FoldaRap Build Manual

FoldaRap Documentation

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1.0

1.1

Tools required

• 1,5 mm hexagonal wrench (for the pulleys grub screw)
• 2 mm hexagonal wrench (for M3 counterksunk bolts and pneumatic fittings "MA-12-03-M5")
• 2,5 mm hexagonal wrench (for normal M3 cap-head bolts and the rounded M4 bolts used for the frame)
• little flat screwdriver (1,5mm) (for the board's screw terminals)
• Philips (PH2) or flat screwdriver (3mm) (for the psu's screw terminals)

You may need also :

• a 5,5mm flat spanner or a small pliers (for m3 nuts)
• something to cut wires, and strip them (knife, automatic striper, etc.)
• a lighter for the heat-shrink sleeves
• iron (to eventually solder the endstops)
• small files (round, flat) to eventually ream the printed parts
• a glue gun (gluing the endstop on the printed part is easier/quicker than using bolts)
• a multimeter (to set the drivers current)

General tips

• Read the whole manual once or twice before starting, to get an overview of the build
  • Basically we have a main frame and several sub-assemblies, some can be done in parallel : gather your friends and establish a record of minimum building time ! (Actual best record : 4 hours)
• Work on a cutting mat if you have one, it will protect your table plus they often show a millimetre grid that will be useful to check the bolts length (with some experience you will recognize them just by looking or holding one).
• Place you mouse over a picture in a list if you wonder what part it is
• In case of doubt, don't hesitate to have a look at the 3d model in Sketchup (before/during the build), even if about a next version of the machine it will show you the folded/unfolded state of the machine and you can play around with it :)

Ok let's start
It should take approximately 12 hours (4-20hrs) to put everything together, depending of your experience and if some sub-assemblies have been prepared in advance.

Know the parts

Firstly, have a look at all the part and learn what everything is.

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  foot-front left

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  foot-front right

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  foot-rear left

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  foot-rear right

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  hinge-outer left

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  hinge-outer right

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  hinge-inner left

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  hinge-Inner right

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  z-motor-bracket left

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  z-motor-bracket right

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  y-idler

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  y-motor

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  y-carriage

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  belt-clamp

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  x-end motor

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  x-end idler

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  z-top left

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  z-top right

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  x-carriage

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  extruder-idler

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  board mounts

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  underplate

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  reprap.org plate

How to insert a T-nut

Tightening torque : 2.5 Nm (+/- 5%)

<videoflash>9CAiVmfO2mk|320|240</videoflash>

Base Frame

Rear Base

x1 x1 x2 x4 x4

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  exploded view

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  tips : use the other extrusions to help you while adding the first two nuts

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  assembled

<videoflash>R-FKKoWC1hw|320|240</videoflash>

Front Base

x1 x1 x2 x4 x4

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  exploded

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  tips: keep it flush by pushing the extrusion in from the flat side of the foot

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  assembled

<videoflash>zFjVM068mtI|320|240</videoflash>

Base Frame

x1 x1 x1 x1

x4 x10 x10

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  slide the hinge-inners on two 300mm extrusions

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  it's not yet necessary to lock the hinges

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Y-idler

x1 m3x20 x2 (603zz) x2 m3 washer x2 m4x8 x2 t-nut

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  tips : it's easy to add everything while holding the y-idler in vertical position

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  then add it on the frame, don't fully tighten the T-nut, you will need to move it slightly later to center it

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Y-motor

A part of the wiring depend of the combination of electronic board and power supply, for other version : AzteegX1_240W, AzteegX1_120W

x1 x1 x2 x5 x1 x1

x7 x7 x1 x3 x3

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  add the male plug with 2 m3x8 and 2 m3 nut

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  add the pulley on the motor shaft, and lock it with the grubscrew on the flat of the shaft

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  add the motor with 3 m3x8

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  cut some wires : 1 green wire 18WG of 10cm, one end with ferule, the other end just stripped (male plug Ground to power supply Ground)

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  crimp the ferules on the wires

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  eventually add a drop of solder to make a perfect connection

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  don't forget to insulate the ferules with the heatshrink sleeve

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  the green wire in place, now to the red/black ones !

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  1 red wire of 9cm, 1 black of 6cm 18AWG, both ends with ferule (male plug Live/Neutral to switch Live/Neutral)

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  1 red and 1 black wire 18AWG of 10cm, one end with ferule, the other end just stripped (blue-switch Live/Neutral to power supply Live/Neutral)

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  put the big blue switch in the rear-foot

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  now you can lock the Y-motor while pushing it against the same rear foot (that's why there is two small bumps, they are helping to center the Y-motor)

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  pay attention to really lock the t-nut near the plug, as it is easy for now and later you will push against it when you plug the power cable in (and if not well locked, it will be harder to fix it while the underplate is in place)

Z-axis (need update)

Caution : on the aluminium extrusion some corners are better than others, take care to choose one that slide well for the X-motor and X-idler, keep it in mind then when assembling the Z-right and Z-left.

