Monday, August 6, 2012

Rostock 3D printer - Assembly Complete!

Well this is it. Mechanically complete at last.
I have still to get it printing well but it is now spitting out plastic. A couple of things I have done:
  • Mounted my extruder at the top.
  • Took advantage of the extra rod length I have at the top and added a spool holder at the top that feeds straight into the extruder. I will eventually add them to all 3 axis around the top so I can store up to 6 of my favourite colours up there
Still to do / Issues:
  • At the moment the retract does not seem to work it is actually turning forward when it is supposed to retract. Fixed! Was Firmware. Removed the offending line From Code. Its all to do with the original code that would not allow extrude while now movement.
  • The Teflon tubing works its way loose at the top and comes away from the extruder. I will add a steel mounting plate to better secure it. Fixed! Added a grub screw.
  • Calibrate it!
  • Install the heatbed
But she is getting there.. WooHoo!
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13 comments:

  1. GregYAugust 6, 2012 at 11:32 PM

    Bill,

    What size rods did you use in your build? Are they longer than the 762mm that Johann has in his Bill of Materials?
    I'm gathering parts now and wanted to double check.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownAugust 7, 2012 at 1:04 PM

      They are the standard size rods, my belts are shorter than the one recommended. I was planing on maybe extending it at some point in the future but at the moment I have a 200mm build hieght, which is plenty for me (I have only had 80mm on my previous mendel.
      That one this I like about this design its easilly scalable. To increase my height, I need only get longer belts, slide the top further up and tweak the firmware.

      Bill D

      Delete
    2. UnknownAugust 12, 2012 at 7:04 PM

      Actually correction. I am only etting 150 actualy build height I forgot I cant actually print at the home height as the rod has to point down as it moves towards the axis, It is easily increased if I need to though.

      Delete
  2. Mr. MAugust 7, 2012 at 12:38 AM

    Bill,
    Check for a loose connection on the direction pin that goes into the stepper driver, this will cause what you say about going forward instead of going back, the driver is not getting hte signal to change direction.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownAugust 7, 2012 at 1:05 PM

      I will give it another look. I am sure when I used a different non rostock firmware it worked, but I will give it another test tonight.

      Delete
    2. UnknownAugust 7, 2012 at 6:30 PM

      Problem Fixed. There was a bug in the firmware that stopped the extruder from working. Removed the offending line (which has been documented on Thingiverse) and all is OK

      Delete
  3. UnknownAugust 7, 2012 at 2:22 AM

    Great job Bill!! Me and some friends are building one each. Please keep us posted!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownAugust 7, 2012 at 1:06 PM

      Thanks,
      I actually did a test print last night and it looked like crap because of the not retracting issue but I will sort that out soon I hope. Then I can start fine tuning.

      Delete
    2. UnknownAugust 9, 2012 at 3:57 PM

      Hi Bill,

      in the pic, I see that you're not using Airtripper's bowden extruder. What extruder are you using? :)

      Delete
    3. UnknownAugust 11, 2012 at 5:44 PM

      This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    4. UnknownAugust 11, 2012 at 5:46 PM

      Hi Arnold, I am using a standard Wades Extruder. I printed one of the fittings that you also use on the top of the hotend and used it under the extruder to hold the PTFE tubing.

      Delete
  4. UnknownJanuary 29, 2013 at 4:20 AM

    Thank you for another essential article. The information you shared here are incredibly useful. They are continually to the point and simple to interpret.
    Electronics Assembly

    ReplyDelete
  5. Printer Technical SavvyAugust 14, 2014 at 6:15 PM

    Thanks for sharing information .This is very helpful.

    ReplyDelete

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