Build Status Update (part 7/many) - First moves!

Just a quick update with a short movie. Today I finished the linear motion. I still some tuning to do though.

As expected I had to fiddle a bit as I am using Spectra instead of belts and replaced the pulleys and idlers with custom printed ones (well to be honest, I got them from Thingiverse). As it turns out the pulleys I had printed are not exactly the right size (scotch tape can do miracles in times of emergency; still not something to keep). Nevertheless job for the day done!

Note to myself: "design your own pulleys and idlers")

Airprinting a Rostock Platform

Build Status Update (part 6/many) - First moves!

Today my printed parts (red abs) and the rods arrived; so time to start assembling my very own Rostock Delta style 3D printer.

Goal for the day was one moving 'leg', and moving... it did albeit for a very short time!

Before the first attempt, I had to fiddle a bit with the Marlin script though (reversing polarity of the motors). Question to myself: time to make a fork or ask Johann for some enhancements in the standard version?

But as I said, it moved... and it stuttered. But still it moved. By stuttering I mean the top idler was misaligned with the filament pulley, so the spectra 'derailed' but hey; goal of the day reached!

Below is a little video of the very first move. It's an unedited version, so you will also see the filament loosening at the end (Maybe I should have made a 'director's cut').

Parts arrived! (part 5/7)

Today the Spectra braided line arrived. It came nicely packages via air mail all the way from China. Unlike most others working on Rostock or Kossel type 3D printers I didn't go for the heavy duty type of line with a 0.6mm diameter and capable of pulling a car. I settled for the 0.2mm sized braided line which should be able to pull 20LB (9,0718474 Kg). After all, the weight of all moving parts combined is just a few hundred grams. We'll see how the line behaves once my very own Rostock type 3D printer is moving. By the way, the line is red as my printed parts will be.

Still on their way:

• Rods (expected during or juster after the weekend)
• Plastic parts - red (expected during or juster after the weekend)
• PTFE tube (just ordered today; should arrive in 4-5 days)

'Airprinting' a 20x20x20 mm rounded cube @ 10% infill and 0.2mm layer height

Build Status Update (part 5/many) - 'Crazy' motor problem solved

The electronics part is finished! Yesterday, I solved the 'crazy' motor issue. So now I can print air as the whole thing is not assembled yet and is still laid out my desk.

To be honest I got some help on solving the 'crazy motor' issue. It turned out I hadn't defined the bed center in Slic3r to match a Rostock Delta type 3D printer. The correct setting for a Rostock is 0x0 instead of the default 100x100 which is ok for Mendel, Prusa and the like. Combining 100x100 with a Rostock results in negative square root calculations and in the 'crazy motor syndrom'.

Now it's just waiting for the the plastic parts, rods and braided line to arrive. In the meantime I will prepare all parts for the frame.

Still looking for a good PTFE supplier for my bowden setup though.

Build Status Update (part 4/many) - Hot end connected

This evening I connected the J-Head MK Vb. It involved some fiddling with the tiny connectors to make the double connection at the Sanguinololu end (see here for the wiring diagram), but I managed. The temperature is showing in Pronterface for Mac and the hot end gets really hot. So, one more thing to tick off on the todo list and sofar for the good news.

As for the motor that goes crazy (x-motor position; first connector from the left) after starting a 'dummy print', no progress is made so far. Hoping to isolate a faulty wiring or Pololu, I first switched the X and Y motors positions with no result. I also switched the Pololus without a positive result. The motor connected on the leftmost Pololu still acts bizarre.

The only thing left for now is to go back to the original firmware (standard Marlin) that was preloaded when I received the Sanguinololu and see what happens.

If the 'crazy motors' insists on spinning until I reset the printer in Pronterface, the board must be faulty; if not there might be an issue with the 'Rostock modified Marlin'. Hope to have some good news soon.

