Building a 3D printer with my 3D printer

[H. E. Pennpacker]

My son has been playing with printers for a few years, he has gone through a few, but my question to you guys is how do you deal with nozzle plugging? Some are worse than others, plastic wise.

Nozzle clogging can have many root causes from the design of your hot end to material issues. For me, most of my clogs have been from a gap between the bowden tube and the hot end on my old printer. This allows the plastic to expand into this gap creating a plug. I would then have to disassemble the whole hot end to correct. After a few times of this I converted to direct drive on the my old printer and then put the new E3D Revo on my Voron and I have not had clogs since.

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

I am still printing out parts for the new printer. One thing I did tonight is to add LED lights on the front panel of the FLSUN 3D printer enclosure. This really enhances the view from just looking at it and the camera view.

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

Here is some of the progress on the new 3D printer.

Assembling the 4 - Z axis motors and gears. I was short one pulley. The bag in the lower center just arrived. I am also covering the bare wires on the stepper motors to make them less ugly.

A box of printed parts. I have re-printed some of them as my color scheme is changing. I am about 50% done with that now.

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

I am currently 3D printing the last part I should need to build this 3D printer. This is hundreds of hours of printing. I had a power outage tonight ( Tesla crash into Power pole) but am back up and running.

I am printing a gold front center skirt like the rear one on the bottom left since it is where the screen normally goes. Since I am using a larger 7" touch screen (blue top center) I will mount it on top of the printer. The pile on the top right is stuff I re-printed for various reasons.

Today I also received the black oxide linear rails that I ordered back in January that held me up from continuing to put this thing together.

 

[02ebz06]

I'm impressed!
Do you get/buy programs for the stuff you make, or do you write them?

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

I'm impressed!
Do you get/buy programs for the stuff you make, or do you write them?

Almost everything in the photo above is freely available from the Voron team that designed this printer build. The two exceptions are the screen case on the top that is a free design and the black hexagon fan covers that are my design. Both are free on tinkercad.com

 

[JckDanls 07]

OK... So I belong to a Toyota Tundra truck forums... They are trying to build a Tundra with a 3d printer... Just wondering if any of y'all want to check the thread out and maybe give some insight...

3D Printable Tundra Model

Gettin excitin [ATTACH] [ATTACH] [ATTACH] Don't forget the TRD Pro bed stamps :D

www.tundras.com

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

OK... So I belong to a Toyota Tundra truck forums... They are trying to build a Tundra with a 3d printer... Just wondering if any of y'all want to check the thread out and maybe give some insight...

3D Printable Tundra Model

Gettin excitin [ATTACH] [ATTACH] [ATTACH] Don't forget the TRD Pro bed stamps :D

www.tundras.com

Interesting. I'm not going to join the forum for one post but see they are trying to build the frame in one go that is too big for most printers. Why would they not design it in two parts and CA glue them together. At least it would print on most larger printers.

I did pay for the STL files to print a 1/10 scale 4Runner body for my RC vehicle. One of the reasons I am building this printer is to redo it in better detail than the first time.

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

My next step for my printer build was to make the heated build plate. I could simply pay $400 for a pre-made one but that is not the way I roll. I bought the heat pad, a magnetic top surface with two patterns and most importantly a machined aluminum block that was the exact size I needed but was not made for this printer. I spent just over $100 to build it myself.

I had to free hand this since there is no way that is would properly fit into my mill. The holes are not 100% perfect but are well in the tolerances for this build.

The plate after the holes were drilled.

They were set for countersunk 4mm screws.

The screws will all sit .01mm under the surface of the plate and once set will be permanent.

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

It is starting to come together. I did completely change up the way I am building this printer. The gold stuff I printed was having a lot of warpage/shrinkage so that was tossed and I spent countless hours re-printing them with a higher quality white ABS.

The main change is I will have most of the electronics on the top of the printer instead of the bottom (except for the power supplies). This meant I had to re-design a lot of the parts to fit what I am building. I have had to redo a few parts to get them just right. I also had to buy more screws, nutcerts and other parts that were not included in the kits.

This is my most important build so I can take as much time as needed to build it right.

This is as it looks right now with parts still being designed and printed to the right.

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

Just a small update. First I almost finished the top skirts. Almost because I received a SD card reader that I will mount on the top left and move the Ethernet port to the rear. The next step will be to start cutting and mounting the plexiglass panels to the bottom, back and top so I can mount the electronics.

I got side tracked a bit building handles for a set of 11 metric and 11 SAE hex drivers. I posted about it in another post. My last few prints came out pretty crappy but with about 400 hours on this printer it was due for a little tune up. The hot end that holds the print head had worked itself loose and was free spinning while printing. I ended up having to tear down the whole print head assembly to get it tightened up.

While I was at it I also replaced the PEI bed with one with a more coarse coating. I was having trouble with parts sticking to the bed of the one I bought last month. This one is sticking way better. $26 well spent.

Here is a before and after from the little tune up.

 

[BGKYSmoker]

Good job.

I'm still trying to figure out linear rails if I wanna go that rt.

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

Good job.

I'm still trying to figure out linear rails if I wanna go that rt.

They are definitely required as part of this build and my hands on them so far I can feel how much more stable and strong they are compared to other rails I have had in other 3D printers.

