rostock qustions

I finally decided to build a rostock for my next printer because it seems like it uses less parts than most printers and its cool to watch. Also, I'm looking for more challenge than my prusa i3. Just have some things I want cleared up please.
1. Should I go with rods or the printed rods? Will it really matter?
2. Is there any kind of tutorial available? I'm mostly confused where to use which bolt and bearing, and where to put washers if necessary.
3. Anybody have the dimensions for the plywood top and bottom? I'm finding different results on thingiverse.
4. Does the default "marlin" firmware on githud include the code for the lcd for stand alone printing?

Well that's all the questions I have before I start building it. I started printing the parts earlier today. Thanks

Based on experience from a rostock built from a kit.

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gman
1. Should I go with rods or the printed rods? Will it really matter?

Printed rods with u-joints weared out after about 10 hours of pringing. After that they had too big play. Go for rods with some ball-joints from an shop for RC models.

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gman
2. Is there any kind of tutorial available? I'm mostly confused where to use which bolt and bearing, and where to put washers if necessary.

A tutorial did come with a kit. But it was not worth much. Had errors and was not finished.

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gman
3. Anybody have the dimensions for the plywood top and bottom? I'm finding different results on thingiverse.

[github.com]
There is scad file for plywood there too. I did not use it but it is probably right. Anyway plywood dimensions do not matter much. Tower positions matter and you will get them with a jig. And you will easily see when your jig does not fit your plywood.

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gman
4. Does the default "marlin" firmware on githud include the code for the lcd for stand alone printing?

I do not use it but looks like you can do stanalone printing even without lcd:
[groups.google.com]

Thanks for clearing that up. The hardest part for me will be figuring out which screw, washer and bearing to use but I'm looking at some pictures of a rostock build and I think I'll be able to figure it out.

I'm looking at a Kossel. It seems that this is the evolution of the Rostock, and I've had better luck finding documentation.

I particularly like what I see from this site: [www.builda3dprinter.eu] Their instructions are quite nice, and I like the look of their 'wheels-in-OpenBeam' option for linear slides.

See the Kossel page for the basics, and check out all the links. One is a PDF prepared by a kit vendor that seems pretty complete.

The Kossel fork for Marin _does_ include the LCD support. I'm sure this same fork will work for a Rostock too. He's being good about keeping it up-to-date; the most recent pull in the Git log is 1/28/2014.

-Matt

dont let the instructions fool you. it over simplifies calibration. caused so many hours of frustration because i could not figure out issue. Finally i found the correct calibration instructions and its all so much clearer as to why my parts were not scaled correctly and why i had this one high and one low point in bed. build wise they are good though.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/10/2014 12:52PM by r0773nluck.

Regarding the rods - 6mm metal tubing works. Andy used it on the Cherry Pi. It's dirt cheap too. In the UK it's sold in B&Q. A load of online places sell it as well so if you're elsewhere it should be very easy to pick up.

Im in a similar situation as you are. I build a Prusa Mendel i2 and have been using it for the last year. I started seeing more talk about Delta printers and I decided I really like the design. After a little bit of searching I settled on the Kossel Mini. It has a fair amount of support online and I like the idea of using OpenBeam as oposed the threaded rods to build the frame. It seems like it would have to be more stable and have less wobble.

I'm almost done building this. The hardware is basically all assembled, I'm just waiting on an arduino in the mail still. I ordered the aluhotendv5 for this too but that also hasnt arrived yet.





I printed L-brackets to hold the plywood. It's pretty sturdy.


Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/20/2014 09:48PM by gman.