tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22283728873299904112024-03-28T20:27:44.597-07:00John's Model MakingJohn Socha-Leialohahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06008871146248095504noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228372887329990411.post-40661140990144519702023-11-12T20:38:00.000-08:002023-11-12T20:38:34.187-08:00 Rigid Frame for SmartBench CNC Router<div>In the video below, I provide an overview of the frame I built for my Yeti SmartBench CNC Router:</div><div><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zPPoP2rbbm0?si=6BTkDidl-YGYQrWr" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>
<div><br /></div><div>The design on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/2192222464415462/permalink/2823898101247892/">Facebook from Michael Walsh</a> that I used.</div><h1 style="text-align: left;">Parts List</h1><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>4 each of <a href="https://parco-inc.com/product/10-series-1-x-2-6-slot-aluminum-t-slot-extrusion-cut/">E1020S-C 1"x2" T-Slot extrusion</a> cut to 51" long</li><li>4 each of <a href="https://parco-inc.com/product/e1010s-c-1-x-1-smooth-t-slot/">E1010S-C 1"x1" T-Slot extrusion</a> cut to 50" long</li><li>8 each of <a href="https://parco-inc.com/product/10-s-2-hole-inside-corner-bracket/">B41081 10S 2 Hole Inside Corner Bracket</a>. Add more if you want to use stops for the material.</li><li>8 each of <a href="https://parco-inc.com/product/f32049-10s-connector-link-4-inch/">F32049 10S Connector Link 4"</a></li><li>8 each of <a href="https://parco-inc.com/product/10-s-4-hole-inside-corner-bracket/">B41011 10S 4 Hole Inside Corner Bracket</a></li><li>40 each of <a href="https://parco-inc.com/product/tslot-tnut-fc33930/">FC33930 1/4-20 x 1/2 Button Head Socket Cap Screw w/ Econ T-Nut</a></li><li>8 each of <a href="https://parco-inc.com/product/tslot-f-3911/">F3911Z 10S 1/4-20 Drop In T-Nut w/Ball Spring</a> (to connect the 2-hole angles to the SmartBench T-Slot)</li></ul></div>John Socha-Leialohahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06008871146248095504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228372887329990411.post-39041624787772012752022-10-30T11:28:00.002-07:002022-11-13T10:32:39.020-08:00Metric Threads and TolerancesI recently needed to mill some M27x0.5 threads for both the screw (the case back of a watch) and the nut (the watch case).
Online calculators do a great job of calculating these dimensions. However, Fusion 360 also needs a value called the
<i>pitch diameter offset</i>, which is the twice the depth of cut (because it's based on diameter) using a thread
mill (in my case) or thread cutter (for a lathe). These cutters are much closer to having a sharp tip than the flatter root profile. As such, you need to cut deeper than the calculators (or the Machinery's Handbook) would indicate.
I spent quite a bit of time with the Machinery's Handbook, 31st edition, understanding all the details of metric threads
and tolerances, which I describe in this video:<div><br /><div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="true" class="BLOG_video_class" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wjwgINFZf7Y" width="640" youtube-src-id="wjwgINFZf7Y"></iframe>
<h1>Screw/External Dimensions</h1>
The following image, which you can click on for a larger version, shows the values you need to calculate for the outer diameter of the screw along with the depth of the thread. You can enter twice the depth into to Fusion 360's <i>pitch diameter offset</i> property for thread milling.
To use these equations, you'll need to look up values for Td and Td2 in the Machinery's Handbook. If your thread mill (thread cutter) has a slight flat, you'll need to reduce the deapth by the difference between the ideal tip and the actual tip.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglqBkXldcEhZstFQSnfmgUlGo5DO82cG0Fplk4704BNopGoyg2ilXAdvVcwKbaatVBdxLGUWvvA_o7L7_bW4wVKOJzC6PrLdUqU9G0WXuM_blk3xiNuI4KovH5IxPq57K-QEQx1LwNEnQhxACht-iKW9QljG3cYYmxIpyzGaPDXLUzJIxT3dvEZEbYGA/s1920/Screw%20Threads.png" style="clear: left; display: block; float: left; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglqBkXldcEhZstFQSnfmgUlGo5DO82cG0Fplk4704BNopGoyg2ilXAdvVcwKbaatVBdxLGUWvvA_o7L7_bW4wVKOJzC6PrLdUqU9G0WXuM_blk3xiNuI4KovH5IxPq57K-QEQx1LwNEnQhxACht-iKW9QljG3cYYmxIpyzGaPDXLUzJIxT3dvEZEbYGA/s1920/Screw%20Threads.png" style="clear: left; display: block; float: left; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglqBkXldcEhZstFQSnfmgUlGo5DO82cG0Fplk4704BNopGoyg2ilXAdvVcwKbaatVBdxLGUWvvA_o7L7_bW4wVKOJzC6PrLdUqU9G0WXuM_blk3xiNuI4KovH5IxPq57K-QEQx1LwNEnQhxACht-iKW9QljG3cYYmxIpyzGaPDXLUzJIxT3dvEZEbYGA/s1920/Screw%20Threads.png" style="clear: left; display: block; float: left; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglqBkXldcEhZstFQSnfmgUlGo5DO82cG0Fplk4704BNopGoyg2ilXAdvVcwKbaatVBdxLGUWvvA_o7L7_bW4wVKOJzC6PrLdUqU9G0WXuM_blk3xiNuI4KovH5IxPq57K-QEQx1LwNEnQhxACht-iKW9QljG3cYYmxIpyzGaPDXLUzJIxT3dvEZEbYGA/s1920/Screw%20Threads.png" style="display: block; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglqBkXldcEhZstFQSnfmgUlGo5DO82cG0Fplk4704BNopGoyg2ilXAdvVcwKbaatVBdxLGUWvvA_o7L7_bW4wVKOJzC6PrLdUqU9G0WXuM_blk3xiNuI4KovH5IxPq57K-QEQx1LwNEnQhxACht-iKW9QljG3cYYmxIpyzGaPDXLUzJIxT3dvEZEbYGA/w640-h361/Screw%20Threads.png" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div>
<div>Here is an example calculation:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkRr-i1ZMHWNtqWPZ1BCDuNQPAIYg_mFaquAQM6vLOHTnItoORa1GXodIX2NgtJzLKUZM6opg2iUXiTox32kd3eEhZ3XYMUdjIWEvVmUWJ_kLtIoYMEQ_F-XvXPconOBzvcRI58FdMAlTdmgU6Himlrp0jaRfmyHMC5HblqVL3786Ycw-wVmLUgXFTGg/s800/M27x0.5%20Example%20v2_800.png" style="clear: left; display: block; float: left; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkRr-i1ZMHWNtqWPZ1BCDuNQPAIYg_mFaquAQM6vLOHTnItoORa1GXodIX2NgtJzLKUZM6opg2iUXiTox32kd3eEhZ3XYMUdjIWEvVmUWJ_kLtIoYMEQ_F-XvXPconOBzvcRI58FdMAlTdmgU6Himlrp0jaRfmyHMC5HblqVL3786Ycw-wVmLUgXFTGg/s16000/M27x0.5%20Example%20v2_800.png" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"></div>
<b>Note:</b> The value for <i>pdo</i> from the example above in the video was not correct, and
I've corrected it here. I had multipled the first part by 2 to convert from radius to diamter,
but forgot to multiple the second part by 2.
</div>
<h1>Nut/Internal Dimensions</h1>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEaDpYG0VZ0VpUC2U6mzS6yYGZlc77Y5z9sgb80fUHBVo18K2_a6PqGwVnLlQvjz_4PlYfYwnx7ZCeKrN6eeU-a4ddwR1NRKDiziRtvv8nElX2VVyMqh7hgyQwZ06b_d-5hoeEFAim3lNsd-mhNSVa4crxqT8gg08_vFMpGic6CUFVc3aQyiNwwCQCCQ/s1920/Nut%20Threads.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEaDpYG0VZ0VpUC2U6mzS6yYGZlc77Y5z9sgb80fUHBVo18K2_a6PqGwVnLlQvjz_4PlYfYwnx7ZCeKrN6eeU-a4ddwR1NRKDiziRtvv8nElX2VVyMqh7hgyQwZ06b_d-5hoeEFAim3lNsd-mhNSVa4crxqT8gg08_vFMpGic6CUFVc3aQyiNwwCQCCQ/s600/Nut%20Threads.png" width="600" /></a></div>
<h1>Tolerances</h1>
The Machinery's Handbook does a good job of explaining the tolerances, which have a number (the grade) followed by a letter (the position). The position is shown in Fig. 5,
which is on p. 2019 in the 31st edition. The letter for the nut/internal threads is either G or H. While for the screw/external threads, it can be e, f, g, or h. An example would be 6g for the screw and 6H
for the nut, which is what I used in the example above.<div><br /></div><div>You can also have different numbers for the crest and pitch tolerances. For example, 5g6g would use 5 for the pitch diameter and 6 for the major diameter (both are for a screw as the letters are lower-case).</div><div><br /></div><div>The following diagram is a quick way to know which column to use for each of the tolerance values.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY25Vcz6Wd6JRqnkyTjh7yJ_ENQnmoF3gncH46uQm-YI962y6MgbJg9t3lBpr5EdDwIR9RWW2UuksBfuqItA5e7pJBrjB00rP_8eVgy5BpdHxTc1AwVNVODgzOAwlAH0-2845zEbqwlCfILXJr97zWwaSr-jgw5i-ErxMKvhsJ1ciElEzjSuOsED8BEQ/s219/Tolerances.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="219" data-original-width="174" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY25Vcz6Wd6JRqnkyTjh7yJ_ENQnmoF3gncH46uQm-YI962y6MgbJg9t3lBpr5EdDwIR9RWW2UuksBfuqItA5e7pJBrjB00rP_8eVgy5BpdHxTc1AwVNVODgzOAwlAH0-2845zEbqwlCfILXJr97zWwaSr-jgw5i-ErxMKvhsJ1ciElEzjSuOsED8BEQ/s1600/Tolerances.PNG" width="174" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div></div>John Socha-Leialohahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06008871146248095504noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228372887329990411.post-43182064334299680272021-07-04T10:33:00.009-07:002021-08-19T20:45:27.978-07:00Plastic Pellet Maker<p>Getting custom colors for my desktop injection molding machines is a challenge. Most
production injection molding machines use a screw to mix and compress (and heat) the plastic before injection. Those
machines allow you to use raw plastic along with a colorant called masterbatch to create just about any color you
want.</p>
<p>But my machines are plunger-style machines, and therefore do a very poor job mixing the
masterbatch into the raw pellets. So I hatched a plan to use a Filastruder to extrude custom filament and then chop
it into pellets.</p>
<p>I started by creating the chopper (I still haven't built the Filastruder, for reasons I'll
explain below). I have videos below that take you through my development process until the final version.</p>
<h2>Files</h2>
You can download the STL (for 3D printed parts) and STEP (for machined parts) from here: <a href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4900710">https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4900710</a>
<h2>Parts</h2>
Most of the following links are all "Amazon Associate" links, which means I get a small amount from Amazon.
