New build under way

Hi all,
I am building a T slot printer using 1 inch square T slot extrusions and T slot linear bearings

I have the X, Y and Z axis running

I have been posting on CNC zone but I thought the reprap crowd may be interested also.
CNC zone thread
[www.cnczone.com]

I am from the CNC world and so I am controlling my machine with Mach3 and using slic3r to create the Mach3 Gcode
My motor electronics are Probotix
I am using Nema 17 motors with GT2 pulleys and belts

All the machined parts were made on my CNC machine

I have not had time to document everything in photos yet.
There are a few on the CNC zone link I posted above

I have some YouTube vids of my latest progress here
[www.youtube.com]

And a playlist here
[www.youtube.com]

I attached an image of todays work

If anyone has any questions, let me know
Thanks
Doug

Specs
I am using Mach3 to control the printer.
I am using slic3r to create the Mach3 G-code
Nema 17 motors.
Probotix drivers and breakout board.
1 inch T slot and T slot linear bearings.
GT2 belts with 20 tooth GT2 Pulleys
Scratch built extruder

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2013 07:41PM by EL34.

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My projects are listed here - [www.el34world.com]

I spent a couple days getting everything square, bolting down the electronics and got the A axis extruder almost done.

Here's a video of the 3D printer running the same cup code I did on my CNC machine extruder test.

The 3D printer is finishing the same code in 25 minutes that my CNC machine did in 1 hour 40 minutes

It hard to see just how fast the X and Y axis are in this video but if you lay your hand on the X axis bed, it feels like an intense vibration as it rips the code off in Mach3

I should have the extruder finished in the next couple days and be ready to print the cup code to compare it to what my CNC machine printed

Her's a youtube vid of the printer and Mach3
[youtu.be]

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My projects are listed here - [www.el34world.com]

Yay, first run on my new printer just finished

Got to dial in some settings in slic3r, but no major problems on the first run.

From what I have read, the spider web strings and small blobs may just be a matter of more retraction on extruder moves
Any suggestions are welcome for figuring out how to dial that in

Here's a youtube video of the first run on my new printer
[www.youtube.com]

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My projects are listed here - [www.el34world.com]

I finally had some time today to take detailed pictures of the 3D printer

I have added several things to the printer since I last posted here

This page on my web site has lots of pics and info
[www.el34world.com]

I printed this twisted cup thing the other day to test the printer


Here's an small image of the printer



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/28/2013 09:06PM by EL34.

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My projects are listed here - [www.el34world.com]

Nice.

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- akhlut

Just remember - Iterate, Iterate, Iterate!

[myhomelessmind.blogspot.com]

Thanks

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My projects are listed here - [www.el34world.com]

Yeah, I perused them. Just starting to get into CNC, so your machines caught my eye. Coming from Reprap I understand the motion control, but not all that familiar with Mach3 or the CAM software that I'll need. going to use a spare RAMPS board to drive it initially, but figure I'll move up to something like a BOB with individual stepper controllers eventaully. Hoeken has done quite a bit of work on an open source CNC platform lately. I'm going to have to check out his latest and greatest.

Thanks for putting your stuff online!

And I like the way your Z-axis is done. How is the layer alignment?

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- akhlut

Just remember - Iterate, Iterate, Iterate!

[myhomelessmind.blogspot.com]

Layers look really nice and even
The two Z axis drive shafts are in sync
So when the bottom drive shaft pulls up, the top one duplicates that and keeps everything very even side to side on the Z axis

I keep cranking up the motor speeds on the X and Y axis to see how far I can push it
So far so good
The X and Y axis are printing at 1800 to 3000mm in Mach3

I keep the Z axis set lower since it only has to raise the print head up and down very small increments

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My projects are listed here - [www.el34world.com]

I changed out the nozzle on my printer
The brass acorn nut was dragging material around and there was not enough brass on the end to be able to machine it down to a finer point

I purchased a makerbot style .4 mm nozzle and the prints are much cleaner now



I printed this skull in 4 parts and glued them together
I added some LED's behind the eye sockets just for fun

The lid comes off just above the eyebrows for access to the electronics




I added a few pics of some of the prints here
3D prints page

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My projects are listed here - [www.el34world.com]

Hello EL34,

I wanted to ask, why you chose a pulley z axis design over a threaded rod?
As far as I can see, the motor has no gear? Is it precise enough and can it hold the weight easily?

I am considering a threaded rod design like this, but are unsure which way to go, since this will be my first 3d printer:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/168292015/alu3d.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/168292015/3dprinter.skp

With best regards
Tekkadon

I have two belts for the Z axis and my Z axis is not very heavy
Plus two synced metal drive shafts for the two belts
It is very precise

I did not want to use ACME screws

I had ACME screws on a CNC router and did not like them
Too much backlash and chatter from the delrin bushings
I ended up replacing them with ball screws and ball bearing linear bearings and the CNC router worked so much better

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My projects are listed here - [www.el34world.com]

I have this printer for sale on Ebay

I don't have room in my shop for two printers so one has to go
This printer made many of the parts for my 2nd printer

You can my ebay listing here
[cgi.ebay.com]

This page has build info and lots of pics
[www.el34world.com]

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My projects are listed here - [www.el34world.com]