3D Printer Build

jbolt

Active User
H-M Supporter Gold Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2013
Messages
1,844
I need another project like I need a hole in my head but I have another project for my business that has parts that screamed 3D printer. A few months ago I purchased a Creality CR-10 because of the low cost to build volume. Its a nice printer for figurines and doo-dads but after many hours of tweaking I'm not getting satisfactory results in higher temp materials at reasonable print speed. I get a lot of ghosting especially in the Y axis at anything above 30 mm/s which is unsatisfactory for print times. The moving mass of the table and un-braced design of the Z axis rails lends to too much shaking. I also had problems with missed steps until I increased the stepper driver voltage on the Y axis motor.

After much research and looking at off the shelf printers I decided to just build what I want. I'm not recreating the wheel by any means. My build is based off the HyperCube Evolution which is a corexy design which is a remix of someone elses design . https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2254103 . I have up-scaled so my build has a build volume of 400mm x 400mm x 400mm.

Specifications are:
CoreXY design
400mm x 400mm x 400m build area
30mm aluminum extrusions for the frame.
20mm aluminum extrusions for the built table frame
Nema 17 62 oz in 400 step motors on the X, Y & Z axis
Dual Z screws driven by a single motor
GT2 2mm pulleys with 6mm belts
12mm linear rails on the Z axis and 10mm on the X & Y
E3D-v6 24v hot end
Titan Extruder (will start as a Bowden setup)
120vac silicon heater for the bed
1/4" MIC-6 aluminum build table
Auto bed leveling
Duet Ethernet controller
24v 20A power supply
Currently not planning on a display as I run my prints from my desktop PC.

CAD Model
HC-OJS01.png


Parts printed on the CR-10. Printed in PETg
20171114_193112.png


Progress so far. Parts are still trickling in. Bed heater and optical limit sensors are on a slow boat from China and will not be here until December.
20171114_214305.png
 
Consider installing vibration dampers on the stepper motors. They really quiet things down, and as they prevent vibration from transferring to the frame, they should help prevent artifacts in the prints.
 
Thanks, I did that on the CR-10 and it helped with the noise not so much with other issues. On the new one the motor mounts are printed plastic so that should help.
 
Watching!
popcorn.gif


Thanks for sharing.
-brino
 
Progress update.

To my surprise most everything came it, even the two items from China. The last piece I'm waiting for is the aluminum plate for the heat bed.

I have the Z axis assembly installed and I installed the drive belts for the XY. I'm now working on getting the electronics mounted. I decided to take a minimalist approach to the mounting. I'm generally not a fan of not have things in enclosures but this build seems to lend itself to the open electronics.

20171117_203823.png
20171117_203900.png
20171117_203914.png
20171119_140403.png
 
Getting closer.

Mechanically the printer is built. I'm now working on commissioning the control board. I have the heaters working and the X, Y & Z axis moving.

I'm not happy with the optical end stops so I and looking at alternatives. I have ordered some mechanical switches for now until I get that figured out. The sensor they sent me for the Z probe was the wrong type so I am waiting on the replacement for that.

I had a few issues getting the Duet control board to communicate properly. Seems to have an issue if both the USB and Ethernet cables are connected at the same time and the board is powered by the 24v supply. When powered by the USB only it works fine. For now I'm just using the Web Control interface which is really nice since you can edit the firmware from there. No compiling necessary.

The Titan extruder is not behaving correctly so I need to pull it apart and see what is amiss. Either the gear is skipping or the stepper is.

The 1200w AC heat bed is awesome. Went from cold (20c) to 80c in three minutes. 5x faster than the 12v heater on the CR-10 does.

Backside
20171125_160738.png


Electronics: Duet Ethernet controller, 24v 20A PS, 25A SSR for heat bed
20171126_094016.png


20171126_094028.png


20171126_094059.png


Insulated heat bed
20171126_094127.png


Misc shots
20171126_094148.png


20171126_094328.png


20171126_094359.png


20171126_094408.png


20171126_094415.png


20171126_094422.png
 
Great project, I have a Tevo that I built then promptly tore apart to upgrade and have not had time to finish. Can’t wait to see it print.
 
This is an awesome looking project. I am thinking about starting on one of these as a winter project. I love the build envelope and rigidity you have designed into this.
jbolt- would you be willing to coach me and/or others through building a duplicate of your project? Should I start with something smaller? It seems to me I should just jump in with the most functional machine rather than buy a starter and upgrade later. Ballpark where do you think the cost of this machine will end up?
Robert
 
Hi Robert,

Well you need a printer to build this printer. I haven't machined any parts for this project which is kind of weird.

If you don't have any experience with a 3D printers I would suggest getting something like an Anet A8 to start with. They are only a couple hundred bucks and capable of making the parts you need for a larger printer. I could not have built this one without the CR-10 I first bought.

I'm no expert on 3D printers by any means but I'm not afraid to take on a challenge. I can't yet say I would recommend this printer in this size since I don't have it running yet and don't know how well it will perform. Time will tell.

I would spend some time on the interweb and look at all the different styles, Cartesian, CoreXY, H-Bot and Delta etc. Each has their strengths and weaknesses. I'm happy to offer any advice or help I can but I am also new to 3D printing. Lots of good stuff on the web. Thomas Sanladerer has some great vids on youtube.

I'm not sure what the total damage is. I will see if I can round up what the parts cost.
 
Back
Top