This supports my efforts in a small way without any cost to you.
<ul>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000AV70S/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0000AV70S&linkCode=as2&tag=randomprodu0a-20&linkId=0f6cbd767da6af267ff4fc8c42a6ef00">Forstner Drill Bit 1-Inch by 3/8-Inch Shank</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HNSVMVH/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B07HNSVMVH&linkCode=as2&tag=randomprodu0a-20&linkId=a92067b9ab5ec838b48833800585d7ad">Stepper Signal Generator</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BMML4KR/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B07BMML4KR&linkCode=as2&tag=randomprodu0a-20&linkId=2f91b3d0e846c793ea72e9c96f99b303">Filament extruder</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PNEQKC0/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00PNEQKC0&linkCode=as2&tag=randomprodu0a-20&linkId=3cd5c14bee94199aa728d6732a643a20">STEPPERONLINE Nema 17 Stepper Motor</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07S64MBTR/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B07S64MBTR&linkCode=as2&tag=randomprodu0a-20&linkId=44886772ba0a4d891c1fffcab13f3566">Teyleten Robot TB6600 4A 9-42V Stepper Motor Driver</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XXWQ49N/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B07XXWQ49N&linkCode=as2&tag=randomprodu0a-20&linkId=32d2e06b13a1b07c348144fc53c456ba">5V Buck Converter</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01461MOGQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B01461MOGQ&linkCode=as2&tag=randomprodu0a-20&linkId=697716981fa24a9927237c66e9cb5793">LEDMO Power Supply, 12V, 5A Max</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.harborfreight.com/power-tools/drills-drivers/heavy-duty-professional-3-8-eighth-inch-magnesium-drill-98179.html">Harbor Freight 3/8 In. Magnesium Variable Speed Reversible Drill</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FN83C4/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000FN83C4&linkCode=as2&tag=randomprodu0a-20&linkId=e632b9ea0be573f03c910506b1475c6a">Socket Cap Screw 1/2" Length, 10-24 UNC (Pack of 100)</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08B1T7K14/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=randomprodu0a-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B08B1T7K14&linkId=db842fab1dd29dd3a4b52f770753416d">M4 by 20mm cap head screws</a></li>
</ul>
<h2>Development Videos</h2>
<h3>Pellet Maker Part 7</h3>
This is the final version, which uses aluminum parts instead of 3D printed parts for the frame (the 3D printed parts tended to break easily). I've chopped quote a few roles of filament using this version.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gGjAa8ds8_k" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<h3>Pellet Maker Part 6</h3>
<p>I create 3D-printed parts that allow for precise speed control of a Chicago Electric 98179 corded drill (available from Harbor Freight). I also ground flats on the shaft of the forstner bit so it doesn't slip in the drill chuck.</p>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kCKIKxokhlc" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<h3>Pellet Maker Part 5</h3>
<p>This is the episode where I ground a back relief into the forstner bit. This also goes over the wiring for the stepper motor controller I used.</p>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DV5gwBCuzA8" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<h3>Pellet Maker Part 4</h3>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qvJgj652oXg" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<h3>Pellet Maker Part 3</h3>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1PssIKyKpSQ" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<h3>Pellet Maker Part 2</h3>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7UakMDWWesw" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<h3>Pellet Maker Part 1</h3>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aYXsankQixs" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
John Socha-Leialohahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06008871146248095504noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228372887329990411.post-43792603536803777802018-11-18T16:11:00.000-08:002019-11-09T23:33:42.642-08:00Taig to "Taigmach" MillNovember 18, 2018<br />
<br />
I have updated this "blog" post so there will be a single place where you can go to find most of the details (or at least links to other posts in the series).<br />
<br />
I've had a Taig CNC mill for over 10 years. This has been a really great machine and has worked well for making small injection molds. About a year ago, I upgraded to ball screws, which has given it new life (the backlash with the lead screws was getting pretty bad). I documented that upgrade here:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/iwJdNLYVDk0">Taig Upgrade Part 1</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/rAOWPOiqidY">Taig Upgrade Part 2</a></li>
</ul>
<div>
Later, as described in sections below, I also upgraded the frame and spindle. Here are the rest of the videos in the series:</div>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/lGKhOi1iN0Y">Boring, "Taigmach" Part 3</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/xhFVq79tNDs">New Frame, "Taigmach" Part 4</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/ahfqP_ZIkJw">Boring Again, "Taigmach" Part 5</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/ahfqP_ZIkJw">Taig Column Alignment, "Taigmach" Part 6</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/m2mvpXqGuzY">R8 Spindle Install, "Taigmach" Part 7</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/OFeY_mmD8S0">Boring Again Solved, "Taigmach" Part 8</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/zyK-Y_gHru8">Taig Power Drawbar, "Taigmach" Part 9</a></li>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/ZaIAxU8i1PM">Taigmach First Chips, "Taigmach" Part 10</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>
Tormach Envy</h4>
However, recently I've been having a serious case of Tormach envy. I've had my eye on a PCNC 770, and now 770M mill. This provides a little larger work area than my Taig, as well as other features. But there is a huge price difference. I purchased my Taig for about $2,000 (would be about $3,000 today). Whereas the 770M is about $15,000 for what I would want. That's a huge difference.<br />
<br />
So let's take a look at what I found so compelling about the Tormach that I don't have today with my Taig.<br />
<ul>
<li>More powerful spindle</li>
<li>Spindle on/off and speed control</li>
<li>A little more Y movement</li>
<li>TTS tool holding</li>
<li>Power draw bar</li>
<li>Haimer or ITTP probe</li>
<li>Fogbuster</li>
<li>PathPilot</li>
</ul>
<div>
Before I got into the details, there is one major thing that kept me from buying a Tormach. We're currently in a rental house while we wait for our new house to be ready, and I don't have room for a Tormach right now. This has kept me from taking the plunge. But while talking with Kevin, another hobby CNC machinist at work, he mentioned that Tormach has had serious problems with backlash. After doing a bunch of research, I came to the conclusion that this seems to impact a very small number of machines, and seems to be a result of poorly scraped ways. You can find more in this post: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/TormachOperators/permalink/1151400568330644/">Facebook Post</a>. And also in my video below:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Rjk8W6ZYc0Y/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="405" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Rjk8W6ZYc0Y?feature=player_embedded" width="720"></iframe></div>
<br />
So after a bunch of research, I learned that there are other upgrades for the Taig for the spindle motor, the frame, and the spindle. Once I'm done with these upgrades, I'll have most of what I wanted in a Tormach, but for a lower price (less than $2,200 for the upgrades). Sounds compelling, right? Let's take a closer look.<br />
<h4>
Specs Comparison</h4>
<div>
<b>Movement</b></div>
<table style="text-align: left;">
<tbody>
<tr><th>Machine</th><th>X</th><th>Y</th><th>Z</th></tr>
<tr><td>Taig</td><td>12"</td><td>5.5"</td><td>6"</td>
</tr>
<tr><td>PCNC 440</td><td>10"</td><td>6.25"</td><td>10"</td></tr>
<tr><td>PCNC 770</td><td>14"</td><td>7.5"</td><td>13.25"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>Note:</b> I can add a .75" extension for Y on the Taig, providing a total of 6.25" travel.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Spindle Motor</b></div>
<div>
Taig: 1/4 hp</div>
<div>
PCNC 440: 3/4 hp</div>
<div>
PCNC 770: 1 hp</div>
<div>
770M 1.5 hp</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So in many respects, the 440 is pretty close to what I would get from upgrading my Taig. Therefore, I looked at the price of a new 440 with PathPilot and a power drawbar (but no encloser, base, TTS sets, etc. so it would be a better comparison). The total came out to $7,850.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
On the other hand, the Taig upgrades (new frame, TTS spindle, power draw bar, new spindle motor) come to about $2,150. This of course, is using my existing 5019CNC mill ($3,000 today) and computer. If you factored in a cheap computer and stepper controller and you started from scratch, it would probably cost about $5,000. That's still an extra $2,800 for a 440. That's probably worth it if you just want to make chips. But if you're willing to do some work, you can get a nice machine for less money. And it will be lighter and easier to fit into a small space without an engine hoist.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
PCNC 440: <b>$7,850.90</b></div>
<h4>
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>PCNC 440 Base Machine: $5,995</li>
<li>PathPilot Controller: $795</li>
<li>Power Drawbar: $695</li>
<li>Standard LCD monitor: $195.50</li>
<li>Keyboard, jog shuttle, etc.: $169.40</li>
</ul>
<div style="font-weight: 400;">
Taig: <b>$5,145</b></div>
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>Taig 5019CNC: $2,995</li>
<li>Consew motor, pulleys and belt: $150</li>
<li>Frame upgrade: $500</li>
<li>TTS spindle & power drawbar: $1,500</li>
</ul>
</h4>
<h4>
Spindle Motor Upgrade</h4>
<div>
The stock spindle motor on the Taig is a 1/4 hp motor, whereas the Tormach PCNC 770 has a 1 hp motor, and the 770M has a 1.5 hp. That's a pretty big difference. The Tormach also has spindle speed and on/off under software control. Whereas, on my Taig, I have to flip the switch for on/off control, and change pulleys to change speeds. The pulleys give me 6 different speeds, from 1,050 to 10,600 RPM.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
After doing some research, I stumbled upon the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/524365887660604/">Taig Lathe And Mill Owners Club</a> on Facebook. This is a pretty active community, and finally got me onto using Facebook. There I learned about a very inexpensive motor upgrade using a sewing machine servo motor. The Consew CSM1000 motor is a 3/4 hp motor, so the same as a PCNC 440 and close enough to the PCNC 770. I purchased one from Amazon for about $100 and some pulleys and a new belt (another $50):</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016EJ1WB6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1">CSM1000 Servo Sewing Machine Motor 3/4HP</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.bbman.com/catalog/product/20XL037-3FA7">20XL037-3FA7 Imperial Pitch Pulley</a> -- 20 teeth, 5/8" bore</li>
<li><a href="https://www.bbman.com/catalog/product/40XL037-6A6">40XL037-6A6 Imperial Pitch Pulley</a> -- 40 teeth, 1/2" bore</li>
