My First Delta Build

Hey Guys,

Now ive decided i need a bigger printer I was going to build a CoreXY cartesian printer but I'm unable get the parts I need so with parts I have lying around the workshop ive decided to build a Delta printer.

Now the key parts I am using are as follows

3x 1m Long smooth rods
3x 600mm long smooth rods
3x nema 23 motor's
RAMPS 1.4 Controller Board
30x 623 Bearings

now i'm designing a delta that doesnt use t slot frame as I cant source it at a good price in australia.

The printer will be relatively frameless except for the 3d printed top and bottom, and effector plate. Plus my delta will have a direct drive extruder nema17 motor i have lying around.

Now this post will also be my build log, and place for people to give positive feed back. Now like I said i'm building this printer with parts I have sitting in my workshop, plus parts I can source locally.

I would like some help on calculating build volume and arm travel etc.

Talk Soon
Paul

Update 5/9/17 10PM ACST

I've designed the central design hub of the printer, currently on the printer. I'm also going with a single smooth rod for the arms, using a Uni-joint for the motion range needed, and single smooth rods for the 3 towers, as you guessed 600mm long rods for the arms, and 1m long rods for the towers. for the trucks they will travel on 2mm stainless steel cable, and provide the rigidity and alignment for the trucks, i'll post pictures when I get home from work tomorrow. With the bed leveling, i'm going with a 3 point adjustment at each tower, using a central ball joint support in the bed plate centre.

I'll post another update tomorrow.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/05/2017 08:48AM by Celcius1.

I'd be concerned about the rigidity of the machine if I'm understanding correctly.

3D printed parts as the top and bottom plate would provide very little structural stability. The parts themselves would allow a certain amount of deflection. Also if you're using only 3 smooth rods for the vertical motion/frame they would have to be quite thick for them not to flex. There also would be nothing to prevent the entire machine from twisting. Also any carriages that you use to ride those rods would also be able to rotate. I understand your idea about the steel cable, I doubt that would be able to prevent that. You would need to tension them greatly to do so, and I worry that printed parts won't hold up.

Same goes for using an individual rod per axis for the arms. There's nothing to prevent the effector from twisting.

Direct drive looks sounds good in theory, your effector is going to have to be big to for the motor to not interfere with the range of motion of the rods.

Leveling the bed is an interesting idea, I do suspect that since it'll be on a ball joint, adjusting one edge would affect the others, making it hard to adjust. You're better off mounting it rigidly and using endstop adjustments (physical or firmware) to level.

My opinion is that you're over complicating the machine. A Deltas' mechanics are simple. It's the build that requires precision and proper software calibration. I understand your situation with parts not being available. You've already committed to using smooth rods and 3d printed parts. I'd suggest you build a Rostock. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:17175

For the build volume, arms, etc. Decide what bed size you want. For example I choose 300 mm diameter. Then for the nozzle to reach the edge all the way around the circumfrence without the joints interfering with anything, my arms have to be 330 mm. I'd say unless you're going much larger than that, your arms won't have to be much bigger. Probably not 600 mm. Then you will know your build height. There are calculators out there that would help with this.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/05/2017 03:38PM by FA-MAS.

I'm scraping my head how you want to keep the effector from tilting with only 3 rods?
I don't understand what a union-joint is, maybe that's the secret?
I'll wait for pictures...

Yeah I'd say the list of parts suggests a quite unconventional delta, but keen to see what you have in mind.

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Simon Khoury

Co-founder of [www.precisionpiezo.co.uk] Accurate, repeatable, versatile Z-Probes
Published:Inventions