An alternative to buying a bad kit for $300-500

Mine came apart fairly easily, and you can see how far it goes in here:



Also, here is the place I was talking about, with exposed wires near the metal of the hotend.



Also, my nozzles don't look as nice as yours.

Yikes!

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Ultra MegaMax Dominator 3D printer: [drmrehorst.blogspot.com]

Regarding the PTFE liner, I have an Ormerod 2 where the liner runs within 10mm (maybe less) of the nozzle end. I have done 18 hour prints at 260 degrees, when taking the head apart to swap for a smaller nozzle recently the PTFE looks fine.

Getting mine today hopefully, if the guy gets back to me about collecting it...

One thing I was wondering when changing over to another controller board are the steps per mm know for the axes?

Particularly would like to know what actual resolution the Z is capable of. The blurb says something vague like accuracy half of 0.125mm layer height.

Jon

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/10/2016 07:06AM by Firefox3D.

I didn't even think to check the pulley size when I had the X axis motor pulled out, but I think the X and Y axis pulleys have 20 teeth/grooves, so assuming 16:1 ustepping, 3200 usteps/rev goes 40 mm/rev = 80 ustep/mm. That stuff is pretty easy to figure out once you try a couple test prints.

The Z axis screw pitch looks like 3mm. Assuming 16:1 ustepping, 3200 steps/rev -> 1066.67 steps/mm While the real resolution certainly can't be <1 um, the 125 um number seems reasonable considering the machine has a cantilevered bed. I'm guessing the number comes from their proprietary slicing software that probably limits layer thickness to specific values to minimize calls to tech support from people trying to print 5 um layers and failing.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/10/2016 05:40PM by the_digital_dentist.

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Ultra MegaMax Dominator 3D printer: [drmrehorst.blogspot.com]

Thanks, I know you can work it out, just one less thing to have to do myself!

I asked in particular about the Z axis because of the experience with my Ormerod. the standard drive with printed gears is ok if you are doing 0.2mm or greater layers, but anything less and you can see the variations. Swapping to a nema motor with a 8 x 8 thread gives a resolution of 0.04mm per step of the motor. When I played around moving the Z in anything other that 0.04mm increments you could hear the motor holding the microstep position as the tone of the whine from the motor was much higher and it didn't feel locked into place as it does at a full step.
That's a long way of me saying if you know what the per step resolution is on the Z it's best to use that as as the layer thickness multiplier.

Still don't have the printer, sounds like it was used a couple of times by a business then shoved in a (large) cupboard, it is working with some filament so will run a print off to see how it looks stock before ripping it's brain out!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/11/2016 11:33AM by Firefox3D.

The new Z axis zero switch is done. There were a couple revs where the switch bracket snapped onto the frame but after one of those broke I decided it would be better to attach it with zip ties. I'm generally not a fan of using zip ties to do anything but hold cables but the important job of locating the switch bracket is being done by the frame here. I added a flat cap to the end of the screw to make a bigger target for the switch. While you could bump the switch with the end of the screw directly, that would require precisely locating the screw holes to mount its bracket. Using the flat cap on the screw makes locating the mounting holes for the bracket a no-brainer. I lined up the mounting holes with the nut plate mounting screw. I used a 6-32 screw which should move the end of the screw (and therefore the Z axis) 794 um with each turn, but you can probably use an M3 screw without any modifications to get a nice round number. The corners of the cap provide a visual reference for the screw adjustment- turning 1/6 of a turn will give a 132 um shift in the Z axis. If you want finer control than that you need to make a lever with an off-center fulcrum.

If you're going to keep the original plastic Z axis nut plate, just extend the mount for the microswitch forward by 4 mm.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/12/2016 07:52AM by the_digital_dentist.

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Ultra MegaMax Dominator 3D printer: [drmrehorst.blogspot.com]

There is nothing wrong with zip-ties, they hold things just fine. Like you said, the bracket aligns itself with the grooves, so they're really just holding it to the bars.

My hotends finally arrived. I'll probably be messing with them throughout the week. I'll post an update when I've decided how I'm going to mount them.

MINE ARRIVED!

