Building an Ormerod 2 from scratch

Having bought an Ormerod 2 (a 528.5) kit from RepRapPro a couple of years ago I thought I would attempt the "RepRap" principle by building one from scratch. Clearly I can print the relevant parts and I have bought the very nice aluminium X-axis and bed from the relevant suppliers. As my current machine is working I haven't yet risked dismantling my existing machine to install them, hence the new build which will also give me the opportunity to play with DC's new firmware.

My questions relate to the acrylic Y-axis end plates A & B, which I assume are mirror imaged versions of the same DXF, to get the slight taper for the 12mm rod to be from the alternative sides

1 Does anybody supply these items, possibly in aluminium? I'm aware that the Duet/power supply assembly also require acrylic pieces and that this assembly braces the Z axis. Problem for another day.

2 I have found the DXF files which I think are for (? some ) of the acrylic and MDF pieces in GitHub [github.com]. I have an MPCNC 2.8w laser machine that I have built. Anyone got ideas of what power laser is needed to cut acrylic. I suspect 2.8W will be too small.


I'm aware there are other alternative design around for these pieces, which are meant to stop the Y axis twisting issue but at this point I thought I would start with the original.

Thanks in advance

Dennis

Dennis

As you are building from scratch, you might consider changing the end-plate design so that the position of the ground rods can be adjusted to make them exactly parallel in Z. This will prevent the situation where the bed rises and falls as it moves in Y, which is a major reason why it is difficult to mechanically level the bed. A mechanical screw adjustment will also eliminate the need to make holes that are an exact (or slightly tapered) fit on the rods.

Dave

[Edit] By coincidence there is a thread on that very issue here [forums.reprap.org]

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/07/2017 05:41AM by dmould.

Hi,

As 125 people have viewed my earlier posting I thought I would update the board on progress to date. I have attached a photo of the build to date and to answer the specific question in my earlier post a 2.8W 445nm laser mounted on an MPCNC device successfully cut 5mm thick Perspex at 1mm/" speed with a Z drop of 1mm. This took about 30minutes for each Y axis end plate and I am now making the Perspex mounts for the Mean Well power supply. I have posted an update on the posting that DMOULD highlighted with an attachment
shows the different end plate design that RepRapPro published for their different version numbers. I am trying the 528.5 version that have 2 lugs that locate into the aluminium extrusion. Time will tell if that prevents the Y axis twist!

Dennis

Thank's for the update! - keep 'em coming - we need this! :-)

to make a picture appear in post:
"Attach a file"
"Choose File"
"Attach"
"create link in message"

Work for me with Firefox, Opera, Brave etc.



Erik

Following Erik's last message time for an update and an attempt to embed an image in the posting. Successfully assembled Y,X and Z axes. The Y carriage required a bit of fettling otherwise all straightforward. Cut out the 3mm heated bed insulator with 6 passes of 0.6mm per pass with my 2.8W laser and have been waiting for miscellaneous electronic components (in particular the SMD LEDs and resistor for the bed) to arrive. Still to produce the aluminium heat spreader and my plan is to use cable rated at 17A for the bed and 26AWG wire for the thermistor.

After that it will be time for decisions:

1 Use Duet 0.6 as per original or one of the newer Duets. If the latter do I go for Wi-Fi (and in suburban west London, there are according to insider 4, at least 15 other Wi-Fi users local to me on the Wi-Fi channel I am using) or stay with cabled Ethernet? As far as I can see the major advantage to the later Duets is the much easier option to add a second extruder should I want to. Still have to work out how to mount the Duet. I see printed designs on Thingiverse and I'm hoping (assuming?) that all duets have the same profile and fixing points so the designs are interchangeable.

2 Do I cheat and purchase wiring looms or assemble my own. My understanding is the plugs for the steppers are JST-PH and connections to the Duets are Molex KK although Ian from RepRapPro in 2015 listed connectors and at that time was recommending Toby 1800-T connectors. I have been very impressed with Toby for other supplies. Cables would be 26AWG inside Shrinktek expandable sleeving, I'm not bothered about EMI proofing this build.

I would be interested in any thoughts people might have on these points.

Dennis

OK so using IE11 the attach file, create link in message didn't work. Trying with firefox!

If WiFi is congested where you are, I suggest the Duet Ethernet. It has the same advantages of the Duet WiFi (TMC2660 drivers with x256 microstepping etc.) but with cabled Ethernet. Connectors are supplied with the Duet WiFi and Duet Ethernet.

Depending on where you get the stepper motors from, they may have wires coming out of them, or JST connectors.

