This will provide some things to think about while you plan that next build:by the_digital_dentist - General
A boxer isn't trying to extrude plastic in a perfect pattern while he's taking punches.by the_digital_dentist - General
No, the foil/paper is peeled off (look at the videos previously linked), and yes, the stuff is apparently still sold under that name in the UK.by the_digital_dentist - General
Frame stiffness is about preventing unwanted motion of the extruder nozzle relative to the print bed because that affects print quality. If you put a floppy frame on a set of wheels, you still have a floppy frame and the extruder nozzle is still going to move relative to the bed. A floppy frame already moves when other parts of the printer move, so it won't improve anything to let the whole fraby the_digital_dentist - General
I will be wrapping the outside with heater wire and insulation, and using a PID controller to regulate temperature. I haven't decided if I'll melt the chocolate inside the extruder or melt it outside and pour it in. Melting it inside the syringe will be a very slow process because I can't let heater wire get too hot or the pipe will get damaged. Ultimately an aluminum or steel pipe will be a bby the_digital_dentist - Look what I made!
Quotethetazzbot It is not illogical to have four leveling screws vs three. Although it is agreed that three give a finer adjustment. The number of screws isn't the whole story. The surveying instruments your quote refers to were most likely very rigid assemblies (every surveying transit I've even seen was), and the way the four screws were attached and how they adjusted the height of the 4 supby the_digital_dentist - General
I couldn't figure out how to calculate the required force, so I went with what I thought would be enough. Keeping fingers crossed... starting tests tomorrow. http://forums.reprap.org/read.php?166,528570by the_digital_dentist - Paste Extrusion Working Group
Testing begins tomorrow! Planning initial test with pancake batter because I can control viscosity by varying powder to water ratio, and it's a lot cheaper than chocolate. http://milwaukeemakerspace.org/2015/07/making-a-plunger-for-a-chocolate-syringe/by the_digital_dentist - Look what I made!
I use Notepad++, but any text editor should work. The file fdmprinter.json contains a lot of the default values for speeds, etc. The individual printer profiles such as ultimaker2.json contain specifics for that printer. You probably want to start by copying ultimaker2.json, editing it for your machine, then save it under a new name that is descriptive of your printer. Then start up Cura and sby the_digital_dentist - General
I don't think the video shows ABS printing. That large an object printed without an enclosure would have delamination problems.by the_digital_dentist - General
You can edit the .json files in the settings folder.by the_digital_dentist - General
Quotethetazzbot so what i have is one static screw with a spacer in one corner, and three adjusters in the remaining corners. When you adjust the screw diagonally opposite the spacer, what do you think the bed is going to do? If the corner with the spacer were free to move, the bed plate would pivot about the other diagonal. Since you have fixed the corner with a spacer, instead of pivoting abby the_digital_dentist - General
I challenge you to draw two points such that I cannot draw a straight line between them.by the_digital_dentist - General
Optimization implies a trade between cost and performance/quality. The i3 isn't cost optimized, it is cost minimized without regard to performance or reliability. Using threaded rods and dual motor drive in the Z axis isn't an optimization, it's just a poor way to lower cost. Likewise using 4 screws to level the bed indicates a minimum of thought/understanding went into the "design". Maybe I'by the_digital_dentist - General
My experience with cheapo GT2 pulleys is that errors in the tooth profile and even center hole position probably cause bigger print defects than using a smooth bearing surface. I went through three of those pulleys looking for one that had satisfactory center hole position for the X axis drive motor. They were literally so bad that you could see the thing wobbling as the motor turned. My X aby the_digital_dentist - General
Maybe the people who tried cubic frames used extrusions with too small a cross section for the job, just as most (all?) the kits use too thin acrylic, mdf, aluminum sheet, plywood, etc. For some reason everyone buys 20mm square extrusions. If they build something with it and it doesn't work they conclude that aluminum extrusions suck, when it is just the 20mm cross section is too small for theby the_digital_dentist - General
Do the other motors in the printer work? If so, swap in the motor in question and see if it works in another motor's position.by the_digital_dentist - Stepper Motors, Servo Motors, DC Motors
You'll want kapton, PEI, or PET tape on the bed, clean it with acetone before printing, and set bed temp to 90-110C. No cooling fan. Extruder temp 230-250C, depending on your machine and the filament.by the_digital_dentist - General
You're experiencing a symptom of a non-rigid printer frame. The same thing probably happens to a lesser degree even when the machine sits on a solid surface.by the_digital_dentist - General
The telescope has motor drive built in, though I'm getting excessive lash in one axis that I need to repair. Once I move it far enough to take out the lash, it tracks well enough for viewing, but I don't know if it is smooth enough for photo work. It's a "toy" telescope, though, not really meant for anything serious.by the_digital_dentist - Look what I made!
When you mount the levelers, you want them to be next to the bearings. If you put them on opposite sides- two levelers on the edge of the plate with one bearing, The undercarriage plate will be able to flex. Putting the bed levelers next to the bearings -one leveler next to the side with the single bearing and two on the other edge- they'll have much more solid support. There won't be anythingby the_digital_dentist - General
If the two run along the X axis and the third adjusts the roll around the X axis, the roll screw will be at the front edge of the bed and the pitch adjust screw at the back edge which might make it hard to reach. If the two are aligned with the Y axis, the reference screw is at the back, the pitch screw at the front edge and the roll screw at the mid point of either the left or right side of theby the_digital_dentist - General
Even if those holes were tapped, it would not be sufficient for leveling screws. Grab any screw/nut and try wiggling the nut on the screw. It moves a lot. Now imagine standing your bed plate on 3 of those. What will happen to the plate when the Y axis reverses direction? In my printer I drove the leveling screws into teflon blocks with undersized holes so the screws would form their own threby the_digital_dentist - General
That plate looks a lot better than the one you started with. Just drill a third hole next to the single bearing. If you're looking for something premade that is exactly what you need to fit your machine I think you'll be looking for a looooong time, and maybe never finding.by the_digital_dentist - General
Bolts/threaded rod works fine for me. You have to put nuts on either side of the bearings to keep them from moving around. This is one place where threaded rods are acceptable...by the_digital_dentist - General
What is different between when you tested the motor on the printer and when you tested it off the printer? Cable? Load? Driver?by the_digital_dentist - Stepper Motors, Servo Motors, DC Motors
I've never seen a scissor lift that didn't wobble.by the_digital_dentist - Mechanics
I more recently designed an adapter to mount my phone on the same telescope- it shoots higher resolution stills and video. You can see it and a picture of the moon here: The magnification with the 32mm eyepiece is a little too low for shooting Jupiter/Saturn - all you'll see is a couple circular dots. I have a 14mm eyepiece that I'll be designing a mount for- it's a little harder to do becauby the_digital_dentist - Look what I made!
I'd worry less about the torque than the noise and vibration. 8825s are chopper drivers like the slightly lower current 4988s. DSP based drivers sense and modulate current around resonance and allow finer microstepping, both of which contribute to reduced noise and vibration.by the_digital_dentist - Developers