First impressions: ITS HUGE, Don't think I like the plexiglass shell, mine was received with a broken LCD as well as damage in several places on the plexiglass. I am also very impressed by the machining done on this printer.

In regards to the damage, the eBay reseller only offered a refund which was no good so I'm keeping the damaged one. I haven't had time to tear down the printer, but I don't think that there is any structural damage, will find out tonight because I finally have time. I am thinking that there are two outcomes of the damaged plexi, I may try epoxying, reinforcing, and painting the shell. Or I may ditch it entirely, I think that could look cool. I'm most likely going to be keeping the scraper and waste bin, but think I am going to get a couple e3d v6's and put them on a lathe, keep one set of parts, plus PVA will eventually cause a blockage and don't think that the stock hot end would like a blowtorch too much (no removable nozzle).


So, I guess now there are a few questions before the project is through.
Have either of you decided on a new controller for it? You going to reuse the power supply? Where will the rolls of filament be stored? Is an e3d v6 even tall enough to replace the oem hotend?

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If you need some help, or don't understand what I just said, feel free to send me a PM anytime

Printer: Prusa i3, 2 E3D v6 Hotends, Arduino + RAMPS 1.4 with a Bypassed 5V Regulator, 400w Insignia ATX PSU, Custom Designed Bowden Extruders

Still waiting to get mine, silly situation where the boss of the company wants it checked out before I can have it and I don't think anyone there has a clue about 3D printers, even though I said as long as it boots up when you put a power cord in it I am fine.

The best stuff for glueing the plexi are the plastic solvent glues that look like water. Just make sure the faces of the crack are in proper contact and apply the glue with a small paintbrush, it pulls into the crack by capillary action and melts the surfaces together. It has no filling action but if there is contact pressure it forms a very strong bond if you give a few hours to properly set. Works really well for PLA, ABS and most of the co-polyester type filaments (apart from Colorfabb NGEN)

I have a Duet board spare so will start with that, but will need a custom power supply for the heated bed as I think a 300mm x 300mm will fit, but I calculated you need around 600W to get it to ABS temp in a sensible amount of time.

Jon

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/13/2016 09:50AM by Firefox3D.

Quote
Firefox3D
I have a Duet board spare so will start with that, but will need a custom power supply for the heated bed as I think a 300mm x 300mm will fit, but I calculated you need around 600W to get it to ABS temp in a sensible amount of time.

You don't need 600W for a 300mm square bed unless you use very thick aluminium, more like 360W, so 15A @ 24V. This is just within the rating of the Duet WiFi bed heater circuit (and we're hoping to increase the rating soon), and also OK for the Duet 0.8.5 bed heater circuit if you add a piece of thick copper wire on the back of the board linking the VIN+ and Bed Heater+ terminals together. See [duet3d.com].

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/13/2016 02:42PM by dc42.

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Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].

Hi Dave,

I have a Duet 0.6 which has a 10A limit?

I was basing the nearly 600W on 0.6W per cm squared which would produce faster heating.

I don't have a problem building a separate 24V or higher power supply, built plenty of amplifier power supplies.

I just got my Cubex Duo, What a beast ---- 75lbs ??? Depeleated uranium in base???
packed very well -- original packing --- original UPS gorrilla
looks nice, some small cracks --- very brittle plastic / acrylic
Unpacked,
Tried to move Z with out removing hold bracket,
Activated, loaded a Filament cart, got it to squirt

This does NOT have a heated bed!
Anybody know what the filament is ABS, PLA ---- burn test PLA

Got to pay $49 to get licence for Invent Software --- 15 day trial
software doesnot diect connect to printer (usb)
documentation terrible

Not what I would expect from 3D systems.

$3000 printer NOT $300 more better

Gonna try to test drive it before tearing in to it,
need more frustration!!!

In the middle of Folgertech FT-5 build

I'll be putting a smoothieboard in mine, and probably a 24V supply.

