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Re: Design a perfect 3D printer - 14 years ago

Thanks. I spoke with vxb..seems that they can't do custom size rods at a reasonable price. Maybe I'll just go with THK linear rails. But I'll have to find some with not too much preload. I'm going to spend this weekend thinking about the size of this machine, then I'll contact my 80/20 distributer to make an appropriate table. Just so I know what is necessary for this wiki thing, what are th

by HereinCS - Reprappers

Re: Design a perfect 3D printer - 14 years ago

I wouldn't mind building a t-slot machine for your wiki. A 16 x 24" machine foot print will likely limit the build area to 12" x 18" at most, or do you mean a machine that can build 16 x 24"? I'd like to use metal rods as linear guides rather than THKs, since custom THD rails can run quite a bit costly. Can you suggest a reputable linear rod dealer that can cut the rods to custom lengths?

by HereinCS - Reprappers

Re: Design a perfect 3D printer - 14 years ago

You are right, I really should look at some live samples prior to doing my own. Too bad there's not much where I live. Perhaps the next time I'm in CA I'll have to look for a local reprap group. In regards to filament size, if smaller does not equal higher resolution, then what's the advantage? Why are people seemingly moving towards smaller filament size?

by HereinCS - Reprappers

Re: Design a perfect 3D printer - 14 years ago

May be I'll have to be a bit more specific. I do have some experience with building CNC machines. Building, not operating, since I managed to blow up one stepper motor and destroyed a gecko drive last night. That gecko drive was supposed to be 'indestructible'. I do have a machinist working for me to help with any machining work. Having never seen a 3d printer in real life, I can't make some

by HereinCS - Reprappers

Design a perfect 3D printer - 14 years ago

I know this is a reprap forum...but I'll ask the question: If you can design a 'perfect' 3D printer, what would you do? Which parts would you use? Cost is not a major issue, just as long as I don't get " why don't you just buy an xzy machine" answers. Here's what I have: 1. willingness to learn to do anything new 2. I have a makerbot complete electronics set 3. I have lots of stepper moto

by HereinCS - Reprappers

Re: What is the main constraint for building large objects - 14 years ago

How long does the part need to be heated? Say I build a 6ft tall object, does the entire object need to be at 50'C or 100'C? or can the bottom parts be allowed to return to room temperature as the build goes up? I figure I can build a heat ring using coil heater parts. This ring would be around 1' high and ride up with the nozzle. But that assumes that the bottom part will be ok to cool down

by HereinCS - Reprappers

What is the main constraint for building large objects - 14 years ago

I was wondering, what limits the size of a build object? I see that the tallest part built so far is only around 11". I have a ton of rails, slides, and was wondering what would prevent me from building large object such as a human size object?

by HereinCS - Reprappers

What does a makerbot extruder controller do? - 14 years ago

So I decided to go with Makerbot electronic components. The latest mother board and drivers. I'm about to buy the MK6 extruder package. I realized that the extruder controller is not included. It's quite expensive at $90....is it required for maintaining the extruder temperature and the base temperature? Would a less expensive PID temp controller do the same trick?

by HereinCS - Controllers

Re: Help in understand the electronics needed for a custom build. - 14 years ago

What would happen if I drive a 3.2a motor with a driver capable of only 2.8A?

by HereinCS - Controllers

Re: Help in understand the electronics needed for a custom build. - 14 years ago

Thanks for all the input guys. It seems that a makerbot motherboard with geckodrives is the way to go. I have both the gecko g540 and g203v. Would the issue of signal strength be more problematic with the g540 than the g203v? I don't mind springing for 3 new drivers as long as they would work better. Any recommendations?

by HereinCS - Controllers

Re: Help in understand the electronics needed for a custom build. - 14 years ago

SebastienBailard Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > 'Jim's machine is going to paste as well as cut' I'm actually going to use this particular machine to print only. I already have 2 routers.

by HereinCS - Controllers

Re: Help in understand the electronics needed for a custom build. - 14 years ago

Thanks for your advice. Perhaps I'll take another look at EMC. Which brings up another question. Do I have to use a Makerbot mother board at all? Can I just use say a Gecko g540, which has 4 axis and a built in parallel port breakout board. I'm not a programmer so I looked at Makerbot motherboards just as a turn key solution, but if I don't have to use it, than that's all better. Can Replic

by HereinCS - Controllers

Re: Help in understand the electronics needed for a custom build. - 14 years ago

I thought that the Gen 4 mother board was the latest. Perhaps I should wait a bit for either Gen 7 or Monotronics? Which s the better way to go?

by HereinCS - Controllers

Re: Help in understand the electronics needed for a custom build. - 14 years ago

Sebastien, Thanks for your advice. Is the Makerbot mb not Arduino mega based? I think it plugs onto a Mega board. I am building a large CNC router from extrusions, but I don't think it will translate well to a 3D printer. A much, much simpler, less expensive, and more precise way to build a 3 axis cnc machine is to buy ballscrew driven rails and just stack them together. I spend around $1

by HereinCS - Controllers

Re: Help in understand the electronics needed for a custom build. - 14 years ago

I've read the EMC is the way to go. However, I'm don't know much software at all and the thought of running Linux is a bit intimidating. I might give it a go at a later stage. For now, if I just hook up the geckos to the Makerbot motherboard, would I encounter any compatibility issues? Am I giving up anything buy not using the Makerbot drivers? And lastly, is there a wiring diagram for such

by HereinCS - Controllers

Help in understand the electronics needed for a custom build. - 14 years ago

I'll start by saying thank you to everyone in advance. I want to build a custom 3D printer and would greatly appreciate everyone's advice on the electronics components. My machine is not built yet, but I do have the mechanical components already. I have a 24" ballscrew driven slide for the x axis, a similar 11" ballscrew drive for the y axis and a small 9" ballscrew driven slide for the z axis

by HereinCS - Controllers