I just wanted to bump the thread and remind people looking for parts that I am sill making and selling these parts. I just sent out 3 sets earlier this month. Contact me if you need some parts. Joshby jupdyke - For Sale
I really didn't change very much. I split a few parts in half to make them as two parts that sandwich together and I added some bolt holes. But the parts I list here are all comparable with a regular Mendel. I have seen a little information about the isaac project, but my goal was to mill the parts I could to save time printing, not redesign the Mendel. I hope that helps expain. Joshby jupdyke - For Sale
I have finished up all the orders I had received and now my mill is sitting idle. Anyone need some parts? 10% discount for the rest of the week. Joshby jupdyke - For Sale
I am using the makerbot firmware and ReplicatorG, so I don't know exactly where it is. But in ReplicatorG you can define your machine and part of that is how many steps is equal to one millimeter. I assume that the same can be done with the RepRap software. But I don't know exactly where. I am working on getting the RepRap software up and running as well. cheers, Joshby jupdyke - General Mendel Topics
Erich, Thanks for the information. I am currently running Gentoo and am familiar with the live cds. I was just curious if the reprap software was easy to get running on a linux box. I think a live cd or live usb drive for reprap would be great. Basically any of the linux distributions, with the reprap software compiled, and on a usb thumb drive. You could then just boot off the thumb drive, adby jupdyke - General
I have another random question. I had to give back my sisters laptop which is what was driving my Mendel. Now I need to set up a new machine and I am thinking about using a linux machine. Linux does a better job of managing resources and I would be able to use one of my older computers. So is there linux versions of the software? Can anyone send me a link? What I think would be amazing would beby jupdyke - General
Very cool. We are getting close to finishing our first Mendel, once we get the extruder working we should be good to go. Then the remaining 3 mendels should come together very quickly. Once all that is done I plan on making a larger mendel. Like I said before I am not sure that I will go all the way to the size of the Apollo. I really just want a little more room for additional exturders and othby jupdyke - General
Has anyone made any progress with the Mendel Apollo? I am almost finished with my first Mendel and we have two more about %50 done. I was thinking about making a slightly larger one after we finish. Maybe something with a work envelope of something like 300mm x 300mm. So has anyone got this to work? cheers, joshby jupdyke - General
Hmm, no takers. What if I drop the price to $25 per set? cheers, Joshby jupdyke - For Sale
I purchased drive pulleys specifically to avoid that kind of issue. Mcmaster has some that matched my motors and belts perfectly. The only drawback is they have 10 teeth instead of 8. (I lose a little torque and gain some speed) They cost me about $7 each. So for about $25 you might be able to solve your problem. They drive my machine super smoothly. Also someone posted that they were willing toby jupdyke - General Mendel Topics
All, Thanks for the advice. I went to the machine shop to try to knurl shaft of my motor. I was never planning on taking the motor apart. I have done that before and it is a huge pain. But the motor would chuck into the lathe without taking it apart because its a dual shaft motor. The bad news was that the lathe that could hold the motor didn't fit the knurling tool, and the lathe that the knuby jupdyke - General
I have a dilemma about the extruder motor shaft. I am trying to decide if I should put splines on the motor shaft, or knurl it. I have access to a lathe and knurling tool, and the motor is dual shafted. So I could put it in the lathe and knurl it pretty easy. As for splines I would have to build the jig that uses a Dremel to spline it. So what should I do? I think knurling it would be easier toby jupdyke - General
I am working on building the Mendel Extruder documented here It does not say anything about the shaft of the motor having splines. Can anyone tell me if you have build this extruder and if you got good results without it having splines? If so what is the torque on your motor? Joshby jupdyke - General Mendel Topics
Is there a big need to make the Mendel lighter? I have not noticed that the weight was prevented me in doing anything. I can see how keeping the moving parts lighter weight would help reduce inertial while printing. But for the over all machine weight it is pretty easy to pick up and move? I guess my question is what are you doing with your Mendel that making it lighter would help? Joshby jupdyke - General Mendel Topics
Well that is very kind of you. I must not have come across that while browsing the forum. I still feel a little better with using these because the drive pulleys are so critical to avoid slipping of the belt and because I will not have to file my motor shafts. cheers, joshby jupdyke - General