---

Delta printer calibration calculator, mini IR Z probe, and colour touch screen control panel: [escher3d.com]

Large delta printer, and other 3D printer blog postings: [miscsolutions.wordpress.com]

Disclosure: I have a financial interest in sales of the Panel Due, Mini IR height sensor, and Duet WiFi/Duet Ethernet [www.duet3d.com].

Any further update sinnedwrong? I've been watching your post with interest , so I'll post about where I am in the hope it'll spur you on to do so

I'm making my second Ormerod 2 at the moment as way of upgrading my existing one without dismantling my fairly original 528.4 work-horse (although I changed the extruder on the original last night as it's a simple update as I've been getting itchy to try out the new build).
I ended up with all the parts for a second Ormerod 2 last December when I bought a lot on eBay when I was just after the parts for a dual extruder and ended up with almost all the parts minus a few cheap minor parts such as a bowden end and hobbed nut) (original post is here)

I've made very little time for it this year until this last month. So now I've picked it up again and have been working gently on it (half hour here, an hour there). I am currently waiting on MDF insulator from Reprap Ltd (I thought I had it, but realised when it came to fitting that it wasn't a Quickset MDF insulator) so I figured I could make time for a post. I'm hoping to be finished in the next couple of weeks if I can.



I have, or plan to have, on this build
528.5 and additional/replacement parts

• Ormerod Y-Axis bed leveling adjustment
• Ormerod Anti Backlash Z Nut
• A white Ormerod X Stop
• Ormerod X-idler bracket with belt tensioner
• iamburnys Extruder Gears & Z gears & Replacement Extruder Tube Clip
• chrishamm's y-front-clamp

(any other suggestions by the more seasoned Ormerod 2 owners here would be most welcome!)

I've considered the Spring-loaded extruder but I've never really had any issues with my extruder, so I think I'll leave that for the next build (i.e. rebuilding my current working 528.4 when completely happy with this one)
I did briefly consider getting all the printed parts professionally printed via SLS in nylon for that "it's just pucka" feel, but that's just silly
This week I'm now torn between transplanting my existing Duet (I really only need one printer ) or buying a nice shiny Duet Wifi and having two working Ormerod 2's.

I did my OM2 from scratch. The spring loaded extruder is really a great improvement. Next step will be a TR8 leadscrew.

---

Slicer: Simplify3D 4.0; sometimes CraftWare 1.14 or Cura 2.7
Delta with Duet-WiFi, FW: 1.20.1RC2; mini-sensor board by dc42 for auto-leveling
Ormerod common modifications: Mini-sensor board by dc42, aluminum X-arm, 0.4 mm nozzle E3D like, 2nd fan, Z stepper nut M5 x 15, Herringbone gears, Z-axis bearing at top, spring loaded extruder with pneumatic fitting, Y belt axis tensioner
Ormerod 2: FW: 1.19-dc42 on Duet-WiFi. own build, modifications: GT2-belts, silicone heat-bed, different motors and so on. Printed parts: bed support, (PSU holder) and Y-feet.
Ormerod 1: FW: 1.15c-dc42 on 1k Duet-Board. Modifications: Aluminium bed-support, (nearly) all parts reprinted in PLA/ ABS, and so on.

Sorry for the delay in updating this build. Something to do with owning a classic car, a boat and the imminent arrival of winter. Progress to date:

1 I assembled the heated bed, cutting out the MDF using several passes of my 2.8W laser but encountered all of the usual problems when trying to cut out the aluminium heat spreader using a CNC router. Melted chips, loss of registration, destruction of the bit etc. So eventually went back to the old fashioned way and used a pad saw. When attempting to solder the SMD resistor to the heated bed the pad came loose. As I manage on my original Ormerod without LEDs to tell me if its active I didn't pursue trying to repair the bed and will manage without. My stock of 35mm cap head M3 screws are only partially threaded so I used a 35mm hex headed bolt instead for the bed mounting screw at the front of the machine.

2 Assembled the extruder with no problems

3 Have now sourced all of the components for the "Quickset" hot end so that's the next task.

4 Have sourced all of the connectors and 2 (Engineer PA-09 and PA-21) generic crimp tools (one can never have too many crimp tools)! So after the hot end the next stage will be to assemble the wiring looms. However I have still to decide how to mount the duet which will determine the length of the looms. I like the idea of using the Meanwell power supply to brace the Z axis however I'm struggling at the moment to see how the mount a "printed" duet case onto the power supply. After my experience with the aluminium for the heated bed I don't fancy trying to reproduce the original mounts.

Dennis