One of the design principles was to make the machine as cost efficient as possible. A single size screw for all the frame connections (M4-14mm) means less wasted hardware and an overall simpler build. It wasn't feasible to maintain the same size screw for the trapped nuts (M4 is a little large for these). But there are only 32 M3 screws in the machine (28@10mm, 4@20mm), 20 M3 washers and 12 nuby akhlut - General Mendel Topics
Misumi is where I order the extrusions from. As far as the weight I'm not certain of the comparison to a Prusa. I'll have to look into that. But I'm sure that a full set of extrusions are cheaper than the quantity of stainless M8 allthread used in a Prusa. Cheaper in the US anyway. @misumi (10) HFS5-2020-400 = $23 @mcmaster (6) 99055A125 = $26 (which have to be then be cut)by akhlut - General Mendel Topics
Prism Mendel 1.5 Total re-design of all parts. New X-ends and a new open top. I'll be putting the files up on my github later this week, I just want to get the first one done to the point that I'm satisfied that the actual machine fits together as well as the virtual one does.by akhlut - General Mendel Topics
Have you calibrated the extruder?by akhlut - General
Personally I've never calculated this cost, but there are several factors you should consider - sunk costs, fixed costs, variable costs and overhead. Your sunk costs consist of all the investment you've made in building your machine and the ancillary support devices that are required to run it. Since you own these outright (I assume) they are costs that occurred in the past and cannot be recoveby akhlut - General
Probably not. Swapping the glass out to start the next print is a common practice.by akhlut - General
I had a 6mm mirror made (it was really nice) for my heated bed and the same thing happened - broke after a few prints. switched to 3mm glass/mirror and a lot fewer problems. You could always look for some borosilicate glass, or an 8x8 glass trivet at a home store.by akhlut - General
The inner diameter of the hobbed bolt that engages and drives the filament doesn't really matter. What really matters is that the extruder needs to be calibrated. This is a bit of a process. Check this and this. That should help. You need the arduino IDE to get into your board. The version of the IDE depends on the board that you have. From there it's fairly straightforward. Also, do yoby akhlut - General Mendel Topics
OK, get a couple of 13mm wrenches and pull the big gear off the machine. That bolt that holds the gear on should have a section of grooves on it. Take a video of the bolt and the opened up extruder post it. It sounds like something is definitely wrong either inside the extruder or in the firmware, or both.by akhlut - General Mendel Topics
OK, take a marker and measure 100mm of filament from the top of your extruder and mark that length on the filament. Then tell pronterface to extrude 100mm. Does the mark make it to the top of the extruder? If not then you need to calibrate it.by akhlut - General Mendel Topics
When you tell pronterface to extrude can you easily stop the large gear with your hand and watch the stepper shaft spin inside the small gear? So that isn't a problem, but toss a grub screw in there anyway - it may save you a headache down the line.by akhlut - General Mendel Topics
CNC and reprap are theoretically the same principle, but different in may ways. Speed is not always desirable as layers must bond to ensure that a part is strong. Print too fast and the part will be structurally compromised. Newark.com has three of them (if their site would ever come back up). And lin engineering makes the rear dampers - newark has them too. Actually, this is a rear damper..by akhlut - General
Heat? Pull it out of the enclosure and try it.by akhlut - Reprappers
Sounds like a great idea! But at $15 each they double the price of each motor, and leaves me only 2mm of shaft with a front mount damper. Maybe a stepper with dual shafts and a rear mount damper? That would be nice. But does a reprap really *need* these? We're not running these motors at high speeds...by akhlut - General
OK. So the nozzle isn't blocked and the temp is good. If it had a blockage the filament would shoot out a very weird angle. How tightly are you clamping the extruder shut? I'm assuming that when you extrude (using pronterface) into free air you have no problem. How does the hobbed bolt look? No excess plastic clogging the teeth? Also, how tightly is that nozzle into the PEEK barrel? Itby akhlut - General Mendel Topics
injisera Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > What are you printing? PLA or ABS? > >ABS > > That's quite a bit of juice. Maybe a little less. > What is that sludge you're printing on? > >"ABS Juice", acetone mixed with some ABS > > That sounds about right. Maybe try 240C. > What temperature is your hotend set to? > >2by akhlut - General Mendel Topics
That was the sigh of dispair in that video. I have uttered it many times. What are you printing? PLA or ABS? What is that sludge you're printing on? What temperature is your hotend set to? Are you sure the hotend thermistor is OK? it looks strangely discolored in the video. Check the resistance - it should be around 90K at room temp (assuming EPCOS 100K) Is the filament stripping? I'mby akhlut - General Mendel Topics
Exactly. Buying politicians is definitely a cheap fix, but that's always an option. Just about all of them are as corrupt as the day is long.by akhlut - General
123D has measurement/adjustment < .00001 mm - good enough for non-engineers. I agree about the physical media associated with software and other 'media'. It's nice to have something tangible in your hands. And I can't help but feel ripped off when I buy a book on the kindle (probably why I don't have too many books on it). The cost is less, but a huge part of the cost of producing/distribby akhlut - General
Cinema4D doesn't have .stl export? Maybe make a request to have it added int the next release. I'm not an artist and I make 3D items. I started about about two months ago. I realize 123D has its problems, but it's what I started with. After about a month of playing with the software I made this: Not the most complex object ever but it suited my needs, and I have every confidence that averby akhlut - General
I watched that video. Overall I thought the presentation was decent, but a little off. I don't agree with her business model of digital customization and off-site fabrication. Consumers rarely, if ever delay gratification - this is why so many people on diets fail to lose weight. They will choose amongst the alternatives within a pricing band, making trade-offs based upon personal preference.by akhlut - General
*Disclaimer* I'm not taking about the big boys in the market - the z-corps, etc. Rather the Cube and its ilk. I agree with you that the technology will be widely commercialized - reprap is open to being copied freely by commercial interests. But it is this community that continues to push against the boundaries of what is possible with this technology. They are driving innovation in this fielby akhlut - General
I don't know about the UP! printer's software. The cube seems particularly onerous - I'm not sure you could import .stl's that weren't created with the proprietary software. Would you buy a printer that you have to log into every time you want to use it? I wouldn't. I don't think savvy shoppers would either. That cube looks like a completely proprietary device and you are locked into thatby akhlut - General
Egg Harbor Twp, west of Atlantic City.by akhlut - General Mendel Topics
Doesn't open source hardware and software sour the well? I think the only opportunity for profit is in this space is information control and marketing. Betamax was a better product, but VHS won in the end. But since the information is free to all aren't the companies who decide to put out a 3D printer at this stage in the game taking a huge risk? Especially if they put out a crappy machine.by akhlut - General
I really like the acrylic plates! Fantastic job with the design! Wish I lived near a fablab... I kinda like the idea of a separate forum for the Prism. It might get the name out there a bit more. I'd vote for it if this thread could be copied into that sub-forum.by akhlut - General Mendel Topics
I wish - it would give me an excuse to build a Linux box. Windows only I'm afraid. 123D is a light modeler. It's a bit of a memory pig as well. But once you get the hang of it (and don't ask it to do too much at once) then it's a pretty decent program. It will output to: .svg .dwg .dxf .sat .stl .iges .step Not too bad, but could be better.by akhlut - General Mendel Topics
royco Wrote: > @akhlut > I havent thought of selling bare PCBs but If there > are brave souls eager to solder 70+ SMD parts with > at least 4 fine pitched ICs then why not. Practice makes perfect!by akhlut - General