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Re: Can you laser print on wood finish pla? - 5 years ago

I think I will just use metal plates and an engraver. probably better and less hassle!

by SplatHammer - General

Re: Can you laser print on wood finish pla? - 5 years ago

Or use a CO2-laser ... "Do you expect me to talk?" "No mister Bond, I expect you to die!"

by SplatHammer - General

Can you laser print on wood finish pla? - 5 years ago

Hi I am wondering if it is possible to laser engrave 3d printed woodfill PLA? I want to print small flat plaques with something like woodfill which is 80% wood/20% pla and then laser mark text on it. I am wondering if anyone has tried it and what sort of laser power you would need. The cheap chinese laser engravers come in 1000, 1500, 2500mW.

by SplatHammer - General

Re: Can anyone give advice on Linear rail preloading? - 6 years ago

Thanks for that - I tend to agree with you and will be getting the V0 grade. Actually it is only 1 block and rail as it is the x axis, and I am also only using 1 block per rail for the Y axis - the pair of blocks are rigidly connected via the x axis so I dont anticipate any problems, especially as the Y axis is being driven by 2 belts one on each side. Surprisingly the 15 and 20mm HGR rails/blo

by SplatHammer - Reprappers

Can anyone give advice on Linear rail preloading? - 6 years ago

I am about to start building my large (60x50x50 high) 3d printer. The last thing I need is the linear rail for the X axis. I have 2 x HiWin HGR20 rails for the Y axis which are H precision and V0 preload. I want to get a HGR15 from these guys which are made by CPC which I believe is South Korean. I will get the H precision grade but they offer the following preloads: preload: VC: Play 2μm - 13

by SplatHammer - Reprappers

Re: Urgent advice needed on warped ball screw! - 6 years ago

Thanks for the advice! Unfortunately I dont have the right tools, I will try 2 blocks of wood andtry doing it by hand. Or since the seller is a complete knob and didnt bother using ANY packing at all for 5 linear rails and 2 ball screws I think I will just go for a refund! believe it or not 2 of the linear rails didnt move, when I check them I found the ball bearings were SUPERGLUED in place and

by SplatHammer - Reprappers

Urgent advice needed on warped ball screw! - 6 years ago

Hi I made the mistake of ordering some parts from China including 2 1605 ball screws. I have just rolled them both across a perfectly flat granite slab and whilst one is perfect the other one is about 1mm out of true. These are for supporting the bed (Z-axis) and will be paired with 2 20mm linear rails. Do you think this is enough distortion to be a problem? I dont have much time to file for a re

by SplatHammer - Reprappers

Re: Has anyone tried using carbon fiber tube for the X axis? - 6 years ago

Quoteo lampe I've learned that pultruded rods are lower quality than woven ones. Maybe the woven tubes are made in a mould? That is very useful to know thanks! I have some threaded brass inserts which would be perfect for this. I have 2 types - one that pushes in from the front and another that goes in from the back with a flange to prevent pull through. I can use them for this. By the way I a

by SplatHammer - Reprappers

Re: Has anyone tried using carbon fiber tube for the X axis? - 6 years ago

Thanks for that! What is CA glue? I am thinking that the brass threaded mini inserts I use for printed stuff and bolts would work well if I can manage to get them in the right spot in the tube. I predict many hours of pulling my hair out trying the line them up!

by SplatHammer - Reprappers

Re: Has anyone tried using carbon fiber tube for the X axis? - 6 years ago

Thanks for the info, I will check it out. It does seem like a good idea as it has ideal properties. I do think that the pultruded would be best as it should have better straightness, I will check with the manufacturer to see if they have full specs.

by SplatHammer - Reprappers

Re: Has anyone tried using carbon fiber tube for the X axis? - 6 years ago

Cool idea - I could use anti-matter to cancel the mass, creating an inertia free beam! Seriously, I appreciate sensible answers only. Thanks.

by SplatHammer - Reprappers

Has anyone tried using carbon fiber tube for the X axis? - 6 years ago

Since its a good idea to keep the mass of moving parts to a minimum, I was wondering if anyone had tried using a square carbon fiber tube for the X axis? I am thinking of getting a 20x20 or so tube and mounting a linear rail on top. The advantage is extreme rigidity, light weight and low thermal expansion. The downside would probably be attaching parts to it. The rail could be epoxied to it and I

by SplatHammer - Reprappers

Re: Heavy 15Kg bed + ball screws = problems with Z axis motor holding? - 6 years ago

Thanks for that, having read more (I have flu and bronchitis so I have a bit of time off) I am going to halve the size for the first version so 50x60cm bed and no problems with weight. Thinking of trying a carbon fiber square tube for the x axis with a 9 or 12mm rail mounted on top.

by SplatHammer - Reprappers

Re: Heavy 15Kg bed + ball screws = problems with Z axis motor holding? - 6 years ago

Sorry, SplatHammer is my online gaming name (I have a 12 year old son) and given the varied accounts I have I try to keep it simple with minimal usernames!

by SplatHammer - Reprappers

Re: Choice of linear rail size - what to pick! - 6 years ago

Actually, to me all info is always useful, if not for this then for something else! I have decided you halve the size and just go with a single unit printer instead of 2 items at once, at least for the first version. I think I am going to try carbon fiber square tubing for the x axis to keep weight down and rigidity up, with the linear rail mounted on top of the tube.

by SplatHammer - Reprappers

Re: Choice of linear rail size - what to pick! - 6 years ago

Thanks for the advice. I have decided just to make the first version as a more normally sized 60x50cm bed and forget about having it print 2 copies at the same time. I looked at the amount of droop I would have and realised I would have to make the x axis at least 40x20, which would be a bit heavy. Just to be awkward I think I am goint to try making the x axis out of a cabon fiber tube with the r

by SplatHammer - Reprappers

Re: Heavy 15Kg bed + ball screws = problems with Z axis motor holding? - 6 years ago