<li><a href="https://www.bbman.com/catalog/product/142XL037G">142XL037G Imperial Pitch Belt</a> -- I ordered a few extra</li>
</ul>
<div>
<b>Note:</b> If you have an R8 spindle (see below), see that section for the correct pulley and belt to use.<br />
<br />
The first motor was defective, so I sent it back and got a replacement that works. For the price, the hassle was OK.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In order to use this new motor, I needed to mill a motor mount, order some pulleys and belt, and the bore out the larger pulley to fit the Consew motor shaft. I found a motor mount in the Facebook group that also had the CAM already set up (but you'll need to use less aggressive feeds with the stock motor):</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/524365887660604/permalink/1395836023846915/">Consew Motor Mount Post</a></li>
</ul>
<div>
Here are the two videos I created covering making the plate and boring out the larger pulley:</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lGKhOi1iN0Y/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="405" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lGKhOi1iN0Y?feature=player_embedded" width="720"></iframe><br />
<div>
<h4>
Frame Upgrade</h4>
Stuart Andrews has created a very nice upgrade to the stock from. For $500, you get a stronger frame, plus some much needed room in the Y and Z directions. You can find more information here:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/524365887660604/permalink/1681571545273360/">Taig Frame Upgrade</a></li>
</ul>
<div>
I've received this frame and have installed it. You can find the videos here:<br />
<br /></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xhFVq79tNDs/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="405" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xhFVq79tNDs?feature=player_embedded" width="720"></iframe></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ahfqP_ZIkJw/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="405" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ahfqP_ZIkJw?feature=player_embedded" width="720"></iframe><br />
<div>
<br />
The frame is a huge improvement for several reasons:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>It's more rigid, which allows more aggressive cuts</li>
<li>It doesn't have the ability to rotate, which allows getting it precisely aligned without worry that it will shift</li>
<li>It's taller, and therefore provides more clearance in Z</li>
<li>It allows moving the X/Y assembly further from the column</li>
</ul>
<div>
All of these improvements allowed me to have better clearance for my vise. Which in turn allowed me to use the full Y travel with the vise mounted, something I'd never been able to do before.</div>
<h4>
Spindle Upgrade</h4>
<div>
The final piece, which took this machine to an entirely new level, was to upgrade the spindle to an R8 spindle that supports TTS (Tormach Tooling System) along with a power drawbar. The power drawbar makes tool changes very fast. And you can pre-measure all of your tools, which allows for much faster, more enjoyable, milling projects.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The spindle and power drawbar together were $1,500, and well worth it. You can find more about this on the Taig Lathe and Mill Owners Club on Facebook page under announcements:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/524365887660604/announcements/">https://www.facebook.com/groups/524365887660604/announcements/</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Note, this is a private group, so you'll need to request access and answer some questions (you won't be granted access if you don't answer the questions).<br />
<br />
The R8 spindle requires a different set of pulleys from the stock spindle. The spindle itself has a 30-tooth pulley already attached. Here are the pulley and belt you'll need for the Consew motor:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.bbman.com/catalog/product/60XL037M6WA12">60XL037M6WA12</a> -- 60 tooth, 12mm bore</li>
<li><a href="https://www.bbman.com/catalog/product/184XL037G">184XL037G</a> -- 92 tooth imperial pitch belt</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
I documented installing the spindle and power drawbar here:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
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John Socha-Leialohahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06008871146248095504noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228372887329990411.post-61807713117347019422018-11-04T14:15:00.002-08:002018-11-04T14:15:40.504-08:00Fusion 360 Cutter Compensation and Mach 3Cutter compensation is a great way to dial in a hole to be a very precise size. I learned about cutter compensation from a John Saunders video <a href="https://youtu.be/Mxtfs0Wr2X0">How to Use Cutter Comp on a Tormach! WW180</a>. In his video, he's using PathPilot on a Tormach. But I have Mach3 with a Taig, so the workflow is a little different. But not by much.<br />
<br />
First, some background. Cutter compensation is done use a set of g codes: G41 and G42. Which one to use depends on the direction of cut. Fortunately, Fusion 360 handles choosing the correct one based on what you're trying to do.<br />
<br />
Here's the high-level overview of how it works. Normally, Fusion 360 will calculate the correct location of the tool path based on the diameter of the cutter. In the picture below, you can see that it's moved the tool path for the cutter inward by half of the tool diameter.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirO6kdgg0_MD-I4C-1UPtvuY5Cxh88REUir7niho9quu03FBpl26JDko07u5yFrIuKvioFcmWdtrUCE2B4TgrYOoHI6zBQOiFXj18nkdmdqWNoC9prw5yONE-GTXLtu7QAr1pZNyriBGZs/s1600/Without+Comp.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="1092" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirO6kdgg0_MD-I4C-1UPtvuY5Cxh88REUir7niho9quu03FBpl26JDko07u5yFrIuKvioFcmWdtrUCE2B4TgrYOoHI6zBQOiFXj18nkdmdqWNoC9prw5yONE-GTXLtu7QAr1pZNyriBGZs/s400/Without+Comp.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
In other words, Fusion 360 is handling the calculations to compensate for the diameter of the cutter.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div>
Cutter compensation in Fusion 360, at least at the time I'm writing this, is only supported for 2D operations. </div>
<h2>
Setup in Fusion 360</h2>
<div>
If you change the default <b>In computer</b> to <b>In control</b>, you're telling Fusion 360 that the controller (Mach3 in my case) will handle compensation instead. Here is how you make that change:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEyXGUlOY-jwBDFeP8wSQJOBH5BXo-IuaCYeVnR1RZTih-cYwlpUA9kLaGHhpX3cFoZWdymikVM5PWbXdC-bIY5_uOHEOx9XXVdH32BqxLOsFwXKmy3aEVvjpGtQBfBvL3a_H_bxknAA4A/s1600/Enable+Comp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="291" data-original-width="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEyXGUlOY-jwBDFeP8wSQJOBH5BXo-IuaCYeVnR1RZTih-cYwlpUA9kLaGHhpX3cFoZWdymikVM5PWbXdC-bIY5_uOHEOx9XXVdH32BqxLOsFwXKmy3aEVvjpGtQBfBvL3a_H_bxknAA4A/s1600/Enable+Comp.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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Once you regenerate the tool path, you'll see the following:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaUV3-OAN25plxasEOWhsblElQe5jPnRtQOlaNLEU1hJfj1NklxxAg2EKnOvDpnGu9besf006_6o7-SZL7oAqS3w0cV1Igq_iUWmPsa_33IncIbpysumm1vIbYHY7F0sD_aCSFG2uFWn7M/s1600/With+Comp.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="795" data-original-width="1061" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaUV3-OAN25plxasEOWhsblElQe5jPnRtQOlaNLEU1hJfj1NklxxAg2EKnOvDpnGu9besf006_6o7-SZL7oAqS3w0cV1Igq_iUWmPsa_33IncIbpysumm1vIbYHY7F0sD_aCSFG2uFWn7M/s320/With+Comp.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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This may be a little hard to see, but now the tool path (the blue line) is exactly along the profile, rather than 1/2 a diameter away.</div>
<br />
<h2>
Setup in Mach3</h2>
<div>
Mach3 has a tool table. I have never used this before, which means I've always been using tool 1. To set a tool diameter in this table:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Click the <b>Offsets</b> tab</li>
<li>Click the <b>Save Tool Offsets</b> button</li>
<li>Edit the <b>Diameter (D)</b> cell for tool 1</li>
<li>Click <b>Apply</b> (very important, because it won't keep your changes otherwise)</li>
<li>Click <b>OK</b></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj96R_d0oQzWn88N6LEQeNc8b9BZJO_ETUOKDpX2ilXVduD1a1Hp7Qxv1qtHnvNrDTNF24ftqNav1YSJH0ReY4JloywqQmGnmqhePw0cn2Bafg474UBxc7MNnb-KqLdUUmSt9ERZbMC5Jh/s1600/Cutter+Table+Marked.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="1307" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj96R_d0oQzWn88N6LEQeNc8b9BZJO_ETUOKDpX2ilXVduD1a1Hp7Qxv1qtHnvNrDTNF24ftqNav1YSJH0ReY4JloywqQmGnmqhePw0cn2Bafg474UBxc7MNnb-KqLdUUmSt9ERZbMC5Jh/s640/Cutter+Table+Marked.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<h2>
Edit G Code</h2>
<div>
You might think you're done, and ready to make small changes to the diameter (making it slightly smaller to make the hole larger). But that's not the case. Fusion 360's post processor for Mach3 emits g code that looks something like this:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
G1 G41 X3.11 Y-1.65 <span style="background-color: yellow;">P0.125</span></div>
<div>
G3 X3.26 Y-1.5 I0. J0.15</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Notice the P0.125 at the end of the line that contains G41. This tells Mach3 to use this tool radius <i style="font-weight: bold;">instead</i> of the value in the tool table, so you have to remove this. Additionally, I found comments that Mach3 doesn't like having G41 on the same line as other commands. So, I edited the g code so the above appears like this:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
G41</div>
<div>
G1 X3.11 Y-1.65</div>
<div>
G3 X3.26 Y-1.5 I0. J0.15</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Once I made those changes, I was able to slowly change the diameter of the cutter in the Mach3 tool table until I had the hole just the right size. I started with 0.25 and then worked my way down to .244 (I made the hole in CAD slightly smaller than my target).</div>
John Socha-Leialohahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06008871146248095504noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228372887329990411.post-19700177712199715912017-02-09T22:37:00.002-08:002017-02-09T22:39:15.440-08:00Making SMT Tape Holders, Part II just wanted to post a quick note about a project I've been working on. I have been designing and building a pick and place machine for building electronic circuit boards (also known as PCBs). The tiny electronic parts mostly come in tapes. And I needed a way to hold these tapes firmly in place, and at the same height as the top of the circuit board. As a result, I ended up creating a 3D printed, spring loaded tape holder:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtpWeodEtBHkQRcsGSkbEfTG3nH6agUmQahE6XMB038M4-cO67qlqhlkuXQfv9dLDMmBUS_K_u4Ip2MqRfKm1FHWe2jThAD6fDjJvxWkDhzBUZhE324BnbkgT2rJWRR530vKwdRJI0gpVN/s1600/P9212136_Cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="363" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtpWeodEtBHkQRcsGSkbEfTG3nH6agUmQahE6XMB038M4-cO67qlqhlkuXQfv9dLDMmBUS_K_u4Ip2MqRfKm1FHWe2jThAD6fDjJvxWkDhzBUZhE324BnbkgT2rJWRR530vKwdRJI0gpVN/s640/P9212136_Cropped.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
