Does anyone have experience with building their own 3d printer?
I''ve been toying with the idea, and i think it could be done at a reasonable price, but I thought i would ask here if anyone had some experience? what parts should be bought as specific 3d printer parts, and which could be replaced with standart "home depo" stuff without much trouble? and what kind of software should be used?
>>939787
http://www.instructables.com/id/eWaste-60-3DPrinter/
If you can scrounge up your own frames and motors, then you'd really only need to buy the printer head and main board.
Frame could def. be wood or something, but you need nice stepper motors, which you could salvage from printers or something. In the link he's using dvd drives.
>>939787
I tried. I ended up buying a kit for 240$. Now that I've seen it, though, Im building more cnc stuff. Openbuilds.com or org or whatever has very cheap frame supplies. EBay sells reprap hotends. Belt driven axis' are easy as shit to build with linear extrusion and home depot parts. I bought 28 shower door rollers for the openbuilds stuff, they fit beautifully, and don't cost 4-5$ a piece like they want for wheels.
Anyhow controls are the most confusing part. I use an mks base 1.2 board. It has the software and stepper drivers all in one. I know there's an arduino shield, and I have one, but I haven't gotten into how to actually use it as mks base does it all in one board, and it was pre-programmed.
>>939906
Also, I'll check back here for the next hour if you would like pics of anything or explanations. I'm no pro, in fact I just got my first good print Saturday. But, shit is always more clear when you can see it.
>>939787
Poorfag here.
Its very easy to get the electronic parts for cheap but very hard to find good mechanical parts like the chromated rods and good nema 17 motors for a reasonable price (30 dollars per pair, u need 3 pairs) i would recommed you to scrap some from old printers or just buy some crappy iron rods for 8 bucks in the shop (i did that).
Well, you dont need a huge amount of components you build one by yoself.
here are all the electronics
http://www.ebay.com/itm/RAMPS-1-4-Controller-MEGA-2560-R3-5X-A4988-Driver-for-3D-Printer-RepRap-Kit-GOCG-/121650894344?hash=item1c52f55608:g:568AAOSw3ydVnMSv
you will need 5 nema 17 motors, weeaboos sell tiny 35 mm motors that cost no more than 5 bucks each one and dont forget to get the belts and pulleys .
- a J head (extruder) and a Heating bed.
- 10 - 12 linear bearings
- 3 Endstops
- A power supply =>20 Amps 12-24 V (you have heaters and stuff, they require a good amount of current)
- lot of wire
I suppose you can figure the other stuff u need.
Well that was the important stuff u need to buy.I bought all important crap to china and built it from pure and genuine shit, spent not more than 65 on it i guess.
As for the software i use pronterface to control the printer And Slic3r to convert models to Gcode.
Note: i builded the extruder from shit, then printed a decent one after.
>>939787
RepStrap
>>939908
i would love to see the printer :)
where did you get the plans from? or was it from your own brain?
>>940112
This new one is being pieced together as I go. Will post pics later today.
I built a Prusa i3 from a kit a few months ago. Going DIY is pretty pointless i think since it will usually end up costing more than a kit would and will generally be the same thing anyway.
>>940163
>pointless
Depends. Is the typical i3 bed too small? It's design has pretty obvious flaws, if you've ever had to manually level a bed and z axis. Plus, move it once and you have to re-level. I know about autoleveling, but that adds to the cost.
Anyhow, using the i3 as a base isn't a bad idea. Look at the i3 rework. Personally I prefer linear tracked as opposed to rods and loud bearings. Instead of the two rods at the y axis, one 40mm or 80mm extrusion, tracked, belt driven. Mount plate on top.
Anyways, the point is that if you have plans besides printing 60x60x90 octopi from thingiverse, custom printers are better.
>>940174
i suppose you need some kind of "basis" to design your printer from? can a reprap printer be used for that, or is there some other design to start from?
>>940174
I mean it's pointless if you just want a decent sized printer to start with and improve from there. If you go and build one from parts yourself, then it will probably end up more expensive and most likely a similar design to the i3 anyway.
Depends what OP is after though i guess. If he wants something with a few more features, then he should probably look at other designs.
>>940184
Actually the more I think about it, I agree. An i3 will give you a decent start point, and allow you to build a bigger print much, much easier.
>>940179
You don't need a basis. Check out openbuilds.com. sorry if it sounds like I'm pushing them, but instructables has tons of cnc creations as well. There are countless reprap projects that go for cheaper, bigger, weirder, et cetera. They're a great base, and tons of parts are already available for them.
For a beginner, I'd start with a reprap based plan, then build more complicated printers with your initial printer.
>>940226
I have access to printers already on my school, and have some experience using them, I just figured it was time to make one I didn't have to share with 1000 other students, so in that sense, I am already past "initial" printer... What would you suggest for a more complicated printer?