Build Status Update (part 3/many) - Firmware uploaded

I finally managed to upload Johann's modified Marlin firmware from my iMac onto the Sanguinololu (Atmega 1284P). Apparently the Johann-Marlin/Sanguinololu/iMac combo is not that wide spread yet. So it took me a while to find all the required info, but with some great help from Roland - who emailed me some very useful tips tips - I finally managed. 

All the electrical/electronic parts are now connected and laid out on my desk, and I can 'virtually' print stuff using Johann's firmware.

One strange observation though: after 'homing' (I have to click the end stops manually as there is no real printer yet), and starting to 'print', the X-motor keeps spinning and there is no way, except resetting the printer in Pronterface, to stop it. Strange things indeed... but just another hurdle to take.

Parts arrived! (part 4/7)

Today it's nuts, bolts and washers day. What can I say? They arrived, ... that's about it.

What's still missing?

• Rods
• Plastic parts
• PTFE tube (still looking for a supplier that anything than by the meter

Build Status Update (part 2/many) - It's moving!

It's moving! This evening I connected all the electronic and electrical stuff, apart from the J-head MK 5b hot end, to do a first test of the components, ... and I could 'virtually print' something. First test passed: all the stuff involved seems to work, even the salvaged ATX power supply I ripped out of an old PC (took me while though).

Next challenge: the 'brains' of what is supposed to become my derivative of a Rostock style Delta RepRap 3D printer will be a Sanguinololu. The board came preloaded with standard Marlin software (allowing me to do the initial component tests), so I need to upload the 'Rostock Marlin' version. As the Sanguinololu is hooked up to a Mac, it seems I might be in for a long search as how to do the uploading. There seems to be no such thing as a standard step by step tutorial to follow. I will post my findings as soon as I am able to do the upload and have some documentation on the process.

Hope it won't take too long before my next update.

Build Status Update (part 1/many)

Just ripped apart a old desktop I have laying around gathering dust to salvage the 300W power supply (should be enough for testing).

As I am not an electrical engineer, it took me a while to get any juice out of it though, but the info on this page helped me out (connecting the green wire to ground did miracles.

I also got the "Rostock modified" Marlin ready to be transferred to the Sanguinololu.

Nopheads film will be my little tutorial on how to attach those little connectors to the motor and end stop wires. Once this is done, I can start uploading Marlin and testing.

Keep following...

Parts arrived! (part 3/7)

Ordered on the 8th, arrived today in Belgium!


Parts arrived 

• 1 MR105ZZ 5x10x4 ball bearing

Parts arrived! (part 2/7)

Ordered on the 8th, arrived today in Belgium!

Parts arrived:

• 1 Sanguinololu (incl Pololu's) (UK)
• 1 J-Head MK Vb (UK)
• 1 MK7 Gear (DK)
• Carbon tubes 6mm (BE)

Parts arrived! (part 1/7)

Ordered in The Netherlands on the 8th, arrived today in Belgium!

Parts arrived:

• 4 Nema 17 Stepper motors
• 6 LM8UU Linear bearings
• 3 608ZZ bearings

Waiting for parts to arrive

Quick update as it's been a while. I just ordered most of the parts I need for my first Rostock 3D printer derivative.

A few hick-ups though. The guy who previously agreed to print the plastic - ABS - parts and deliver the rods, just informed me - after I emailed him my 'order' - that he 'just' raised his price with a little over 20%. I think he really expected me to order the parts anyway. To be clear about this: I am not; a quote is a quote in my book.

So I am looking for someone else in the area to print the required Rostock parts and I also need to find a new supplier for the rods (hope it doesn't take too long to find somebody).

I also need to find a PTFE (bowden tube) supplier that doesn't charge a shipping fee that exceeds the product cost tenfold.

Once this is finished, the wait for the parts can start and after that it's up to the fun part.

I'll keep you guys updated on my search for the suppliers of the last parts and maybe post some pics as soon as parts start to arrive.

Happy fabbing!