Hi Thanks for that - I wasnt sure if the brake just came on after the bed had moved or if it was more for power loss. I am learning by reading posts and unfortunately some people post without really understanding what they are talking about - a poster on another thread wrote as if the brake could be engaged by the software after lowering the bed a step. I was dubious so thanks for confirming my s

by SplatHammer - Reprappers

Re: Heavy 15Kg bed + ball screws = problems with Z axis motor holding? - 6 years ago

Hi Deckingman Thanks, that does help! I am probably going to go with the ball screws, I worked out that with 16mm diameter screws with 4mm lead and 2 or 4 times advantage with pulley size I shouldnt have a problem I think ball screws will be smoother and more accurate, plus I get a nice kit with thrust bearings and a mounting block for the ball nut. A 1604 ball screw means that you are only looki

by SplatHammer - Reprappers

Re: Heavy 15Kg bed + ball screws = problems with Z axis motor holding? - 6 years ago

The motor I am planning on using is a nema 23 180 N.cm which is 256 oz-in. Yeah I guess I am worrying a bit too much!

by SplatHammer - Reprappers

Heavy 15Kg bed + ball screws = problems with Z axis motor holding? - 6 years ago

I will have a very heavy (about 15 Kg) heated bed which will be raised and lowered via screws. I plan on using ball screws as I figure acme screws might wear quickly, also the friction would make it harder for the motor to raise and lastly ball screws would be more precise and accurate. I plan on using about a 3:1 ratio on the pulleys driving the screws which will help, but I am worried the mot

by SplatHammer - Reprappers

Re: Support and motion for huge 100x60 mic8 bed - 6 years ago

Thanks Dentist! I figured that 2 or 3 screws with 2 linear rails in the middle of the short sides would be best. I dont want to over do the rails and wind up over constrained. What do you think would be best with 3 screws, 2 or 3 rails I could always have 2 screws and 1 rail on one side and 2 rails with 1 screw on the other side? The bed is going to be heated, I am printing PETG. It will be ins

by SplatHammer - Reprappers

Re: Choice of linear rail size - what to pick! - 6 years ago

Hi Dentist The bed will be moving up and down (Z axis). By gantry style I was just trying to state it wont be core XY.

by SplatHammer - Reprappers

Re: Super small AC bed heater, how to control it? - 6 years ago

Just to say make sure it is a DC-AC SSR as they come in several flavours - DC-DC, AC-AC, DC-AC. Also check the voltages.

by SplatHammer - Reprappers

Choice of linear rail size - what to pick! - 6 years ago

I am designing a really big gantry style printer for my business with a 60 x 100 cm bed. The printer will have 2 X carriages hooked together to make 2 identical prints at the same time. The X axis is the 100 cm one. I am looking at linear rails/bearings and am wondering which size to use. Even 9mm rails support far more load than I need but I am thinking that the larger 15mm and 20mm ones may be

by SplatHammer - Reprappers

Support and motion for huge 100x60 mic8 bed - 6 years ago

I am designing a really big printer for my business. The bed is going to be a 100cm x 60 cm chunk of 8mm aluminium which will be the Z axis. I am currently deciding how to support and move it. I am thinking of 2 x 20 mm linear rails and 2 x 16 mm ball screws or possibly just using 3 x 16 mm ball screws and no other means of support and guidance. By linear rails I mean the square ones with the re-

by SplatHammer - Reprappers

Re: Lots of advice required for large dual x carriage printer! - 6 years ago

Hi Dentist Thanks for the advice. I might give it a try, just wish it wasnt so damn expensive. Strangely that material is used in the manufacture of some kinds of paper so I cant understand why it is so expensive. I am wondering if it is just heavily marked up because it is being sold for 3d printing, kinda like putting the word "gun" in front of anything (like oil) instantly puts the price up by

by SplatHammer - Reprappers

Re: Lots of advice required for large dual x carriage printer! - 6 years ago

Hi Dentist I wanted to thank you for the advice on the hotbed, tooling plate looks exactly what I need! By PEI do you mean Polyethylenimine ? I looked it up and it appears to be pretty good but very expensive for a large area. I am currently using a really cheap hair spray, its €1.50 for a huge tin and works perfectly, prints pop off when the bed is cold.

by SplatHammer - Reprappers

Re: Lots of advice required for large dual x carriage printer! - 6 years ago

QuoteDigital Dentist How accurate/precise do you need the prints to be? That will tell you how much stretch can be tolerated- probably a lot more than you think. The parts I want to print are not detailed (small features, lots of complex shapes etc) I just need decent surface finish and reasonable dimensional accuracy, say +- 1mm over 50cm. I currently have the FL Sun Cube printer which is a v

by SplatHammer - Reprappers

Re: Lots of advice required for large dual x carriage printer! - 6 years ago

I dont really have a set budget, but I want to keep the cost as low as possible by avoiding bells and whistles and sourcing good quality parts at a low cost. I am in Spain which can make getting some parts locally a bit difficult - I am probably going to have to get the tooling plate I plan on using for the heated bed from the UK as I havent found a supplier here yet. Then again it is about 26C h

by SplatHammer - Reprappers

Re: Lots of advice required for large dual x carriage printer! - 6 years ago

Hi Trakyan QuoteTrakyan Why 3D print these parts? Does it actually make sense to 3D print them rather than use aluminium extrusions? What are you trying to save on or avoid by 3d printing them? The difference is paying a skilled metal worker €100 per unit or pushing a button and coming back in 10 or 12 hours! Plus as I need more throughput I can just add more printers. Finally it allows me to u

by SplatHammer - Reprappers