Not long after posting this on the OpenPnP forum, I got an email from the owner of Liteplacer.com asking if I'd be willing to let him make an injection molded version for mass production. Printing the parts you see above takes a few hours. Since I've created quite a few injection molds in the past, I offered to take this on. By the way, here is what a bunch of them look like, waiting for tapes to be added for a job:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEZin3TGjk0bnFPDHNqVvk_KgPAyD5j-yIKYk3KQtMQGZGJu0x_H19A3XLh8vzPBAM3z_rn5kwlE-McXsXyYWD8-CzsGQdjrhYqZyJbs20_3L-2CmB8gW-fvFcjWtArlTAOrgCZ8H6O9gZ/s1600/PA052137_800.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEZin3TGjk0bnFPDHNqVvk_KgPAyD5j-yIKYk3KQtMQGZGJu0x_H19A3XLh8vzPBAM3z_rn5kwlE-McXsXyYWD8-CzsGQdjrhYqZyJbs20_3L-2CmB8gW-fvFcjWtArlTAOrgCZ8H6O9gZ/s640/PA052137_800.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
This, after a number of iterations, I settled on this design:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1lI1iycusoIqsdekTKpOWQYJkqHjtPgDn63lhZYiK7uQYAtyuH6UYOPRi7gSeUD8JNQFo5ntMskBX7u89TUB9DidXYphhibfnGPV0lnWBOY8fwDiR9zVQir7s8Snl1Mp4q4F7mHT1bOij/s1600/Version+6.PNG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1lI1iycusoIqsdekTKpOWQYJkqHjtPgDn63lhZYiK7uQYAtyuH6UYOPRi7gSeUD8JNQFo5ntMskBX7u89TUB9DidXYphhibfnGPV0lnWBOY8fwDiR9zVQir7s8Snl1Mp4q4F7mHT1bOij/s640/Version+6.PNG" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
From here is was a matter of designing and created the injection molds. I used SolidWorks 2011 to create all of the designs above. However, I decided to try Fusion 360 for designing the molds and creating all of the tool paths for the milling machine. I've been documenting the process with YouTube videos, that you can find here: <br />
<br />
<a href="http://bit.ly/2luMeV5">DIY Injection Molding</a><br />
<br />
Please subscribe if you like my videos.<br />
<br />John Socha-Leialohahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06008871146248095504noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228372887329990411.post-91616602312352273452014-09-20T21:55:00.001-07:002014-09-20T21:55:19.898-07:00Manufacturing the FSR Endstop Controller<p>In previous posts, I talked about creating a circuit board that makes it easy to use FSRs (Force Sensitive Resistors) with delta 3D printers:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://trains.socha.com/2014/07/building-fsr-circuit-boards.html">Building the FSR Circuit Boards</a></li> <li><a href="http://trains.socha.com/2014/05/auto-adjust-fsr-end-stop-detector.html">Auto Adjust FSR End Stop Detector</a></li> </ul> <p>This project started when I wanted to learn how to create circuit boards, and I thought it would be nice to have FSRs on my delta printer. When I posted my progress on one of the forums, other forum members started to ask if they could buy one. </p> <p>I was a little daunted by the prospect of building 50 circuit boards (which later became 100). Fortunately, I have a friend, Dave, who needed some money, and he was more than happy to assemble the circuit boards. I suggested that instead of paying him by the hour, I would let him have the profit. That worked out really well for both of us. But after programming and shipping out 100 boards, I was happy to be done.</p> <p>(On a side not, I just realized I need to get a photo of the two of us so I can add it to this post. I’ll try to do that soon. We’re both model railroaders, and we work on a friend’s model railroad. His next get-together is October 4, so I’ll try to get a photograph then.)</p> <p>Some people asked how they could get boards after the run of 100, and someone suggested that I contact one of the companies selling 3D printer products. I contacted <a href="http://www.tridprinting.com/Electronics/#3D-Printer-FSR">Tridprinting.com</a> for several reasons. First, I’d met the owner, Daniel, at a mini Maker Faire in Seattle, and he’s a nice guy. Second, I’ve always had a very good experience ordering supplies from him. And finally, he’s local, so I could meet with him in person and deliver boards in person. He said yes, he would definitely like to sell my circuit board. Cool! But then he told he how many. I was thing a small number and trying to figure out how to keep the price down.</p> <p>We had sold the first 100 circuit boards direct for $10 each, so there was room for profit after the cost of supplies. I had been ordering these in batches of 50, so didn’t have the best discount. Ordering in larger batches reduces the cost of the parts. As it turned out, however, this was a small part of the total cost, especially for domestic manufacturing.</p> <p>I contacted several companies here in the Northwest US to get quotes. The quotes were for the blank PCB, the parts, and assembly. Their quotes did not include flashing the program, testing, soldering on header pins, or packing into anti-static bags. I figured my friend Dave could help me with those tasks, until I saw the quotes. I was surprised (or perhaps shocked) at how much they charged for the PCBs as well as for assembly. They also had a pretty hefty setup fee for the circuit boards, and another setup fee for programming the pick-and-place machine. Since this board only has 15 parts on it, I didn’t expect the pick-and-place cost to be as high as it turned out to be. We would have to increase the price quite a bit if we went with domestic manufacturing, at least with the supplies I contacted.</p> <h3>Production in China</h3> <p>I’d been reading good things about <a href="http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/">Seeed Studio</a> in China for open source hardware, so I contacted them for a quote. I first contacted them at the end of June, and they sent me a spreadsheet to fill out. They had some questions, and got back to me the next day with a quote. And their quote was way below (less than half) the quotes I got here in the US. And their quote include flashing, testing, and packing into anti-static bags. Wow, no wondering people have their products made in China. I wish I had a better option locally, but at the moment I don’t.</p> <p>I sent Seeed an engineering sample of a built-up circuit board and a blank PCB to help ensure I got what I wanted. For some reason that I don’t remember, it took me until the end of July to send them payment. They required full payment up front, so I was sticking my neck out a little here. During the same time, I worked on a test plan. This was a simple one-page document that I sent them. I described what the circuit board does (what all the pins do), and described how to test the board. And that’s it.</p> <p>I got an email from them on September 1 saying that they had finished production, and would be sending out the boards. It took about 10 days to get here to the US and through customs. It was held up in customs for a few days, and then arrived here. Yay! Here’s what I got:</p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Manufacturing-the-FSR-Endstop-Controller_123C3/P9142009_600.jpg" width="604" height="342" /></p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Manufacturing-the-FSR-Endstop-Controller_123C3/P9142010_600.jpg" width="604" height="454" /></p> <p>Nice, very nice. I’m very happy with the results. They built these quickly, packaged them very nicely, they look great, and they work perfectly. What more could you ask.</p> <h3>Seeed’s Programming and Testing</h3> <p>I was curious about how Seeed went about programming and testing this board, so I asked them if they could provide me more information and photos. They sent me their test plan document, which was in Chinese, so I don’t know what it says. But it did include some photos. First, this is how they programmed the boards. The ISP programmer is connected at the top-right:</p> <p><img title="Seeed Programming" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Seeed Programming" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Manufacturing-the-FSR-Endstop-Controller_123C3/Seeed-Programming.jpg" width="548" height="412" /></p> <p>Here is a photo that shows the setup they used for testing, which makes use of a couple of Seeed’s circuit boards:</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Manufacturing-the-FSR-Endstop-Controller_123C3/image.png"><img title="image" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="image" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Manufacturing-the-FSR-Endstop-Controller_123C3/image_thumb.png" width="558" height="485" /></a></p> <p>The bottom board is a <a href="http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/Seeeduino-V30-Atmega-328P-p-669.html?cPath=6_7">Seeeduino</a>, which is an Arduino clone, and the FSR circuit board is plugged into the I2C connector in order to receive power. I don’t know what the top-right board is called. However, they made a custom cable, shown below, that allows them to connect the LED to the endstop output of the board. This allows them to test all three FSR inputs to ensure that the light turns on or off when the FSR inputs are shorted.</p> <p><img title="image" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="image" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Manufacturing-the-FSR-Endstop-Controller_123C3/image_3.png" width="458" height="172" /></p> <p>So they did a nice job with the testing as well. Their solution was very simple, but effective. I don’t think they actually used the Arduino clone for anything other than power, though.</p> John Socha-Leialohahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06008871146248095504noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228372887329990411.post-37727268816643531492014-07-16T21:42:00.001-07:002014-07-16T21:44:03.069-07:00Updating the FSR Endstop Controller Firmware<p>The FSR Endstop Controller board is built so you can flash new firmware onto the board, and I’m providing pre-built hex files on Github, which you can find here: <a title="https://github.com/JohnSL/FSR_Endstop/tree/master/Hex%20Files" href="https://github.com/JohnSL/FSR_Endstop/tree/master/Hex%20Files">https://github.com/JohnSL/FSR_Endstop/tree/master/Hex%20Files</a></p> <p>In this post I’ll describe how to download one of those hex files to your FSR board.</p> <h4>What you’ll need</h4> <p>Before you get started, you’ll need the following:</p> <ul> <li><strong>USB programmer.</strong> You can find more information about programmers on <a href="http://ladyada.net/learn/avr/programmers.html">AVR Tutorial: Choosing a Programmer</a>. I’m using a <a href="https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9825">Pocket AVR Programmer</a>. Both <a href="https://www.sparkfun.com/">Sparkfun</a> and <a href="http://www.adafruit.com/">Adafruit</a> both have other programmers. In any event, you’ll need one that has a cable with a 6-pin connector</li> <li><strong>Arduino.</strong> I installed Arduino 1.0.5-r2. Even though you won’t be using this directly, you’ll be using the avrdude program included with the installation</li> <li><strong>Six-Pin Header</strong></li> </ul> <h4>Adding the programming header</h4> <p>Solder in either a 2 by 3 pin header, or two rows of 3 pins as shown below. You’ll be connecting the programmer to these pins, and the board will also receive power from the programmer.</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Updating-the-FSR-Endstop-Controller-Firm_12A5C/P5021907-Cropped_400.jpg"><img title="P5021907 Cropped_400" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="P5021907 Cropped_400" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Updating-the-FSR-Endstop-Controller-Firm_12A5C/P5021907-Cropped_400_thumb.jpg" width="404" height="426" /></a></p> <h4>Connect the programmer</h4> <p>Plug your programmer into your computer, and then connect the cable between the programmer and the FSR board as shown. Note the direction of the cable coming away from the FSR board</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Updating-the-FSR-Endstop-Controller-Firm_12A5C/WP_20140504_10_14_37_Pro_600_2.jpg"><img title="WP_20140504_10_14_37_Pro_600_2" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="WP_20140504_10_14_37_Pro_600_2" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Updating-the-FSR-Endstop-Controller-Firm_12A5C/WP_20140504_10_14_37_Pro_600_2_thumb.jpg" width="604" height="454" /></a></p> <p>Also notice that the green power-on LED is on once the programmer is attached, as the FSR board receives power from the programmer.