Quote691175002 To be honest, fixed beds are more likely to be a space-saving measure. If the bed moves the printer footprint must be at least twice as large as the bed. If the bed is stationary, the minimum footprint is the size of the bed. (Plus the frame in both cases). Printers with beds traveling in the z direction are the same size as fixed bed printers. Also, i think fixed beds are trieby gmedlicott - General
What 3d printer do you currently own? And what shortcoming do you perceive it to have? A kit printer is a good way to get a hands-on feel for why the designers went the route they did (besides cost of course), and why some motion arrangements and frames are stiffer than others. Theory will get you half way there, but experimentation many times unveils aspects not even considered. Thats partby gmedlicott - General
QuoteMKSA Real units like here: ? That video is gold. Standard was OK for building my house, but anything small and mechanical design greatly benefits from millimeters, like printer parts!by gmedlicott - CoreXY Machines
Not much to add to the DD excellent description on why you only need two vertical supports but still three lead-screws, unless you have very stiff vertical supports with long/dual bearing assemblies, in which case two lead screws could work but you would give up some Z-travel. So your option 2 is the likely most efficient. You can run all three lead screws off one motor, just make sure it is aby gmedlicott - CoreXY Machines
Quotemcdanlj You might get lucky, but it's also totally possible that your cut will be nice and flat with a beautiful surface finish—and 0.5⁰ off of square, which looks great until you assemble the frame. I agree with DD that if you are going to use the square ends as references (and it's easier and more stable to do so), ordering cut-to-length extrusions is worth it, at least for pieces that butby gmedlicott - Extruded Aluminum Frames
Another low cost method (albeit not as cheap as a hacksaw) is to use a non-ferrous fine-tooth blade on a chop saw. I'm going to give this one a try: Freud 84T Non Ferrous Make sure you clamp the material, and use safety glasses or face shield. Anyone have a better solution for cutting Al extrusion? I believe a circular saw would give a better finish than a band-saw. How about a dry-saw vs. rby gmedlicott - Extruded Aluminum Frames
QuoteTrakyan Freecad is wonderful and very powerful, but not very 'focused' in its UI. It's sort of a jack of all trades which leaves the workspace a bit cluttered with the things you don't use. It's functionality is top of the line for open source CAD programs, though. I tried FreeCAD years ago, and it worked OK, with an excellent sketch interface. The deal breaker was there was no assembly mby gmedlicott - 3D Design tools
Quotewersy There is absolutely nothing I couldn't make with Fusion. I'm with Wersy. I use Solidworks at my day job, but Fusion 360 at home. For what I do (mechanical modeling), they are very comparable. Given that, based on cost alone, its a no brainer ($4000 + $1300/year for Solidworks vs. $310/year for Fusion!). Cost aside, Fusion 360 benefits greatly from being a much newer product (2012by gmedlicott - 3D Design tools
QuoteMKSA At least they didn't commit the usual mistake of one motor per lead screws. Agreed 100%. My Folger FT5 was a nightmare to keep the bed level as the 4 turn lead screws would move when powered off. I changed to a single z-belt like Obelisk79 has in his design here; much better. I see the newer gen FT5 has this also. Also agreed on the Fusion F306 arrangement using lead screws for zby gmedlicott - CoreXY Machines
Forgot to ask, what is the build volume for your printer? It looks around 1ft cube?by gmedlicott - CoreXY Machines
Three lead-screws will ensure the bed doesn't wobble in the Z-direction but won't help the X and Y wobble much if your bed / print is heavy. To limit X and Y bed movement, two uprights are needed. Adding a second 2020 on the opposite side of your current one would work, as long as it is very close to parallel to prevent binding. To also limit binding, you could remove the top bearings from tby gmedlicott - CoreXY Machines