hinge detail

movement

Right

x1 x1

x1 x2 x2

x1 x3 x1 x1

• vinyl coupling (pushed half-length on the motor shaft)

<videoflash>xxfFqePB1qk|320|240</videoflash>

Left

the lever is oriented toward the left (exterior)

people usually twist the wires of the endstop and motors, to reduce interferences and make them more tidy

x1 x1

x1 x2 x2

x1 x3 x1 x1

x1 (with 25cm blue wires for z-endstop, fix with an m3x8 or simply use a glue gun)

+ motor and vinyl coupling (pushed half-length on the motor shaft)

Currently we are working on something to hold the enstop with a zip-tie instead of having it glued on the printed part. It works and you can probably figure out how to use it (or see the latest update of the source model), but this part need to be updated with more picture anyway :)

Underplate

Power Supply

This part depend of your electronic configuration : AzteegX1-240W or AzteegX1-120W or as for the actual v1.1 : Melzi + 120W power supply

x1 x2 x2 x1 x6 x6

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Z-axis 2

x6 x6

• Now you can push the hinge against the plate and lock the two Z at right angle with the frame

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X-axis

X-motor

The holes for mounting the motor are wide in order to be able to use them for adding tension on the X belt. Thus mount the motor as close as possible to the extrusion side in order to be able to push the motor the other way arround at the tensionning step.

x1 x3 x3 x1 (50cm wires) x1

x1 (with 50cm red 26AWG wires for x-endstop, fix with an m3x8 or glue gun)

<videoflash>ffVmqxLEW58|320|240</videoflash>

X-idler

[[|thumb|right|400px|detail of the bearing idler]]

x1 x2 m3x8 x2

x1 m3x12 x2 x1

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  to add the idler bearing easily, start by pushing the bolt, add one washer, the bearing, turn it upside down and add the second washer by using it to push the bearing upward, to finish the bolt is screwed into the plastic and don't need a nut

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  after having checked that the smooth rods can slide without force in their holes, add an m3 nut in each, it will be trapped and will serve to hold two m3x8 bolt to lock the smooth-rods

After wiring, put the two x-ends in place (impregnate the printed parts with oil for better sliding) and add the smooth-rod without forgetting the three linear bearings.

Extruder-fan

(Optional)

x1 x1 m3x16 x1

If the bolt don't screw in the plastic, add a nut, but this one can be tricky to put in place.

Extruder-idler

For previous version using a geared PG35L see FoldaRap_PG35L

x1 x1

x1 x1 x2

x1 Nema14 (50cm) x3 x1 (just one)

x2 x2 x2

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  start by adding the M5 nut

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  and the pneumatic fitting

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  then the idler bearing

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  add the drive-gear on the motor shaft (make a flat if there isn't one)

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  Then add the motor and the extruder-idler on the x-end-idler (which is sandwiched between both parts)

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  and finish by the springs

Top-frame

x1 x1 x1 x1

x8 x8

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<videoflash>xOSs5n_cQY4|320|240</videoflash>

X-carriage

x1 x2 x3 (LM6UU or igus RJMP-01-06) x1 (700mm, longest of the two belts) x7

<videoflash>mGf8y23Vfdc|320|240</videoflash>

• 
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  don't forget to add the linear bearing/bushing on the smooth-rods

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<videoflash>0r0LzsToHcs|320|240</videoflash>

• Now you can add some tension to the x-belt

<videoflash>sVjxMQwowbg|320|240</videoflash>

Z-rods

x4 x2

• turn the rods in the x-ends to push them in the vinyl coupling

<videoflash>iZKFV5miQEk|320|240</videoflash>

Great ! You are almost done !

Have a pause, you need to be relaxed for the next step, or you can also just head to the end :)

Hotend

• resistor 60cm 22awg wire
• thermistor 60cm 26awg (or leftover from the motors)
• fan prolongated to match 60cm

<videoflash>tW_CswHS2OM|320|240</videoflash>

This video is the first I made of these series, and is far from perfect (bowden tube goes before the heatsink!). I'll remake it later but for the moment it's better than nothing (and there is always a good doc on the RepRapPro_Huxley_hot_end_assembly)

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  To prepare the heatsink you will need to remove some fins, drill a few holes and file a flat face (can be hand-made with a file, or a dremel or even a cnc)

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  remove the fins by twisting them with a plier (found it easier and less dangerous than using a flush side cutter)

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  then use a template to drill the holes (for 3mm bolts)

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  make the bottom of the heatsink flat (until no more black is apparent, like on the picture below) to make a good contact with the aluminium block that will be cooled

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  don't forget to put the ptfe tube in the pneumatic fitting, before adding the heatsink (the tube will fit snuggly between the fins)

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  add heatsink grease

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  press firmly

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  engage both bolts

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  finish to tighten them (dont require much force as the taped hole is in the aluminium block)

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x3 x3

<videoflash>yqNI2H22ZcY|320|240</videoflash>

Board

Previous instructions for the AzteegX1

x1 x1 x4 x2

• It is maybe a good time to check if the stepper drivers are correctly set
  • refer to Melzi and RepRapPro_Setting_Motor_Currents (Vref = 0.4 for the nema14 and 0.44 or 0.45 for the extruder one)
  • usually you don't need to plug the power supply for that, if you have set the jumper to "usb" instead of "int", the board will be powered via the USB connection (it's ok for just checking the Vref, but it will never be enough to move or heat something).