</p> <h4>Running avrdude</h4> <p>The final step is to send the new firmware to the board. The instructions below are for Windows. You can find more information about using avrdude here: <a href="http://ladyada.net/learn/avr/avrdude.html">Starting out with avrdude</a>. First, locate where you have Arduino installed.  The avrdude program will be in a folder under that location: hardware\tools\avr\bin\avrdude.exe. Copy this full location.</p> <p>Open a command prompt and navigate to the location where you’ve downloaded one of the hex files. Then run this command (all on one line):</p> <p><font face="Courier New">C:\Users\John\Downloads\Arduino\arduino-1.0.5-r2\hardware\tools\avr\bin\avrdude.exe -p t861 -c usbtiny -U flash:w:"FSR_Detector 1.3.hex"</font></p> <p>You’ll want to substitute your actual path to avrdude for the one here, and you’ll want to use the actual name of the hex file. You should see progress information from avrdude while it’s downloading and then verifying the firmware. While the firmware is downloading, the green LED on the FSR board will be dark. It will come back on once the firmware starts running again.</p> John Socha-Leialohahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06008871146248095504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228372887329990411.post-89645050656203704912014-07-07T21:23:00.001-07:002014-07-07T21:23:12.089-07:00Pegasus Touch First Impressions<p>I backed the Kickstarter campaign for the <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fsl/pegasus-touch-laser-sla-3d-printer-low-cost-high-q">Pegasus Touch</a> SLA printer, which I got for $2,250. At that price, and given the samples they were showing, I thought it might be a good deal. Of course, with Kickstarter, you never know. And I’ve been seeing grumbles on the forum from other people who have received their printers (or perhaps not).</p> <p>I received my box a few weeks ago and finally had a chance to set it up this past weekend. The packaging was good, and there were no issues with broken parts. The box included the printer, a 1/2 liter bottle of clear resin, and the power supply. That’s it. No manual.</p> <p>I downloaded the manual and software and setup the machine on my desk. My desk isn’t near an Ethernet jack, so my desktop computer is connected via Wifi. No problem, the manual indicated that I could print without a network connection, using a USB thumb drive. So I fired up the machine. A splash screen appeared, and then the screen went blank after about 10 seconds, and just stayed that way. Even after 10 minutes, it was still blank.</p> <p>OK, perhaps that meant I needed to update the firmware first. But how to do it. I checked the manual again, and the manual said that “Ethernet is the preferred interface but USB PC connection (requires microUSB cable, not supplied) and WiFi (requires dongle, not supplied) are also supported.” So, I connected the USB cable, and after some fiddling to get the drivers installed properly on Windows, the machine showed up in my devices list. And now RetinaCreate (their software package for talking to the printer) told me that the printer’s firmware needed to be updated. However, I couldn’t find a way to update it.</p> <p>Finally, I moved the machine to another location where I could plug it into an Ethernet wall jack. It booted, and I was able to update the firmware. It turns out the manual isn’t correct, and you need a hard-wired Ethernet connection, at least to get started. I haven’t tried it without, so I’m not sure what does and doesn’t work. However, I was able to print—yay!</p> <h4>First Print</h4> <p>I loaded a model into RetinaCreate that I’ve been working on for a while to stress test the printer. This is a small caboose in HOn3, and it’s just under 7 cm long. You can find more details in my previous blog posts:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://trains.socha.com/2012/10/making-rgs-0409-in-hon3-part-iii.html">Making RGS 0409 in HOn3, Part III</a></li> <li><a href="http://trains.socha.com/2012/10/making-rgs-0409-in-hon3-part-ii.html">Making RGS 0409 in HOn3, Part II</a></li> <li><a href="http://trains.socha.com/2012/10/making-rgs-0409-in-hon3-part-i.html">Making RGS 0409 in HOn3, Part I</a></li> </ul> <p>Here is what I got after 5 hours (using 50 micron layers):</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/1ccb611256ac_122E5/P7071958_2000.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/1ccb611256ac_122E5/P7071958_2000_thumb.jpg" width="644" height="484" /></a></p> <p>You can click on the image to see a larger version. Below I’ll describe more about what I learned. But first, here is what the 3D model looks like in Solidworks:</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/1ccb611256ac_122E5/Full-Body.png"><img title="Full Body" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Full Body" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/1ccb611256ac_122E5/Full-Body_thumb.png" width="644" height="412" /></a></p> <p>And finally, here is what I had in RetinaCreate:</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/1ccb611256ac_122E5/Retina-Full-Body.png"><img title="Retina Full Body" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Retina Full Body" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/1ccb611256ac_122E5/Retina-Full-Body_thumb.png" width="644" height="461" /></a></p> <p>In case you caught that I had clear resin, the picture above is after spray painting the model with light gray, which makes it a lot easier to see what the surface looks like. Also, I hand-modified some of the supports after using the automatic support generation feature.</p> <h4>What I learned</h4> <p>First, I learned that this printer has a lot of potential for creating small models. Until I printed this model, I wasn’t sure it would live up to the task. Sure, the printed part will need some sanding to smooth out the curved surfaces, but so do models from Shapeways.</p> <p>I also learned a lot about working with SLA printers, which is very different from working with FFF printers. The model is printed upside down, and that meant that uncured resin got trapped in various parts where I didn’t want any resin. As an example, look at the floorboards at the end of the caboose. In the printed model, they didn’t turn out very well. A lot of resin got trapped under (or above when printing) the floorboards, so there was a lot of goopy resin still in there when I took it out of the printer. The floorboards also didn’t cure very well. That may mean I need more support, or it could be a result of the goopy resin above.</p> <p>As it turns out, the orientation I used was completely wrong. I’d always wondered why SLA printers tended to print parts at strange angles. Well, now I know—it’s to allow the uncured resin to drain out of the part as it prints, so you don’t end up with partially cured goop. Using clear resin probably doesn’t help, as any trapped resin can still receive some light. I really want to get some tinted resin to see what difference that will make, because the laser doesn’t travel very far into opaque resins.</p> <p>After printing this part, I discovered that RetinaCreate has a button called <strong>Find Optimal Rotation</strong> that only appears when you have the object selected. I had not noticed that. Here is what it looks like when I use that option:</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/1ccb611256ac_122E5/Optimal-Angle.png"><img title="Optimal Angle" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Optimal Angle" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/1ccb611256ac_122E5/Optimal-Angle_thumb.png" width="644" height="478" /></a></p> <p>That’s a very different. I’m not convinced this is the optimal angle, but I’m going to give it a try.</p> John Socha-Leialohahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06008871146248095504noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228372887329990411.post-55690840199063699672014-07-05T13:42:00.001-07:002014-07-05T13:45:22.800-07:00Building the Manual Pick and Place Machine<p>In my previous post (<a href="http://trains.socha.com/2014/07/building-fsr-circuit-boards.html">Building the FSR Circuit Boards</a>)  I showed how we assembly our circuit boards, using a manual pick and place machine that I designed and built. You can also find videos on that post. In this post I’ll walk through building the machine.</p> <p>You can find all the 3D files here: <a title="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:385567" href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:385567">http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:385567</a></p> <p><img style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px" border="0" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Building-the-FSR-Circuit-Boards_102A2/P6171944_600.jpg" /></p> <h2></h2> <h4>Bill of Materials</h4> <li>3/4 inch aluminum tube. I purchased a 6 foot length from Lowes for about $20 (<a title="http://www.lowes.com/pd_215691-37672-11388_0__?productId=3053575&Ntt=" href="http://www.lowes.com/pd_215691-37672-11388_0__?productId=3053575&Ntt">http://www.lowes.com/pd_215691-37672-11388_0__?productId=3053575&Ntt=</a>)</li> <li>M3 x 12 screws (9) </li> <li>M3 x 20 screws (4) </li> <li>M8 x 30 bolts (12) </li> <li>M8 x 50 bolts (3) </li> <li>M8 nuts (10) </li> <li>M8 washers (12) </li> <li>608 bearings (18) </li> <li>LM8UU bearings (2)</li> <li>Spring (1). I used a 2-1/8 inch long by 7/16 in diameter compression spring (with 0.032” diameter wire): <a title="http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1291844" href="http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1291844">http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1291844</a></li> <li>8 mm diameter aluminum tube (I purchased this from a hobby shop) </li> <li>Luer adapter: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000P7LRK0/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1">http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000P7LRK0/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1</a></li> <li>Tetra Wisper 20 Air Pump: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000N34MK8/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1">http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000N34MK8/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1</a></li> <li>Tubing for the vacuum pump (available at pet stores)</li> <li>Suction Headers: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AFX1Y8O/ref=oh_details_o08_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1">http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AFX1Y8O/ref=oh_details_o08_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1</a></li> <h4>Assembly</h4> <p>You'll need to modify the Tetra air pump to convert it into a vacuum pump. There is a nice article and video on how to do this here: </p> <p><a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Circuit-Board-Lab-POV-Business-Card/step5/Build-an-SMD-Vacuum-Pick-and-Place-Tool/">http://www.instructables.com/id/Circuit-Board-Lab-POV-Business-Card/step5/Build-an-SMD-Vacuum-Pick-and-Place-Tool/</a></p> <p><a title="http://www.autofixinfo.com/YqWuuHoWaXvahY/DIY-manual-SMT-pick-and-place-tool-for-$20.html" href="http://www.autofixinfo.com/YqWuuHoWaXvahY/DIY-manual-SMT-pick-and-place-tool-for-$20.html">http://www.autofixinfo.com/YqWuuHoWaXvahY/DIY-manual-SMT-pick-and-place-tool-for-$20.html</a></p> <p>Modifying the pump only take a few minutes.