Mini Kossel build with twist

Hey guys, I'm ordering the parts for my first printer build after owning a Da Vinci and Printrbot Metal Simple. I have gone over the options and so far I would like to do linear rails for their precision but they are only available under $100 from outside the US so for now I'm planning to use Johann recirculating carriage design with 3/16" balls, an Unis hot end(any links to an effector that will fit this hot end would be appreciated) and finally I would like to use an inductive proximity switch since the price is right at $5 and I have found it works great for Z axis zero and bed leveling on my simple metal with borasilicate glass that has a layer of aluminum foil under it.

Not married to the hot end yet but I really don't like the flip down Z axis leveling options and the force sensing route is more expensive and complex.

As for controller I'm leaning towards a Printrboard since I'm familiar with it and can get it at the same time as the hot end but I also like the idea of the Azteeg X5 but I'm concerned about support since I'm not really familiar with the code involved but have some coding experience and know I can make minor changes without issue. For simplicity I'm going to start with Johann's extruder & geared stepper motor then test others eventually.

Appreciate any help.

Hi ChrisT88

We have found that the Delrin V roller design works really well and, like the recirculating balls, is much cheaper than the slide. For the electronics a RAMPS is a tried and tested solution but ii should work with Printrboard no problems. Its key to get the parts printed accurately and the extrusion and effector arms all cut/made accurately so the printer is assembled true.

I will be interested to see how you get on with the inductive sensor - another of our customers with a Metal Simple suggested it as an alternative to the spring probe (which also works well and is very simple).

You may find our documentation useful - although some parts of your build will be different.

Cheers

Tony

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DuetWifi.: advanced 3d printing electronics

It has more or less been accepted in Delta circles that all of the floating point math needed to run a Delta at speed is pushing the upper boundary of 8-bit processors. The beauty of the Azteeg X5 Mini and Smoothieware is that the firmware comes pre-compiled, and everything is done via a simple config file. It makes things tougher if you want to do odd things with auto calibration, but works well for 99% of the Delta printers out there. I have zero regrets about purchasing mine.

On the Johann recirculating ball carriage, I did a set for 2020 and could not print replacements using mini-V slot roller wheels fast enough. The 2020 variant required CONSTANT attention, and couldn't print for more than 20 minutes without needing to be re-tightened to take the slop out of them. Looks great in theory, but I'm not a fan of the concept after seeing them in action.....

Thanks for the quick replies. I feel the same way about the 8 bit processor on the Delta configuration and I think regular cartesian designs could benefit too.

I think for now I'll start with the smallest investment since I'm still unsure about Delta printers and on that note I have decided to try a J head hot end(.35 since I prefer precision over speed) to add some diversity to my experience. Can someone list the common cheap but reliable ramps 1.4 controllers used? I would prefer something that could support a heated bed without using a relay like the Printrboards.

As for the rollers, I can see where Johann's carriages might not meet expectations but I have already ordered the balls and printed the carriages so I will start there. I did a quick search and found a store very close to me (20-30 miles) selling the V rollers:

[www.ultibots.com]

But when I add up the price it's going to cost me $50+ after tax. I have already found a place to order x3 400mm linear rails for $73 shipped to the US so I'm hoping Johann's carriages will carry me until the rails would arrive otherwise I might try the V rollers.

The extrusion kit is from Openbeam on Amazon and the effector arm kit was ordered from tridprinting.com and will hopefully be here in the next few days as I would like to print and hopefully build the printer over the weekend. With any luck my print quality with the Metal Simple will meet the precision required to build the delta, I have attached one of my first prints as an example.

I used a printrboard and now have a smoothieboard azteeg x5 mini. For making small changes, the smoothieboard is a lot easier. No more putting jumpers on and off, loading arduino IDE, saving a temp file, opening another program and burning the firmware. Smoothie looks to a config file that a text editor can change, then simply reset. Much easier for day to day use. I think the smoothie support is pretty good. They have a google groups, as well as good documentation and generally good drivers. It isn't a fair comparison, but the smoothie was so much easier to set up the endstops, motors, etc. I was brand new to arduino when I got a printrboard (which I think still requires some work to even get recognized in the arduino IDE).

Ramps would probably be much the same, but if I had to get another board I'd get an x5 in a heartbeat.

Tridprinting sells the azteeg x5, but panucatt shipped mine out fast. I think they make quality products in comparison to the wide variety of quality on ebay with ramps, etc. Ramps can be cheaper, but having some experience I'll gladly pay $20-50 more to never have to flash a printrboard again. That said, once set up, you probably don't need to adjust the firmware all that much. If you want to do it cheap, you can, but my time is worth a little bit of money (and sanity).

For cheap RAMPS try here. I've bought about 15 sets now and only once had an issue, a 4988 needed a joint re-soldering. They ship in about two weeks to the UK.

[www.aliexpress.com]