Using E3D v6 hot ends will require some changes. The stock extruders have a 10mm diameter opening for mounting the hot-end. You have to make an adapter or turn down the E3D v6 to 10 mm. They are also about 10mm shorter than the stock hot-ends, so an adapter could provide the extra length needed. If you don't want to use an adapter, you'll have to remount the fans because they will hit the print. The holes in the extruder carriage plate for the hot ends are too small for the E3D v6 heatsink. You will either need to turn down the heatsink to fit, open up the hole, or make a new extruder carriage plate with right-sized holes. You could skip the carriage plate changes if you're willing to disconnect the hot end from the extruder any time you are going to take an extruder off the machine. That might be a PITA.

I have already removed the long, high-friction filament tubes and plan to make a rack that sits on top of the machine to feed filament straight down to the extruders. For anyone thinking of doing the same, the metal ferrules unscrew from the ends of the tubes.

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Ultra MegaMax Dominator 3D printer: [drmrehorst.blogspot.com]

Upgrades available here [www.cubexupgrade.com] no affiliation just found it with a web search

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/13/2016 08:02PM by Firefox3D.

I've seen that and an $800 heated bed upgrade, too. Pffft! My time is valuable, but not THAT valuable. I can come up with an adapter or a redesigned extruder carriage plate (maybe one that holds the E3D hot ends with minimal modification, and holds the fans so they won't bang into the print). A heated bed is a no-brainer for anyone who has any 3D printer experience at all. A heater only costs $50 or so and any controller board is ready to control it.

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Ultra MegaMax Dominator 3D printer: [drmrehorst.blogspot.com]

First of all, the damage:

Front left corner


Cracked LCD


Further damage found underneath



What are these for? LEDs?


My nozzles dont look too nice either



Think I am going to make my own adapter for the E3D v6, I have access to a metal shop now and looks pretty easy. I am just going to put up with having to take the hotend out from the bottom. Judging by how damaged my acrylic is, I am favoring ditching it entirely.

Hey, are these endstops something we can reuse? I only have experience with tradition endstop buttons.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/13/2016 09:18PM by DaGameFace.

I guess I was lucky with my printer- no cracked plastic anywhere. The only thing that was off was one of the screws from the top cover that holds one of the aluminum knobs.

The LEDs just light up the print so you can see what's going on. My printer has 3 LEDs on a similar bar. I would just connect them to the supply voltage along with the hot-end fans.

I have finished the CAD drawing of the entire machine in as much detail as I intend to produce unless I need more detail for changes that may come later. A few things are missing- including belts, most of the screws, the USB connector board, the power brick, the controller board, the drag chain, cables, and a few other things. As far as I can tell, things are pretty accurate, but measure your machine before using the CAD file as a basis for designing/fabricating parts. I used DesignSpark Mechanical, a freebie CAD program.

The whole thing- note: there is no way to render the case transparent in DSM.


Enclosure turned off:


Z axis turned off:


If you want a copy of the CAD file, PM me and I'll send you a link.

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Ultra MegaMax Dominator 3D printer: [drmrehorst.blogspot.com]

Quote
Firefox3D
Hi Dave,

I have a Duet 0.6 which has a 10A limit?

I was basing the nearly 600W on 0.6W per cm squared which would produce faster heating.

I don't have a problem building a separate 24V or higher power supply, built plenty of amplifier power supplies.

You can increase the rating of the Duet 0.6 by adding a wire on the back of the board again. However the bed heater terminal block is smaller than on the later Duets and I don't know if it will handle 15A.

Your other option is a DC-DC SSR. See [duet3d.com] for recommendations.

If you do go for a 600W heater, bear in mind that If left on at full power the bed temperature will probably reach about 350C. So consider a thermal fuse or similar protection device mandatory.

---

Large delta printer [miscsolutions.wordpress.com], E3D tool changer, Robotdigg SCARA printer, Crane Quad and Ormerod

Disclosure: I design Duet electronics and work on RepRapFirmware, [duet3d.com].

Looking at it again it's probably overkill since 300W silicone heater pads are readily available. Also having to wait a while for a long print is not a big deal.

I was looking at a fairly beefy aluminium bed as it will hold the heat and won't warp. Have bought the machined faced Ecocast from here [www.aluminiumwarehouse.co.uk] the surface is better than 0.1mm overall.