</p> <h4>Building the X/Y Assembly</h4> <p>Start by printing four of the <strong>Y Post</strong> parts, and then cut two pieces of aluminum tube about 18 inches long. You can make them longer, but I wouldn't go much shorter. A length of 18 inches will give you about 11 inches of movement along the X (left/right).</p> <p>Next cut two pieces of aluminum tube about 12 inches long (or longer). Using 12 inches will allow movement of about 7 inches along Y. Print two sets of <strong>Y Carriage</strong>, <strong>Bottom Rollers</strong>, and <strong>Bottom Roller Clamp</strong> parts. Use the M8 x 30 bolts and washers to mount the 608 bearings to the <strong>Y Carriage</strong>. The washers go between the bearings and the part, and the M8 bolts are self-threading. Add the 608 bearings, washers, and bolts to the <strong>Bottom Rollers</strong> parts.</p> <p>Place each <strong>Y Carriage</strong> assembly around one X assembly and then use the <strong>Bottom Roller Clamp</strong> with some M3 x 20 screws to clamp each <strong>Y Carriage</strong> assembly to the aluminum tube of the X assembly. This picture should help:</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Building-the-Manual-Pick-and-Place-Machi_9C08/P7051956_1024.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Building-the-Manual-Pick-and-Place-Machi_9C08/P7051956_1024_thumb.jpg" width="644" height="484" /></a></p> <p>The bottom roller clamps don’t need to be really tight. They’re to keep the top rollers in place when you lean your hand on the carriage.</p> <p>Now insert the two Y tubes into the holes of the <strong>Y Carriage</strong> and then mount to a piece of plywood. It's best to screw down one side first, with the screws centered in the slots so you have some room for adjustment. Then attach the other side, ensuring the assembly moves smoothly from left to right. </p> <h4>Building the Pen Holder</h4> <p>Print the <strong>Pen Holder</strong> and <strong>LM8 Cap</strong> parts. The 8mm aluminum tube slides through two LM8UU bearings. The tube will need to slide up and down smoothly, as well as rotate. I found I needed to sand the tube down a little to get just the right fit. Do this slowly, testing the fit frequently.</p> <p>Insert the 8mm tube into the two LM8UU bearings, and then clamp them in place using the <strong>LM8 Cap</strong> part, held in place by four M3 x 12 screws. At this point you’ll still be able to remove the tube.</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Building-the-Manual-Pick-and-Place-Machi_9C08/P7051951_1024.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Building-the-Manual-Pick-and-Place-Machi_9C08/P7051951_1024_thumb.jpg" width="644" height="484" /></a></p> <p>Insert two M8 x 50 bolts, as shown through the three holes. Add an M8 nut to the back of each bolt and tighten. Next add one 608 bearing to each bolt, along with an M8 washer, and put it up against the square tube, as shown here:</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Building-the-Manual-Pick-and-Place-Machi_9C08/P7051955_1024.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Building-the-Manual-Pick-and-Place-Machi_9C08/P7051955_1024_thumb.jpg" width="644" height="484" /></a></p> <p>Add another 608 bearing to each bolt, followed by an M8 nut. Hand tighten each of the three nuts evenly, ensuring that the assembly slides smoothly without any slop.</p> <h4>Building the Pen</h4> <p>Print the <strong>Pen to Tube</strong> and <strong>Spring Stop</strong> parts. Add the spring, then the spring stop (which has a slot on the bottom for the spring). Use an M3 x 12 screw to clamp the spring stop in place. Apply some pipe tape to the tapered part of the <strong>Pen to Tube</strong> part and then push it into the aluminum tube. Finally, push the air hose onto the nib. When you’re finished, it should look like this:</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Building-the-Manual-Pick-and-Place-Machi_9C08/P7051954_1024.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Building-the-Manual-Pick-and-Place-Machi_9C08/P7051954_1024_thumb.jpg" width="644" height="484" /></a></p> <p>Print out the <strong>Lock to Tube Adapter</strong> and <strong>Pen to Tube</strong> parts. Carefully push the Luer adapter into the <strong>Lock to Tube Adapter</strong> at the larger-diameter end. It should look like this (when you also have a needle in place):</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Building-the-Manual-Pick-and-Place-Machi_9C08/P7051953_600.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Building-the-Manual-Pick-and-Place-Machi_9C08/P7051953_600_thumb.jpg" width="604" height="454" /></a></p> <p>In the photo above, I’ve also added some pipe tape to the tapered part to help create a tight air seal. You’ll want to push this into the tube <strong>after</strong> the tube is in place. When you’re done, it should look like this:</p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Building-the-Manual-Pick-and-Place-Machi_9C08/P7041948_600.jpg" width="604" height="454" /></p> <h4>Optional USB Microscope</h4> <p>I initially installed a USB microscope in order to help with placement, but I found it to be more confusing them helpful. The problem is that it’s looking at the part from an angle, so it’s actually harder to line up parts with the microscope than with your eyes (stereo vision really helps). My friend uses a pair of Optivisors and found they work really well. I’m near-sighted, so I just take off my glasses. But if you do want to install a USB microscope, I purchased this one:</p> <p><a title="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009N8JL9Q/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009N8JL9Q/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1">http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009N8JL9Q/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1</a></p> <p>And the parts you’ll need to mount this microscope are <strong>Camera Cap Top</strong> and <strong>Camera Cap</strong>.</p> John Socha-Leialohahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06008871146248095504noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228372887329990411.post-70297898778019150412014-07-05T10:24:00.001-07:002014-07-05T13:46:34.216-07:00Building the FSR Circuit Boards<p>My friend and I have been busy building the FSR Endstop Controller circuit boards (you can find the entire discussion on the Delta Robot 3D discussion here: <a title="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/deltabot/2Nvtv4aicKk%5B1-25-false%5D" href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/deltabot/2Nvtv4aicKk%5B1-25-false%5D">https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/deltabot/2Nvtv4aicKk%5B1-25-false%5D</a>).</p> <p>Most of the work involved in building these circuit boards is placing the tiny parts onto the circuit board. The smallest parts are 0603 surface mounted devices, which means they’re 0.06” by 0.03” in size. For the first few boards I built, I dumped the parts onto the table, and then used tweezers to put them in place, under a microscope. But it was very time consuming to flip over components if there were upside down or no their side. And I also had to check the polarity of the LEDs carefully.</p> <p>I did some research into pick and place machines and then ran into a manual pick and place machine: <a title="http://vpapanik.blogspot.com/2012/11/low-budget-manual-pick-place.html" href="http://vpapanik.blogspot.com/2012/11/low-budget-manual-pick-place.html">http://vpapanik.blogspot.com/2012/11/low-budget-manual-pick-place.html</a>. I really like what he’d done, but it was mostly made out of wood, and I don’t have much in the way of word-working skills or tools. I also ran into a nice manual machine that was $199 so I checked out their web site. They were out of stock, so I sent them an email. After about a month I got an email that they were in stock again, but now the price was $399: <a href="http://www.steadyhandspnp.com/">SteadyHands PnP</a>. By this time I’d already built my own machine for about $50.</p> <p>I decided to make a machine similar to vpapanik’s machine, but using 3D printed parts. Here are some photos of my finished machine:</p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Building-the-FSR-Circuit-Boards_102A2/P6171944_600.jpg" width="604" height="454" /></p> <p>You can find information on building this manual pick and place machine here: <a href="http://trains.socha.com/2014/07/building-manual-pick-and-place-machine.html">Building the Manual Pick and Place Machine</a>.</p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Building-the-FSR-Circuit-Boards_102A2/P7041948_600.jpg" width="604" height="454" /></p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Building-the-FSR-Circuit-Boards_102A2/P7041947_600.jpg" width="604" height="454" /></p> <p>The process of assembling the circuit boards begins with adding solder paste to the circuit board. I created a solder paste stencil and jig, as I described in my post <a href="http://trains.socha.com/2014/05/auto-adjust-fsr-end-stop-detector.html">Auto Adjust FSR End Stop Detector</a>. This time I created a stencil that allowed me to add paste to four boards at a time.</p> <p>Once the solder paste is applied, the next step is to place the components onto the solder paste. This is where my manual pick and place machine enters the picture. This video shows placing a few parts with my manual pick and place machine:</p> <div id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:ff4d0782-2a2f-429a-9e87-deeddff73ce6" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" style="float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px"><div><object width="448" height="252"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/O1YwpiJz1r8?hl=en&hd=1"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/O1YwpiJz1r8?hl=en&hd=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="448" height="252"></embed></object></div><div style="width:448px;clear:both;font-size:.8em">My Manual Pick and Place Machine in operation</div></div> <p>After placing all the parts on the circuit board, the board needs to be baked in a reflow oven to melt the solder. This video provides a short introduction to using a reflow oven I purchased off of eBay. I paid $200 for this oven, and it had a flaw—inside they use masking tape in an area that gets rather hot, and causes the masking tape to off gas, producing a terrible smell. I found instruction information and instructions about this here:  <a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/T962A-SMD-Reflow-Oven-FixHack/?ALLSTEPS">T962A SMD Reflow Oven Fix/Hack</a>.