3Done

CLEARLY! UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT THIS POINT

A little patience while its being completed

Introduction

This is the Page for my development of the 3D printers I use daily and after 3 years I finally feel they are good enough to share.

The printers are names 3dOne and their version numbers are a very original P1, P2, P3, P4, and P5. At this time I am on version P5 and while my printers have been very good for a while this one just printed beautifully from the start.

I may post this project on my own site at www.3done.co.za however the printer should be shared and the more people that build one the more I will be encouraged to improve the design.

My printer design in highly customisable to suit your requirements and should provide you with a easy to build and maintain printer that will put many store bought printers to shame. Even after being built the open frame nature of the design means you can modify it to change or adjust dimensions.

Michael Scholtz

Construction

The 3dOne printers are constructed from a aluminum frame with printed parts holding part in-place. Printer P2 was built on a 19mm frame and all subsequent machine are built on 25mm square tube. 19mm is suitable for a small printer in the 20x20x10 range and this is actually sufficient for many prints, the 25mm framed machines are built to print 30x30x30 and can scale a bit bigger than that.

The construction is one made to be from parts that are easy to find. if you have a cube structure you can build this printer into it. to change the size of the printer can be done by simply increasing the length of the parts in the dimension you want to increase it. It means this is a printer that can be built to your requirements.

Tools you will or may need

Some of these tools are going to be required some are optional to make life easier.

• Digital vernier caliper
• Screw drivers (flat star etc)
• Ceramic or plastic screw driver for adjusting the stepper drivers (don't skimp one slip will cost you your arduino mega)
• Dremel or similar tool ( cutting, grinding, cleaning, engraving)
• You will need a saw to cut aluminum (I used to use a hack saw but have since got a cheap miter saw and can highly recommend it)
• a Multimeter (digital, but most of them are now anyway)
• A soldering iron (if you don't you're going to be chasing loose connections for the rest of your life)
• Pop rivets and riveter (DUH)
• Hand drill (a bench drill press can also help preserve your sanity.)
  • Bit for rivets for 4mm rivets use an 4,2mm bit
  • 8mm bit for cleaning out shaft holes
  • 15mm for cleaning out bearing holes (usually not needed but depends on print quality)
• Side cutter for cutting wire and cable ties.

Consumables and Hardware

• Heat shrink tubing
• Cable ties, lots and lots of cable ties. (when you think you have enough get another pack)
• Screws nuts and bolts
  • M3 ( need at least 30x of these )
    • Lengths for these vary from 8mm - 45mm
    • They are cheap enough to get tonnes of all sizes
  • M6 4x 30mm bolts with nuts (for bed leveling)
  • M8 4x 30mm bolts with nuts if you want to add leveling screws

Basic Parts list

• You will need the printed parts for this printer to facilitate assembly. These depend on the printer you are building. Certain parts are specific to the the 19mm or 25mm frame and others can be used on both.
  • You can support my project by ordering a printed set of parts from me. I'm paranoid about quality and you can be assured that parts ordered from me will be of the highest quality.
• Vitamins
  • Connect-it connectors to build your frame and matched to the tube size.
    • I was surprised to find these are native to South-Africa, You can order a set from me or find an alternate solution.
    • These are corner inserts that attach 3 tubes in 8 places to construct a cubed frame, if you see it you will understand it.
  • I base my machines on RAMPS1.4 but there is no reason other controllers won't work.
    • 1x Arduino Mega
    • 1x Ramps Shield
    • 4x Stepper drivers (5x if you want dual extruder)
      • You can get away with a4988 drivers
      • I would highly recommend 8825 drivers
  • You will need between 4 and 6 stepper motors
    • 4 for the X,Y,Z and E
    • 1 additional required for 2nd extruder.
    • 1 additional highly recommended 2nd Z axis drive.
  • 3x endstop micro switches or optical switches if you want.
  • 8mm stainless steel or bearing grade shaft (stainless works fine but does wear a little over time)
  • Pulleys required (GT2 or GT2.5)
    • 2x 8mm shaft
    • 2x 5mm (for stepper motor so match to that)
    • 1x printed pulley for Y axis (can use another one as you do on the 8mm shaft I use the bigger one for additional torque to move the x axis)
  • Bearings
    • 5x 688z
    • 1x 608z for extruder ( 2nd one for dual extruder needed)
    • 6x LM8LUU linear bearings OR
    • 12x LM8UU linear bearings can be used instead but the longer ones are MUCH better and you need 1/2 as many
    • Some 2-4 additional ones if you're adding a 2nd Z axis support.
  • GT2 158 tooth closed loop belt (match to stepper pulley)
    • The belt can have more teeth as the motor mount has a lot adjustment available
    • My printed pulley is a GT2 one if you cannot find a matching belt and stepper pulley you will need to change it.
  • Power supply
    • I use an ATX Power supplies the ones with a 120mm and single power input should fit into the printed parts especially if you want to print the air ducts and covers.
  • 3x belt tensioners

Some basic tips

• That dremel tool I mentioned engraving, use it to engrave the size of your nozzles onto them. 0,4 0,3 etc or you will end up with a box full of them with no idea what size they are.