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Here’s the extruder strapped into the carriage! It fit pretty well - I had to do some sanding / scraping because I was silly enough not to put in any clearance - a good mistake to learn from.

#3D printer #custom #builds

This is a test of the extruder with a small amount of filament I grabbed from the build lab for testing. It works just as intended, which is great.

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Here’s a test of the motors!

The software I’m using to test everything is called Pronterface, and it interfaces simply with the smoothieboard.

Unfortunately, in test mode it can only test one motor at a time, which is why it took so long for the z-axis to start moving

#3D printer #builds #custom #pronterface

Here’s a picture of the extruder with some PTFE tubing attached. I wanted to do a quick test to make sure it worked.

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This is the amazing Smoothieboard - it is so refreshing after controlling steppers with an Arduino and separated drivers. It’s really nice having something with its own firmware. It’s pretty much plug and play.

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Here’s the current build with all the electronics hooked up to test it. Spoiler - it works!

I’ll post videos soon.

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Here’s the finished powersupply cover with the switch and the outgoing wires.

Thanks to my EE friend entmaiden for her help soldering the switch. I made a huge mess with my garbage soldering skills and she helped me salvage it.

#3D printer #custom #builds

Here’s the finished airtripper extruder - it looks and fits great. The filament fits just right. I’m very glad I bought the pieces already printed - I very much doubt that the makerbot could handle these tight edges.

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Using a crazy jig to drill holes in the aluminum. Extrusion is annoying because it doesn’t have a good surface for drilling, so the bit can wander quite a bit (especially in soft metals like aluminum). So the solution was to mark and drill through a piece of wood first to stabilize the bit and keep it from wandering.

It worked wonderfully - the holes came out perfectly and exactly where I needed them.

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Here’s a video of the movement of the extruder with the new design. It’s still loud - but a lot of that has to do with the vibration in the wheels - I had to improvise on some of the mounting hardware. Better hardware is on the way though.

#3D printer #openbuilds #builds #custom

So I know it’s been a while - two weeks almost! But here’s the new design. I’ve been doing a lot of work on the different parts actually - I’ll be uploading pictures and videos over the next couple of days. The main difference between the designs is that this one is much more solid - because there are only two guide shafts, alignment is much simpler. The side plates are modified from plates on openbuilds.com. I lasercut them and even added a little bit of artistic flair. They turned out pretty well!

The biggest challenge I’m facing with this new design is the interface between the lead screws on the wheeled plates - It’s something that has to be very accurate. I’ll keep you updated.

The build volume has also been reduced a bit - but it’s still more than 1 x 1 x 1.

#3D printer #openbuilds #custom #builds

A preview of coming attractions....let’s just say I’m working on an alternative design in case I decide the shafted design isn’t as good as I want it to be.

Keep an eye out ;)

#builds #3d printer #custom #reprap #laser cutter

Here’s a cool video of the laser cutter in action, just for your viewing pleasure.

#3D printer #laser cutter #openbuilds #custom #builds

So I finally got around to trying the laser cutter, and it is really, really nice. These are the micro switch holders I will be using on my build. They are so much cleaner looking than the 3d printed ones I made on the makerbot (the one I got printed at work looked good, but I don’t want to bother them to print more for me).

#3D printer #openbuilds #builds #custom #reprap

Yes, I did film this vertically. I apologize.

Anyways, this gives you an idea of how loud it is. You can see that I can move it lightly from one side, but any real force has to be balanced (pushing in the middle or both sides).

Again, I’m not sure if this is what I’m going to go with or if I’m going to try something else.

#3D printer #reprap #custom #builds

So here are the new sliders mounted on the frame. After my bad experience with the bushings, I was a little bit nervous for this, but they actually work decently well! I do need to apply any significant force on both sides though - good thing I ordered more lead screws and belts.

It’s a little loud, and I’m not really sure if I like it very much. I’m playing around with some redesign ideas that I may CAD up and try to implement.

#3D printer #reprap #custom #builds

More stuff! This is mostly tools (soldering iron and accesories), but I also ordered a fused inlet module (bottom left) and a power cable. I wanted to have an inlet module so I could leave the printer plugged in and just switch it on and off.

I bought all of this off of amazon (except the power cable - it’s from monoprice) with free two day shipping. Gotta love amazon prime.

#3d printer #reprap #custom #builds

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