</p> <div id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:8675ead7-8a96-4795-aac0-98f8be3689f7" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" style="float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px"><div><object width="448" height="252"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/g_C-zPokyzY?hl=en&hd=1"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/g_C-zPokyzY?hl=en&hd=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="448" height="252"></embed></object></div><div style="width:448px;clear:both;font-size:.8em">Using a T-962 reflow oven to melt the solder paste and finish the boards</div></div> <p>In my <a href="http://trains.socha.com/2014/05/building-headerless-programmer.html">previous blog post</a>, I wrote about creating a programmer to upload the firmware to these boards. This video shows using this programmer:</p> <div id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:7e8a8d7c-f73b-4e69-9936-6e593bca93ae" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" style="float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px"><div><object width="448" height="252"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ichV0dw7o_U?hl=en&hd=1"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ichV0dw7o_U?hl=en&hd=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="448" height="252"></embed></object></div><div style="width:448px;clear:both;font-size:.8em">Programming the circuit boards</div></div> <p>Finally, here is a longer video showing me placing the other parts on the circuit board:</p> <div id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:2cb33a08-d944-4764-b082-c3ce07e76ec1" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" style="float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px"><div><object width="448" height="277"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tBR6LnZ37QU?hl=en&hd=1"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tBR6LnZ37QU?hl=en&hd=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="448" height="277"></embed></object></div><div style="width:448px;clear:both;font-size:.8em">Longer video of the pick and place machine</div></div> John Socha-Leialohahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06008871146248095504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228372887329990411.post-77103241910672717632014-05-11T18:23:00.001-07:002014-05-11T18:23:25.083-07:00Building a Headerless Programmer<p>In my previous post, I talked about a circuit board that uses force-sensitive resistors as end stop detectors. This board has an Atmel ATTiny861 microcontroller that needs to be programmed. For the first few boards that I made, I soldered headers in place. This works just fine, but I wanted to see if I could use <a href="https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9174">pogo pins</a> that I purchased form <a href="https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9174">Sparkfun</a> to create a programmer that doesn’t require the header pins.</p> <p>For this project I needed six pogo pins, one <a href="https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10877">2x3 pin header</a>, and some ribbon cable that I pulled apart so I could have six wires, each with a different color. I 3D printed parts to build the jig, which are shown below using “clear” PLA filament.</p> <p>First I soldered the wires to the 2x3 pin header, and then pushed it into place. Next I soldered the wires to the bottom of the pogo pins, after I’d inserted the pogo pins into the 1.6mm holes in the jig:</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/defb179d2eea_FB7E/P5111920_Cropped.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/defb179d2eea_FB7E/P5111920_Cropped_thumb.jpg" width="604" height="454" /></a></p> <p>I was concerned about the possibility of shorts, so I added short pieces of heat-shrink tubing to the very end. Since building this, I read somewhere that these pogo pins will fit directly into a female header—that would have been a lot easier.</p> <p>Here is what the jig looks like when finished. You can see the six pogo pins sticking out the top, and the programmer cable hooked up to the 3x2 pin header:</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/defb179d2eea_FB7E/P5111921_Cropped.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/defb179d2eea_FB7E/P5111921_Cropped_thumb.jpg" width="604" height="454" /></a></p> <p>Finally, this is what it looks like in use. I hold the board in place (there are two alignment pins) while I click the button the upload the program to the board.</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/defb179d2eea_FB7E/P5111922_Cropped.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/defb179d2eea_FB7E/P5111922_Cropped_thumb.jpg" width="604" height="454" /></a></p> <p>While this works very well, it was more work to build than I would have liked. As I mentioned, using a 3x2 pin female header would have been al lot easier, and I’ll use that approach if I build another programmer.</p> John Socha-Leialohahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06008871146248095504noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228372887329990411.post-61502565327407602012014-05-04T11:28:00.001-07:002014-05-04T11:28:24.912-07:00Auto Adjust FSR End Stop Detector<p>I really like using FSRs (force-sensitive resistors) for detecting when the nozzle of the 3D printer touches the print bed. They can be very sensitive, and therefore very precise. What I didn’t like was how difficult it was to get them just right. Wouldn’t it be great if you could plug them into a tiny circuit board and just have them work?</p> <p>I decided to see if I could build a circuit board that would make it really easy and reliable to use FSRs. Here are the goals I set:</p> <ul> <li>Automatically adjust to the weight of the print bed without requiring any configuration or adjustment—they should just work</li> <li>Have an LED for each FSR to show when that FSR “triggers”</li> <li>Connect directly to the end stop pins on most 3D printer boards</li> <li>Be self powered from the end stop</li> <li>Make it open source: <a title="https://github.com/JohnSL/FSR_Endstop" href="https://github.com/JohnSL/FSR_Endstop">https://github.com/JohnSL/FSR_Endstop</a></li> </ul> <h4>Designing the Circuit Board</h4> <p>With the help of my friend Stephen, we designed a circuit board in <a href="http://www.cadsoftusa.com/download-eagle/">CadSoft Eagle</a> (that means we designed the circuit together, and then I watched and ask questions as he designed the circuit board in Eagle). It took him about an hour to design the following circuit board:</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Auto-Adjust-FSR-End-Stop-Detector_8373/Rev-1.png"><img title="Rev 1" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Rev 1" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Auto-Adjust-FSR-End-Stop-Detector_8373/Rev-1_thumb.png" width="225" height="244" /></a></p> <p>We then created a set of Gerber files and sent them off to <a href="http://oshpark.com/">OSH Park</a> to have some actual PCBs made. I ordered 12 PCBs and the total charge was about $26, including shipping. That’s a really great deal. The lead time to get these was about two weeks. By the way, there’s a small design flaw in this circuit board if you want to see if you can find it (click on the image to enlarge it). I’ll describe the flaw later.</p> <p>This circuit board uses an Atmel ATTiny461 microcontroller, which is in the same family as most Arduino boards. What that meant is I could use a standard Arduino to write some firmware to test out my ideas while I waited for the circuit boards arrived. This is where being a software developer by day really helps. It didn’t take me very long to write and test some code. I only tested a single FSR because, at this point, I’d sold my 3DR “Simple” Delta printer to a person at work, and I haven’t finished designing my next delta. I have two other 3D printers, so I wasn’t really using my delta anyway.</p> <h4>Soldering Parts in Place</h4> <p>Two weeks later, I got the circuit boards in the mail, and they’re really nice! The next step was to learn how to solder the tiny SMD (surface mound device) components onto the board. Many of the components are what’s know as 0603s, which means they’re 0.06 inches by 0.03 inches (or 1/16 by 1/32). That’s really tiny, and smaller than I can see well without some magnification. I have a microscope that I first got to inspect the injection molds that I was milling, so I decided to use that for soldering the parts on.</p> <p>Hand soldering SMDs turned out to be a lot easier than I expected. The key to success it to use flux (I used liquid flux) and a small soldering iron tip. My tip is nothing special, being about 0.05” in diameter at the end.</p> <p>After applying the flux, I would add just a dab of solder to the very end of the tip, and then touch it briefly to the end of the part to be soldered while holding the part down with the tip of some tweezers. Here is what my hand-soldered board looked like when I was almost finished:</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Auto-Adjust-FSR-End-Stop-Detector_8373/P4211897_Cropped.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Auto-Adjust-FSR-End-Stop-Detector_8373/P4211897_Cropped_thumb.jpg" width="637" height="484" /></a></p> <p>On the right side, near the bottom, I have two black diodes soldered in place. These diodes form a bridge rectifier, which allows me to provide power to the entire board from the two pins below labeled +/- that come from the end stop connector on the printer board. Most printer boards have three wires: signal, 5V and ground. However there is no standard for the order of 5V and ground, so using a bridge rectifier allows using either polarity of connection, at the slight loss of some voltage. In other words, this means everything runs at about 4V instead of the input 5V, which is no problem for this microcontroller, as it can operate down to about 1.8V.</p> <p>The diodes, however, drove me crazy. Most of the SMDs have metal pads on the bottom that warp around to the ends, making them easy to solder. These diodes, on the other hand, only have metal pads on the bottom. I somehow managed to solder two in place. However there wasn’t enough clearance for me to solder the other two in place. Fortunately, the Garage at work has a hot air solder rework station, so I was able to use it, along with some solder paste, to solder the other two diodes in place. For those of you familiar with circuits, you’re probably wondering why we didn’t use a bridge rectifier chip, which would have been much easier to solder in place. The answer is that my friend Stephen had all these components on hand, so we used what he had. I’ve since changed the design to use a single chip instead of four diodes, but I haven’t ordered test boards yet.</p> <h4>Programming and Testing the Circuit Board</h4> <p>After I finished the first circuit board, it was time to program and test the circuit board. Programming turned out to be a little more difficult than I expected because I ran into an issue with uploading the firmware. But first, I’ll describe the setup. Stephen included a programming header in the design (at the bottom left in the photo above) so I could hook this board up to a USB programmer. I used the <a href="https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9825">Pocket AVR Programmer</a> from Sparkfun because this was my first experience programming the chip on a custom circuit board, and this programmer looked good.</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Auto-Adjust-FSR-End-Stop-Detector_8373/WP_20140504_10_14_37_Pro_600.jpg"><img title="WP_20140504_10_14_37_Pro_600" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="WP_20140504_10_14_37_Pro_600" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Auto-Adjust-FSR-End-Stop-Detector_8373/WP_20140504_10_14_37_Pro_600_thumb.jpg" width="604" height="454" /></a></p> <p>I chose to write my code using Arduino, so I needed to a way to target the ATTiny861 microcontroller. Fortunately, someone already figured out how to do this, so I used the <a href="https://github.com/TCWORLD/ATTinyCore">ATTinyCore on GitHub</a> to setup my environment so I could write code for this chip. then I could just upload the code and be done, or at least so I thought.