, DC Motors
Then remove the PC from that part of the equation. Either way, it's very straightforward.by xiando - General
All depends on your particular system, but it is pretty straightforward. Monitor your power supply(s) AC input to measure its(their) line current load while printing an object, then add that to the host computer (measured as well) to find the total current load. Multiply by ~1.2 to be conservative (always a good idea in my opinion), then use a wizard at one of the UPS company websites to determinby xiando - General
If I'm reading your question correctly, the obvious answer is to move your limit switches.by xiando - General Mendel Topics
on a company getting back to an email....maybe so, but never say never.... Anyway, the good thing is that you can purchase new motors off ebay for about the same money as a latte, a 6-pack of beer, an inexpensive bottle of wine, or a few candy bars. Cheap thrills in the big picture.by xiando - Stepper Motors, Servo Motors, DC Motors
Hmm. I just goggled the part numbers. it was quite easy All the google entries for the first motor are in languages other than english, so you're on your own there the second has data at the eminebea website I think you ought to fire them off an email, since the datasheet for that series doesn't show the '106' variant, which kinda implies to me that it's no longer made.by xiando - Stepper Motors, Servo Motors, DC Motors
I would note that to avoid potential damage to the semiconductors, you should use a decoupled switch instead of touching wires to manually step an input to a motor driver.by xiando - Controllers
Zed, no question, inclusion would or will require more effective path generation for the purpose and additional hardware. but this is about ideas, from which springs reality, when interested and qualified folks read and are inspired.by xiando - General
Oh I agree completely! This was one of the first things I blabbered about with the guys who got me into the reprap project, after accidentally breaking a few of the items my friend had printed and realizing there was a small strength issue to be overcome. "Wow, this 3D printing is just too cool!!! And so stron....... oops sorry dude!" In any case, for me it's still pretty much an academic issueby xiando - General
Yeah, I'd think an encoder would be pretty much required for an electronic linkage, even if there were literally two motors involved. Lag could be an issue.by xiando - Stepper Motors, Servo Motors, DC Motors
"Seeing this small 3Ddoodle-'pen' in action I'm thinking about changing the slicing software, so it could crate coarse infill-grids not only in a plane but in Z too.' If I'm reading that correctly, that's what I meant by "z-axis banding"... applying lines of plastic ~perpendicular (or at an angle) to the layers in order to reduce the prints' inherent and improve resistance to delamination.by xiando - General
That's what I meant by "compression", ie the difference between the length of the relaxed filament vs when it is being driven forward. In this case, it doesn't literally mean that the filament has been reduced in length, but that the amount of filament in the tube is more when it's being driven than when relaxed. I probably should have said that a bit better in the first place. sorry...by xiando - General
Not to be obtuse, but sure. just rigidly couple the shafts. It's kinda silly but would definitely lock them in step. (I guess I'm not getting what you're intentions are)by xiando - Stepper Motors, Servo Motors, DC Motors
Heh...yeah, they can balloon...Nice that you have facilities and machining tools though, which cuts costs considerably. Your grandson will have quite an educational tool and you an incomparable "toy" that will be the envy of many a homebrew techjock. (myself included ) Very inspiring.by xiando - General
As James noted, demagnetization could be an issue in certain cases. Of course, if you do encounter that issue, you could print two mating parts and then glue them together to encapsulate an object like a neodynium magnetby xiando - Printing