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• 

• 
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  you may want to tighten the bolt later to ease the wiring step

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Wiring (45-60 min)

Now lets plug everything to the board ! The Melzi is well legended and the wiring should be straightforward.

• 18 AWG : power
  • board to power supply : 15 cm red/black wires
• 22 AWG : heat
• 26 AWG : sensors/motors (you may use the leftover from the motors)
  • Nema 14 sequence : red, blue, green, black

Tips : if you don't have a ruler, the big alu profiles are 300mm long, e.g. : count twice the side of the machine to have enough length for the hotend and a little margin

1. Y-motor (~30cm)
2. Z-motors (~20cm and 25cm)
3. X-motor (50cm)
4. Extruder-motor + fan (50cm)
5. Y-endstop (green 32cm)
6. Z-endstop (blue 25cm)
7. X-endstop (red 50cm)
8. Hotend-thermistor (blue 60cm)
9. Hotend-resistor (red 60cm)
10. Hotend-fan (red/black 60cm)
11. Bed-thermistor (blue 35cm)
12. Bed-peltier
    1. Finish by the bed wires (peltier and thermistor), as they will move they need to be above all the other wires.

• Melzi, red, blue, green, black, from right to left (http://reprap.org/wiki/File:Reprappro-mendel-melzi-cons.jpg) RepRapPro_Mendel_wiring#Connections_to_the_controller_board

Tidying

• spiral wrapping band : for the wires that came out of the base (30cm left / 60cm right).

<videoflash>CdsBjoGTuLI|320|240</videoflash> <videoflash>j3T9N8Ssmpc|320|240</videoflash>

Y-axis

Bed-plate

If you have an aluminium heated bed look at this page : FoldaRap_Heated-Bed

x1 x3 x3

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  add the 3 countersunk m3x30 and lock them with m3 nut

Y-carriage

Other versions : FoldaRap1.0_y-carriage

x1 x3 x4

x1 x1 (600mm) x2 x2 x2

x3 x3

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  hold the linear bearing in place with zip-ties

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  put the m3 nuts in the y-belt-clamp

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  clamp the belt in the middle of it's length

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  add springs on the bed's bolts

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  place the y-carriage

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  add the three m3 self locking nut (nylock)

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  tighten them a little (real leveling will be done just after)

Y-axis

x2 x1 (with 32cm green wires for y-endstop) x6

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  Slide the smooth rods through one side

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  then through the Y-carriage

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  and finish on the other side

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  The Y-motor was centered by the rear-foot-right, to align the Y-idler too check that the carriage run smoothly. By moving it will tend to center the Y-idler (or look that it seems at an equal distance from each front-foot. Once satisfied you can lock the Y-idler in place.

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  Make a loop at each end of the belt with zip-ties (pay attention to the orientation of the zip-ties)

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  pass it through the y-idler

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  and y-motor

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  why the orientation is important

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  Tighten the belt by closing the loops with zip-ties, then trim everything (video of belt tensioning [1])

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  fix the Y-endstop on the smooth-rod with a zip-tie or glue it on the front-foot side

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Tape (5-10 min)

Once the Y-axis is fitted it's easier to apply kapton (polyimide) or blue tape (outside masking tape, uv resistant and with acrylic adhesive)

<videoflash>MdCMMt7siy4</videoflash>

Leveling the bed and zeroing

The Z-zero is made when leveling the bed.

1. Start by roughly leveling it
2. then move the nozzle to the lowest point
3. and adjust the 3 screws to level it regarding that height (by turning them until the homing move stop lowering the bed)
4. repeat on each corners so the zero is exactly when the nozzle stop touching the bed (true for the four corners+center)

• I like to start with the X direction at the right bolt, then with the two at the left

Here is a video to show what I mean by "the homing move stop lowering the bed" <videoflash>35Xv_R8U_hU</videoflash>

"Bad" (the bolts need to be tightened)

<videoflash>rjIMmzltyLQ</videoflash>

• Once the plan is set from left to right you can check front/end

• after that it's supposed to be leveled but may need few more tweaking for the right corners

Software side

• Skeinforge : you will only have to add a little offset (altitude), to have the desired height for the first layer, usually the same as your layer height.
• Slic3r : leave z-offset at 0, it will add one layer height automatically (you still may have to adjust it slightly to fine tune the Z-zero, depending on where your endstop have been glued).

Another advantage of that : by moving to the center of the bed from the zero height, the nozzle is also wiped by the side of the bed from any purged plastic ;-)

Go go go first print !!!

This article will probably help you along your first print :)

http://www.sarfata.org/3d-printing/2013/04/First-Steps-In-3D-Printing-With-Foldarap/