Looking at the pro machines like Stratasys they seem to have a linished then anodised bed, wondering if that is a good idea?

I have been using a piece of PCB board copper side down with the FR4 surface sanded with 800 grit as the printing surface. I tried this as the Colorfabb NGEN filament I have been using sticks to it really well, but hoping to print bigger parts in cheap ABS on the Cubex.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/14/2016 09:03AM by Firefox3D.

350 Watt Mean Well PSU?

Think I'm leaning towards that PSU, still don't know what board I will pick to control the whole thing, don't think I want to drop the money on a smoothie right now.. Also picking up this pack of various dupont connectors and pins so I can reuse the nice white sleeved wires on the CubeX

Anyone know anything about either the Replicape Rev B, or AZSMZ? both look pretty neat. The Replicape especially, though two issues stand out with it. Looks like the company wants you to buy their other board just to use sd card and buy their touch screen if you want a screen, both of which are sold out. I think that it would be easy enough to connect a standard RepRap screen, maybe I could make it my first wireless printer? It does have an Ethernet port.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/14/2016 10:26AM by DaGameFace.

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If you need some help, or don't understand what I just said, feel free to send me a PM anytime

Printer: Prusa i3, 2 E3D v6 Hotends, Arduino + RAMPS 1.4 with a Bypassed 5V Regulator, 400w Insignia ATX PSU, Custom Designed Bowden Extruders

Quote
DaGameFace
Have either of you decided on a new controller for it? You going to reuse the power supply? Where will the rolls of filament be stored? Is an e3d v6 even tall enough to replace the oem hotend?

I am probably just going to use the extra Arduino+RAMPS board running DRV8825 drivers that I have it laying around, it should do fine and I can upgrade later, if I care. I also have a pile of 12v server power supplies, so I'll probably just use one of those. And I can confirm that the E3D V6 will require some kind of adapter, like DD said. Turning them down will make them fit into the extruders, but they will be too short. Even with my bed raised all the way, they won't reach the print surface. I am planning to make a mount/extension for them out of aluminum. I'll post in this thread when I do.

Quote
Firefox3D
... I think a 300mm x 300mm will fit...
Jon

It will fit. I have a 300x300 plate sitting in mine right now, and the XY seems to hit all corners. However, it does have a drawback. You will loose the scraper/waste bin, as it will not fit in there with the larger build plate. Here is a picture of what I mean.

325x320 plate sitting in machine:



Also, here are two pictures of the V6 sitting on the x carriage. I sat it's lip on the top of the plate, giving it about as much upward protrusion as would have if machined down to 10mm and stuck in the extruder (first picture). You can see, on the underside, that it doesn't quite reach. And that's with the bed as high as it will physically go.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/14/2016 10:47AM by TheJones.

I Noticed while moving my x carriage around that the duo, and especially the trio was limited in its print space. The first extruder is fine, able to print on the entire oem print surface but the second and third cant print on the left most edge. This bed being off center is strange, but so is a lot of the printer. You can tell how much it was designed from the ground up to be a triple extruder that they also sell as a single and dual.

Also, I think I know how I am going to make the adapter. step 1, buy e3d's that have threads cut in the top of them for a bowden coupler, then take a piece of alumminum on the lathe to turn it down to 1cm and make a spot on one side for threads to be cut on it. Screw the two pieces together and done.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/14/2016 11:46AM by DaGameFace.

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If you need some help, or don't understand what I just said, feel free to send me a PM anytime

Printer: Prusa i3, 2 E3D v6 Hotends, Arduino + RAMPS 1.4 with a Bypassed 5V Regulator, 400w Insignia ATX PSU, Custom Designed Bowden Extruders

Quote
DaGameFace

Hey, are these endstops something we can reuse? I only have experience with tradition endstop buttons.

Almost forgot about this.

I just checked the magnetic endstops with a multimeter, and they read continuity when triggered. So I think they should work if you want to try them. Mine were triggering when the magnet got any closer than 7mm.