It is kinda hard to see them since I went for black rails instead of chrome. Luckily with the delay in my order the also sent me a nice amount of the special grease to lube them up.

I will take my time building this printer so I don't have to go back later to fix any mistakes.

 

[paulgeorge]

I have had more than a few 3D printers over the years but I usually buy cheap ones then regret it later. One of my favorite cheap printers was an ANET A8 plus which gave me a pretty large printing surface to print larger objects but It was like a Harley and I was always having to tinker with it to keep it working. When I got my FLSUN 3D printer I just kind of let it sit for a long time.

Then I decided to spend some money and do a special build. A Voron 2.4r2 300mm. It is not a manufacturer but a process to build a great 3D printer. You can buy kits with most of the parts for around $1500 but you still have print hundreds of 3D parts to build it. I went the stand alone route that will use a few parts from my ANET but end up with a much higher quality printer. I also added extra features I will post later as the project moves on.

The problem I ran into was I had never printed with ABS. It is a higher temperature filament that is known to warp easily. Especially with larger prints needed to build this new printer. So I had to take a pause and build an enclosure for my FLSUN. While I was at it the bed was getting worn out so I replaced it with a removable magnetic PEI bed.

View attachment 688543

I surrounded it with 5mm acrylic on hinges with 3D printed magnetic catches.

View attachment 688544

Haha new soldering iron with a tip to insert threaded inserts into the ABS. If you look at the bottom of the printed part you can see the warping but these parts didn't matter for that.

View attachment 688545

Here is a hint at the upcoming portable printer. The frame is at least 100% perfectly square. It is a good start.

View attachment 688546

Am considering a 3d printer. The creality series seem to be a good choice but appreciate thoughts from those of you that have 3d printers. All recommendations and reviews welcome.

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

Am considering a 3d printer. The creality series seem to be a good choice but appreciate thoughts from those of you that have 3d printers. All recommendations and reviews welcome.

They are a pretty good company. End Ender has been one of the top 3D printers for years. Top of the line for home or small business is Bamboo Labs. I have never looked but I am betting they are pricey.

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

After a few adjustments and reprints I am satisfied with the SD card reader that adapts to the Micro SD input on the printer. I use these for all my printers since the Micro SD cards are very small and easy to lose. SD cards are larger have worked well for me. I can print thru WiFi with this printer but prefer to use cards to hold the prints.

Testing a card to see how it fits. YES!

I also decided to design my own spring loaded vice since I found nothing close on tinkercad. This will securely hold each of the 22 hex handles I previously talked about so I can accurately use my laser printer to burn the size information on all four sides on each of them. It needed to be low profile for the laser and quick to change. I feel I have accomplished this goal. It fits tight with a ring to pull it back and reset it.

 

[paulgeorge]

I have had more than a few 3D printers over the years but I usually buy cheap ones then regret it later. One of my favorite cheap printers was an ANET A8 plus which gave me a pretty large printing surface to print larger objects but It was like a Harley and I was always having to tinker with it to keep it working. When I got my FLSUN 3D printer I just kind of let it sit for a long time.

Then I decided to spend some money and do a special build. A Voron 2.4r2 300mm. It is not a manufacturer but a process to build a great 3D printer. You can buy kits with most of the parts for around $1500 but you still have print hundreds of 3D parts to build it. I went the stand alone route that will use a few parts from my ANET but end up with a much higher quality printer. I also added extra features I will post later as the project moves on.

The problem I ran into was I had never printed with ABS. It is a higher temperature filament that is known to warp easily. Especially with larger prints needed to build this new printer. So I had to take a pause and build an enclosure for my FLSUN. While I was at it the bed was getting worn out so I replaced it with a removable magnetic PEI bed.

View attachment 688543

I surrounded it with 5mm acrylic on hinges with 3D printed magnetic catches.

View attachment 688544

Haha new soldering iron with a tip to insert threaded inserts into the ABS small printer. If you look at the bottom of the printed part you can see the warping but these parts didn't matter for that.

View attachment 688545

Here is a hint at the upcoming printer. The frame is at least 100% perfectly square. It is a good start.

View attachment 688546

I entered 3d printing about 6 months ago with a SV 06. As a PC guy i am used to to build my system on my own basically from scratch since i have complete control of the used components and in most cases the pricing is more reasonable. Is this aproach comparable in building a 3d printer as well? If not, what are the short comings?

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

I entered 3d printing about 6 months ago with a SV 06. As a PC guy i am used to to build my system on my own basically from scratch since i have complete control of the used components and in most cases the pricing is more reasonable. Is this aproach comparable in building a 3d printer as well? If not, what are the short comings?

It is the same approach but more complicated. You also have to be 100% accurate since being off by .5mm will throw the whole thing off.

I am still working on this printer build. I just finished designing and building enclosure cooling fans with a thermostat switch. This will keep the enclosure from overheating.

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

The blue stripe from the pics above is Flexible filament that will act as a gasket when they are mounted to the acrylic panels and dampen any vibrations they may cause.

 

[Chris_in_SoCal]

Here is the inside view. The fans have a tight fit so no hardware is needed. There are pockets for all the wiring and a large space in the middle for all the extra wires to sit.