# 3D Printer Build



## jbolt (Nov 15, 2017)

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






Parts printed on the CR-10. Printed in PETg





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.


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## ttabbal (Nov 15, 2017)

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.


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## jbolt (Nov 15, 2017)

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.


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## brino (Nov 15, 2017)

Watching!





Thanks for sharing.
-brino


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## jbolt (Nov 20, 2017)

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.


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## jbolt (Nov 28, 2017)

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





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















Insulated heat bed





Misc shots


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## brav65 (Nov 28, 2017)

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.


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## rwm (Nov 29, 2017)

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


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## jbolt (Nov 30, 2017)

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.


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## rwm (Nov 30, 2017)

Thanks Jbolt.
There are so many options it is overwhelming. I was cruising AliExpress and saw several setups similar to yours. Impossible to know the real quality until you get your hands on it.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Hig...-f47c-4858-b78a-aa980c51389b&rmStoreLevelAB=1

Then the software is a whole 'nuther mess. If I am using Fusion 360 will I need a program to generate G code as well?

Robert


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## jbolt (Nov 30, 2017)

Take a look at the youtube reviews for that printer. DIY3DTECH is a good source as well as TH3DStudio.

You will need a slicer software to convert your Fusion STL. files to gcode for the printer. Cura is free as well as a few others. I prefer SImplify3D but it is not free.

I have about $1,300 in parts for my printer. The major differences are the Duet Ethernet controller (32 bit), 1200w 400mm x 400mm 120vac silicone bed heater (3 min heat time), 1/4" MIC-6 aluminum build plate (precision ground), E3D hot end and extruder, larger steppers, heavier frame extrusions. I could have cut some cost by sourcing the linear rails/bearings from China but I chose a US supplier.

Also bigger is not always better. A smaller printer has less moving mass and the potential for higher precision/speeds. If this printer works well I may build a 200mm version.


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## 7milesup (Nov 30, 2017)

I just started into the 3D printing world as well.  After what I felt was some rather in-depth research on 3D printers, I settled on a Prusa I3 Mk2.  Of course, one week after I got my Mk2, they announced the Mk3, but that is OK.  The Prusa (from Josef Prusa in Prague, not a clone) is serving me very well and making some parts.  I was originally going to get the CR-10, but decided on the Prusa because of support availability.

I have been using both Cura and Slic3r for my slicing software.   I really like the Cura software but the Prusa comes with Slic3r Prusa Edition which has some baked-in settings specifically for the Prusa.  

Love the PEI coated heated bed without the extra glass, etc.  The new Prusa is going to be coming with a removable PEI heatbed that you can flex slightly and the prints will pop off.  Planning on upgrading to that system in the near future.


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## jbolt (Dec 2, 2017)

Another lesson learned. I have everything configured but couldn't get the X & Y axis to move correctly. With the CoreXY setup both motors turn at the same time/amount to control the movements. The problem I was having was the Y axis would also move with a X command and visa versa. I was going nuts thinking it was a configuration setting. 

Finally I marked the stepper motor shafts and watching the movement (should be equal) I discovered they were not moving the same amount. A check of the model numbers revealed I was sent mismatched motors. One is a 1.8 deg and the other is a 0.9 deg. UGH! Fortunately the Z axis is a 0.9 motor so I will swap that for now until I can get the correct motor for the Z.

Hopefully first test prints tomorrow!


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## rwm (Dec 2, 2017)

I never would have figured that out! Good job.
I like your idea of the Core XY design in 200mm. That would be a good size for my needs. I assume you could always print two halves of and object and join them?
I'm thinking I may have a guy who could print parts for me.
How did you bond the silicone heater to the aluminum plate? Will you print right on that plate of have a layer of some kind?\
Regarding software- I don't see where Fusion 360 can export STL files? The files seem to be incompatible. Can it really work with Cura? What am I missing on that?
Robert


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## 7milesup (Dec 2, 2017)

rwm said:


> Thanks Jbolt.
> 
> Then the software is a whole 'nuther mess. If I am using Fusion 360 will I need a program to generate G code as well?
> 
> Robert



Hi RWM:

Fusion 360 is relatively easy to work with.  Actually, most CAD programs these days work well for exporting the correct file.  On fusion 360, the very first line under "browser" on the left side is where your part is named.  Right click on that line and and then 8 lines down in the menu that pops up will be "Save As STL" cue.   Select where you want to export the file to, which I have a folder for STL files that will eventually be going to my 3D printer, and your done with that part.  Once saved, you open your slicer program (Cura, Slic3r, Simplify3D, etc) and select the file and it will slice it.  Of course, you need to configure your slicer program to your printer, which I find is actually the most difficult aspect of the 3D world... trying to get your slicer program dialed in to your printer.  Once done with the slicing, you can either save that file, which will now be a g-code file, either to an SD card for your 3d printer or send it from the computer to the 3d printer via USB cable.  My Prusa has an SD card so I just load it onto that and then insert into my printer, that way my computer does not need to be on.


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## rwm (Dec 2, 2017)

7milesup_ Great! Thanks for that tutorial. It works fine. I don't understand why that command is not under the Export tab also???
Robert


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## 7milesup (Dec 2, 2017)

Right?!  
I wondered too why it would not be under the export command.  Took me a little while to figure it out.  I find the forum  help for Fusion to be excellent, along with the tutorials. My problem seems to be that i never have enough time in one day.


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## jbolt (Dec 2, 2017)

Success! Made the first print, a calibration cube. Axis calibration is good. Now it's just tuning the settings. I need to dial in the Z offset for the first layer and the extruder settings. 

First cube.









Second cube after some teaks. Stringing is better.


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## jbolt (Dec 6, 2017)

A little more tuning and tweaking. Took me most of Sunday to do the POD tuning of the heaters. The powerful heater triggers an over=power warning in the firmware. I did several iterations reducing the PWM percentage until the warning went away but it was at a cost of way too slow heat up time which defeats the purpose of the powerful heater. I'm going to add a thermal fuse to the heater for safety and run the heater at 90% PWM. 20c to 80c in less than 5 minutes.

I'm really pleased on how this has turned out so far. The Duet controller, Reprap firmware and web based control console make tuning sooo much easier than Marlin.

The part on the right was done using the setting from the CR-10 which does okay with PETG but it leaves tons of whispy hairs on the CR-10. On the New printer it was a disaster. I tweaked the settings for the PETG for this printer and the second part on the left came out fantastic with almost zero stings, blobs or zits. Very nice. I'm also really liking printing directly on the aluminum plate.






Short video of the printer in action.


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## WDG (Dec 13, 2017)

Jbolt, would you be willing to make a hinge for an antique Cole machine door for me?  I'm not sure what the material strength is that your using.  Right now I'm trying to machine one and it's going to take some doing just for a simple hinge.  The old one that I broke was cast and I'm trying to make it out of 1/2" steel plate but it's not simple shaped.  Going to take some time but I thought if you could print one I would like to try it.  It does go on the bottom of the door so it would have to be strong.


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## jbolt (Dec 13, 2017)

WDG said:


> Jbolt, would you be willing to make a hinge for an antique Cole machine door for me?  I'm not sure what the material strength is that your using.  Right now I'm trying to machine one and it's going to take some doing just for a simple hinge.  The old one that I broke was cast and I'm trying to make it out of 1/2" steel plate but it's not simple shaped.  Going to take some time but I thought if you could print one I would like to try it.  It does go on the bottom of the door so it would have to be strong.


I sent you a PM.


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