As for the Z, it is on the carriage, pointed down at the bed, and there seems to be a magnet embedded in stock printing surface. I don't know how you would tell marlin to move to that specific spot on the bed before checking Z home, but I guess that might be possible. I think I'm just going to do what DD did for that one, and mount a micro-switch on the Z rail.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/14/2016 11:57AM by TheJones.

Quote
TheJones

Quote
Firefox3D
... I think a 300mm x 300mm will fit...

It will fit. I have a 300x300 plate sitting in mine right now, and the XY seems to hit all corners. However, it does have a drawback. You will loose the scraper/waste bin, as it will not fit in there with the larger build plate. Here is a picture of what I mean.

Thanks, nice to know it's going to work.

Mine (when I finally get it, Monday hopefully) is a single extruder and I can't see a bin installed in the pics so not a problem for me anyway.

Quote
TheJones
Also, here are two pictures of the V6 sitting on the x carriage. I sat it's lip on the top of the plate, giving it about as much upward protrusion as would have if machined down to 10mm and stuck in the extruder (first picture). You can see, on the underside, that it doesn't quite reach. And that's with the bed as high as it will physically go.

Can the heated bed be spaced a to meet the nozzle, or would it hit something else?

I know the E3D will be better especially considering long term use, but having seen some prints on someone's blog I don't think the standard heads can be that bad?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/14/2016 01:56PM by Firefox3D.

Quote
Firefox3D
Can the heated bed be spaced a to meet the nozzle, or would it hit something else?

I know the E3D will be better especially considering long term use, but having seen some prints on someone's blog I don't think the standard heads can be that bad?

I have no problem with the standard hotends. I'm sure they work just fine. In my case I want to replace them because I cant take them apart to clean them like I need to do when using PVA.

The problem is not that the bed does not go high enough, but the cooling fans are lower than the E3D v6. Removing the print cooling fans should allow you to use a v6 that has been turned in a lathe with no extra adaptation.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/14/2016 02:12PM by DaGameFace.

$200 upgrade cost with $150 smoothieboard. How?

Well, if he kept everything else stock, and just bought a 24v power supply, that's easily under $200. I doubt he will, but a conversion can definitely be done for $200 or less.

If you were really inclined to do this cheaply, you could probably get away with just a Chinese Arduino/RAMPS knockoff kit for around $30, if you're willing to roll the dice.

This can be done super cheap. Or you can spend a few extra dollars on nicer parts, like a better board, hotends, or a heated bed. It's up to you and what you want the machine to be when you're done .

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/14/2016 07:54PM by TheJones.

Quote
TheJones
I just checked the magnetic endstops with a multimeter, and they read continuity when triggered. So I think they should work if you want to try them. Mine were triggering when the magnet got any closer than 7mm.

As for the Z, it is on the carriage, pointed down at the bed, and there seems to be a magnet embedded in stock printing surface. I don't know how you would tell marlin to move to that specific spot on the bed before checking Z home, but I guess that might be possible. I think I'm just going to do what DD did for that one, and mount a micro-switch on the Z rail.

A friend has his Duo up and running. He tried the magnetic Z=0 detector and found poor precision (like +/- 0.5mm). He figures that they used the glue to stick prints to the bed because they couldn't get a repeatable z=0 position. PLA sticks to whatever the bed is without glue as long as the nozzles aren't too high.

The original controller homed X and Y first, then the extruder carriage was sent to specific X and Y coordinates (over the magnet under the bed plate) and the Z axis was homed.

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Ultra MegaMax Dominator 3D printer: [drmrehorst.blogspot.com]

Quote
cozmicray
$200 upgrade cost with $150 smoothieboard. How?

Use the original extruders and hot-ends...

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Ultra MegaMax Dominator 3D printer: [drmrehorst.blogspot.com]

Hey, that adapter isn't that bad when you just buy it by itself: 25.00€

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If you need some help, or don't understand what I just said, feel free to send me a PM anytime

Printer: Prusa i3, 2 E3D v6 Hotends, Arduino + RAMPS 1.4 with a Bypassed 5V Regulator, 400w Insignia ATX PSU, Custom Designed Bowden Extruders