Asking questions is that a bad thing. Honestly that is how most of us learned what we do know. The new printer design is pretty well documented and that helps a lot. I am a firm believer that if you want something enough you will go learn everything you need to in order to get what you want. So the question is do you want a 3d printer enough to build it yourself? If not, to give you an idea ofby jupdyke - General
In case anyone actually is interested, I speced out some drive pulleys for my Mendel. I am all for printing as many parts as possible, but at the same time their are benefits of using stock materials when I can. Here are some of my reasons. 1.) When price is not significant, accuracy is more important then making the part myself. I think these parts are going to be more accurate then anything Iby jupdyke - General
In figuring out how to mill the z-axis parts I made two sets that were not quite perfect. These parts are still %100 usable, they just might require a little tweaking. The first set has too large of holes for the bolts that hold them together. You could just drill some new holes somewhere else in the part and they would work fine. here is a picture of the first set. The second set the partsby jupdyke - For Sale
Here is a image of the parts I can make, can't make and those somewhere in between. Parts Glossary Dark Blue: These parts are 100% mill-able and I am comfortable selling them. The geometry of the parts match what a 3-axis mill can do and I have not worries about them working perfectly fine. Light Blue: These are parts which I milled for my own RepRap and they work, but might not be the best opby jupdyke - For Sale
Here is the z-leadscrew clamp Price: $5 for a set of two Number needed per Mendel 1 set Well back to the shop to make some more parts. I can also do the thick sheet parts if anyone wants them, and I am happy to try to mill any parts you want. Just let me know what you would like to try and make. Joshby jupdyke - For Sale
Here is the right side. It is very similar but holds a pulley instead of a motor. This is also two printed parts in one. Price: $30 per pair, which makes a single z-leadscrew and motor mount. Number Needed per Mendel: 1 Here are some more photos Photo1 Photo2 Photo3 Photo4 The price is so high because the part is huge and requires 5 machining operations. I use 3 different bits and have to flipby jupdyke - For Sale
Hello all, I have been busy working, but finally carved out some time to make a few more parts. These are the largest parts on the Mendel. They are actually two parts when you print then, but I have seen them done as one part. Anyway here is what I can make. If you want more photos here are some links showing each of the parts in detail. Bottom side 1 Bottom side 2 Top side 1 Top side 2 Prby jupdyke - For Sale
I don't know of any official 2d drawings. But this is where the 3d models are. You can use them to create what ever 2d files you want. That is what I did for my cnc machine which needed dxfs Joshby jupdyke - General Mendel Topics
I just be crazy, but who knows. I was talking with a friend about the nozzle for the extruder and he was having trouble imagining how big 0.5mm was. He finally looked at me and said something along the lines of "oh like the 0.5mm lead pencils." Then he looked at me and asked why I couldn't just use the tip of a mechanical pencil, the kind that have the metal cone... to which I said, I don't knowby jupdyke - General
In case you care those are called Tee Nuts in most places in the US. You can usually get them at a local hardware store. Joshby jupdyke - For Sale
I am curious about the purge plate for the Mendel. I am guessing that this is where you extruded plastic to make sure the printer is ready to print, but I can't find any documentation about it. Is there more to it then that? Is there a wiki page or forum post I am missing. just curious, joshby jupdyke - General Mendel Topics
Hello, I just wanted to let anyone who is interested know that I have a job shop. I have the following tool: CNC Router - I can mill part out of wood, plastic, and soft metals. The work envelope is about 20"x20"x6". Mini-Lathe - I just got a mini-lathe which can turn 7" diameter parts 10" long. Full Lathe - This is a full size lathe and can do almost anything the mini-lathe can't. Mig Weby jupdyke - Job Shop: I make stuff!
I can cut the thick sheets out for you on my cnc mill. The board that holds the stepper motors is a little to big for my mill, but I could make it in two parts. If you are interested I can send you some photos and a quote. Joshby jupdyke - General Mendel Topics
Hello All, I wanted to post the parts I can now machine on my CNC mill which I built. These parts are made from hard plastic, I believe it is polyethylene but it is not documented. They are very strong parts because they are solid. The dimensions have been modified slightly to make them possible to mill. All the parts are 0.45" thick, because that was the thickness of the stock material. But I hby jupdyke - For Sale
But it looks so pretty on the wall. Joshby jupdyke - General Mendel Topics