Idea's for a next 3D printer

Hallo


I have just finalized my first 3D printer build it from the ground-up based on an instructable.

[cdn.thingiverse.com]

[www.instructables.com]

Very nice but sometimes frustrating experience.

Now I want to enter the next phase it was never the intention to build the best possible printer I just wanted to have a workable model, I can continue tweaking it but rather perefer building a new one.

This time I want to be more ambitious, I want to build a printer with very good building quality matching the performance of the Prusia i3 MK2.

So any idea what should be next, a kit might be a good option I do have all the electronics, extrusion and stepper motors to build a second printer. What I learned to be crucial are the structural elements (=Frame) I have seen the Wilson II who seems to be very solid but you might have other and better options. I am willing to invest in purchasing these elements.

So any advice for a plan or kit that will fit my purpose ?

Thanks


Samuel

I am currently building a versatile printer based on a cubic frame out of 20x20 extrusions.
The cube is very rigid and easy to work with. If you use drill through connections instead of edge cubes it is a lot cheaper.
My own printer is designed to be a platform for any change the user wants to do with as little impact on other elements as possible. The cubic frame allows for a lot of flexibility in this regard.

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[www.bonkers.de]
[merlin-hotend.de]
[www.hackerspace-ffm.de]

If you built your own printer, likely you now have the skills to design your own this time instead. Take a look around, see what you like and then get designing.... That way it will be exactly what you want it to be

Do things the right way from the start. Build a rigid frame, use linear guides, minimize plastic parts, use cast tooling plate for the bed on 3 leveling screws, adequate bed heater (0.4 W/cm^2 or more), PEI print surface, 32 bit controller (but avoid modular motor drivers), get a good, reliable extruder and hot-end, avoid multiple motors to drive any axis. If you intend to print ABS, design the machine to be enclosed by putting the electronics outside the enclosure.

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

Hey


I am currently contemplating about the following models


Vulcanus I

[www.instructables.com]

Wilson II

[reprap.org]


any others I should add to my list ?


Samuel

The wilson doesn't look very solid to me. It uses extrusions, but they are connected via printed parts. This is fine in the short term but in the long run they will deform. you'll quickly lose accuracy unless you constantly check up on them.

Vulcanus looks good, lots of metal structural pieces including ali plate across each face of the cube. A good design except for the plastic brackets to attach the upper bits of extrusion, but this is likely fine because of those plates.

What do you want this printer to do? For example, are you building to a budget, are you building for speed, accuracy? Printer size? Enclosure? Answer these questions now, and the printer you want will be easier to answer.

-- If you want speed, avoid prusa style designs. They are limited to 30-40mm/s if you still want high quality. CoreXY and delta can hit 80mm/s+ and still maintain high quality. Often considered the 'step up' once you've had a prusa.

Hey

Building for accuracy, on a budget yes 300 to 500 Euro would be fine. Preferable autoleveling. Speed is of lesser importance.


Samuel

All good projects start with REQUIREMENTS

an important requirement COST

Trade offs BUY -- BUILD

What is needed is a BREAKTHRU
deposition of a material with reliability and accuracy!

We are in a time frame or dot-matrix era of ink/paper printing
WITHOUT big industry developing the personal 3D printer

A bunch of people designing a horse
will end up with camel!


See:
[forums.reprap.org]

The DigitalDentist knows FFF, FDM 3D printers

I have a Wilson II and its a good solid printer with a real E3D hotend (Lite version).

Marty stands by his kits and has a complete set of build videos and config files. There is also a community website which is very supportive.

the_digital_dentist [ PM ]
Re: Idea's for a next 3D printer
April 10, 2017 07:10AM Registered: 4 years ago
Posts: 3,375

Do things the right way from the start. Build a rigid frame, use linear guides, minimize plastic parts, use cast tooling plate for the bed on 3 leveling screws, adequate bed heater (0.4 W/cm^2 or more), PEI print surface, 32 bit controller (but avoid modular motor drivers), get a good, reliable extruder and hot-end, avoid multiple motors to drive any axis. If you intend to print ABS, design the machine to be enclosed by putting the electronics outside the enclosure.


I will second digital dentist... try and do things right from the start... learn from what others have learnt..

I started with a CoreXY with one Z lead screw and soon found it was better to have 3 lead screws to have the print bed platform more ridged.
If I had known it at the start, I would have changed the design rather than trying to change something which is a lot harder and usually not as good.
I ended up using two stepper motors for three Z axis screws and modifying the firmware to get them to auto-syn when homing..
Although it works well one motor driving three Z axis screws would have been easy and cheaper or I may have pushed the limits and gone with three motors and have some auto levelling with them...
Too late now...may have to wait till the next design....

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/11/2017 04:46PM by RepRot.

Hey

got two news one's on my list Hypercube and D-Bot.

the hypercube seems nice and clean, is the fact that the Z is driven by only one stepper an issue?


Samuel



[www.thingiverse.com]


D- Bot Core-XY 3D Printer by spauda01 - Thingiverse


[www.thingiverse.com]


HyperCube 3D Printer by Tech2C - Thingiverse

www.thingiverse.com

One stepper per axis is desirable, but cantilevered beds tend to bounce if you try to print too fast. At faster print speeds, as the X axis and extruder get thrown around, the machine shakes. The shaking causes the free end of the cantilevered bed to bounce up and down, affecting the print quality. The other problem is that as print mass increases, the free end of the bed tends to droop, also affecting print quality. It's possible to make a solid cantilevered bed, but that usually requires a lot more physical length in the Z axis of the machine, and more massive construction. While I'm always in favor of beefy construction, an alternative is to use two or three screws to lift the bed, preferably driven by a single motor. That will prevent the bed from bouncing and you'll probably be able to print faster.

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