</p> <p>I kept getting validation errors. Sometimes uploading would succeed, but only rarely. After trying lots of things, and searching the web, I downloaded <a href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/winavr/files/">WinAVR</a> because something I read gave me the ide it might be helpful. This download include a newer copy of a program called avrdude that is used by Arduino to upload firmware. I turned out verbose reporting in Arduino, found the call to avrdude and then tried this with the newer version of avrdude—it worked perfectly every time. Copying this newer version of avrdude on top of the old version in the Arduino folder fixed the problem. Now I can successfully upload changes every single time. I have no idea why I had problems with the older version, but I found something that work. If anyone knows more, please send me a note.</p> <p>Now it was time to test on a printer, rather than at my workbench. I asked one of my fellow Garage members if I could try it on his printer. So Dave brought his printer in last Thursday and we gave it a try using my very first circuit board. And it work really well. Here is a video of my very first test:</p> <div id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:bfeea054-95ed-4076-adf7-33bae1335d81" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" style="float: none; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px"><div><object width="564" height="316"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZhwwatXtXoI?hl=en&hd=1"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZhwwatXtXoI?hl=en&hd=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="564" height="316"></embed></object></div><div style="width:564px;clear:both;font-size:.8em">Very first test of the FSR Endstop Detector circuit board on a Kossel Mini</div></div> <p>When you watch the video, notice that the number of FSRs being triggered varies from one to three, depending on where the nozzle touches the surface. Also, you can’t see it in the video, but there is a fourth LED that is green and is on most of the time. I had originally planned to have five LEDs: three for the FSR triggers, one for the combined trigger, and one for power on. But I forgot to include the power on LED. Part way through writing the firmware, I suddenly realized I could change the output LED to be on most of the time, and turn off only when triggered. So now I don’t need that extra LED.</p> <h4>Making more Boards</h4> <p>After my experience trying to solder the first circuit board by hand, I decided to try another approach. In a moment of weakness, I purchased a very cheap ($200) reflow oven from eBay. This oven was less than half the cost of a good one, and after I clicked the buy button I did some research and found lots of negative reviews. Woops. In any event, it was on the way, so I decided to give it a try.</p> <p>For my first attempt, I used the syringe needle that came with the tube of solder paste to dab solder onto the pads. The syringe was a lot bigger than the pads, so I had problems getting just the right amount of solder paste to stick. Once I had all the parts placed, I put the board in the oven and set it to profile 1. After about 8 minutes, I pulled the board out and much of the solder had not melted. Hmmm, not what I expected. I then checked the solder paste I was using carefully and noticed it was lead-free solder, which melts at a higher temperature. I changed to profile 3 and tried again—this time it came out perfect.</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Auto-Adjust-FSR-End-Stop-Detector_8373/WP_20140427_19_33_11_600.jpg"><img title="WP_20140427_19_33_11_600" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="WP_20140427_19_33_11_600" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Auto-Adjust-FSR-End-Stop-Detector_8373/WP_20140427_19_33_11_600_thumb.jpg" width="604" height="341" /></a></p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Auto-Adjust-FSR-End-Stop-Detector_8373/WP_20140427_19_33_23_Cropped.jpg"><img title="WP_20140427_19_33_23_Cropped" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="WP_20140427_19_33_23_Cropped" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Auto-Adjust-FSR-End-Stop-Detector_8373/WP_20140427_19_33_23_Cropped_thumb.jpg" width="564" height="311" /></a></p> <p>The main problem I have with this reflow oven is the smell. From what I’ve read, they use a lot of masking tape inside, and this gets hot enough during use to off gas quite badly. I’m either going to build a hood and exhaust the fumes to the outside, or do what one blogger suggested and replace the masking tape with Kapton tape.</p> <h4>Using a Solder Stencil</h4> <p>I had read about using solder paste with a stencil and it sounded a lot easier than using the syringe to apply paste, so I thought I’d give it a try. Eagle already had all the for a solder stencil, and you can output this as an EPS file (Encapsulated PostScript), which is a file format that Corel Draw can easily read. I opened the file in Corel and then changed the pads so they would have a hairline black outline and no fill. Then I cut a stencil from some 5mil Mylar, and I also cut a jig for holding the circuit board in place:</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Auto-Adjust-FSR-End-Stop-Detector_8373/P5031913_600.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Auto-Adjust-FSR-End-Stop-Detector_8373/P5031913_600_thumb.jpg" width="604" height="454" /></a></p> <p>The jig is made from 1/16” thick museum board, which is basically poster board. I scored a line on the left side to show where the edge of the Mylar stencil should be attach, and I’ve taped the stencil to the museum board.</p> <p>I spread some solder paste onto the left side and then used a palette knife to scrape the paste through the holes. Here is the result:</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Auto-Adjust-FSR-End-Stop-Detector_8373/P5031908_600.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Auto-Adjust-FSR-End-Stop-Detector_8373/P5031908_600_thumb.jpg" width="604" height="454" /></a></p> <p>Or zoomed into a small part of this board:</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Auto-Adjust-FSR-End-Stop-Detector_8373/P5031908_Cropped_600.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Auto-Adjust-FSR-End-Stop-Detector_8373/P5031908_Cropped_600_thumb.jpg" width="604" height="454" /></a></p> <p>In this picture you can see the small “mounds” of solder paste that were applied with this method. I’m really amazed at how well this worked. It’s much easier and faster than applying paste by hand, and the results are a lot more consistent. Next, here is the same area with parts place, ready to put into the oven:</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Auto-Adjust-FSR-End-Stop-Detector_8373/P5031909_Cropped_600.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Auto-Adjust-FSR-End-Stop-Detector_8373/P5031909_Cropped_600_thumb.jpg" width="604" height="454" /></a></p> <p>And after about 10 minutes in the oven, everything is soldered in place:</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Auto-Adjust-FSR-End-Stop-Detector_8373/P5031911_Cropped_600.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Auto-Adjust-FSR-End-Stop-Detector_8373/P5031911_Cropped_600_thumb.jpg" width="604" height="454" /></a></p> <h4>The Design Flaw</h4> <p>Here is nearly finished circuit board:</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Auto-Adjust-FSR-End-Stop-Detector_8373/P5031911_600.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Auto-Adjust-FSR-End-Stop-Detector_8373/P5031911_600_thumb.jpg" width="604" height="454" /></a></p> <p>Isn’t that beautiful! All that’s left is to solder header in place for the three FSRs, for the end stop, and for programming. And, fix the design flaw.</p> <p>So what is the design flaw? You can see it here:</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Auto-Adjust-FSR-End-Stop-Detector_8373/P5031911_Flaw_600.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Auto-Adjust-FSR-End-Stop-Detector_8373/P5031911_Flaw_600_thumb.jpg" width="584" height="439" /></a></p> <p>In the very middle of this photo, there is a trace missing. LED4 and R4 are supposed to be connected, but they’re not. Fortunately, this is very easy to fix by adding a blob of solder to bridge the two devices.</p> <h4>Availability and Future Plans</h4> <p>I’ve made the design files and source code open source, and you can find them on Github: <a title="https://github.com/JohnSL/FSR_Endstop" href="https://github.com/JohnSL/FSR_Endstop">https://github.com/JohnSL/FSR_Endstop</a></p> <p>As I mentioned above, I changed the design to replace the four diodes with a single bridge rectifier chip, which makes hand-soldering much easier. I will be ordering some of these boards soon for testing. Once I’ve verified that everything works well, I’ll upload the Gerber files, which you can then use to order circuit boards directly from OSH Park or anywhere else you choose.</p> John Socha-Leialohahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06008871146248095504noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228372887329990411.post-40438662177701534912014-05-04T09:13:00.001-07:002014-05-04T09:13:35.087-07:00FSR Bed Leveling Trials and Tribulations<p>I read Johann’s post about using force-sensitive resisters (FSR) for automatic bed leveling, and it seemed like just what I was looking for. Very simple, and not that expensive. So I ordered a set of three FSR sensors. Here are some places where you can order them:</p> <p><a title="https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9375" href="https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9375">https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9375</a> <br /><a title="http://www.phidgets.com/products.php?product_id=3104" href="http://www.phidgets.com/products.php?product_id=3104">http://www.phidgets.com/products.php?product_id=3104</a></p> <p>And this is what one looks like out of the bag:</p> <p><img src="https://cdn.sparkfun.com//assets/parts/2/9/6/7/09375-1.jpg" width="216" height="228" /></p> <p>I connected three of these in parallel into a single end stop input on the Printrboard and gave it a try. Well, it wasn’t as easy as I thought. It turns out the setup was very fussy. Sometimes it took too much pressure to trigger. And at other times it stayed triggered. After a number of attempts, I read the data sheet and discovered that the resistance changes greatly. In the “useful” range of the sensor, the resistance goes from 30 k Ohms at 20 grams to just above 1 k Ohm at 1 Kg. That’s a pretty wide range, and it turns out the weight of the glass bed is enough to change the resistance noticeably. After a lot of experimentation, here is what I ended up with:</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/855791b033a7_11C39/WP_20140327_20_17_17_Pro_600.jpg"><img title="WP_20140327_20_17_17_Pro_600" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="WP_20140327_20_17_17_Pro_600" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/855791b033a7_11C39/WP_20140327_20_17_17_Pro_600_thumb.jpg" width="604" height="341" /></a></p> <p>The small squares on each FSR are thin pieces of paper. Without these squares, it took too much force to trigger the endstop. The FSR have a border around the outside that is ever so slightly thicker than the sensor itself, so you need either some spongy tape that can deform, or something like these pads. With the pads, however, I still had issues with it being hard to get just right. My solution was to add a 10K potentiometer into the circuit, as shown here:</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/855791b033a7_11C39/WP_20140327_20_18_26_Pro_Cropped.jpg"><img title="WP_20140327_20_18_26_Pro_Cropped" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="WP_20140327_20_18_26_Pro_Cropped" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/855791b033a7_11C39/WP_20140327_20_18_26_Pro_Cropped_thumb.jpg" width="512" height="410" /></a></p> <p>In this photo, the end stop connector is in the center top (it’s the black connector next to the row of white connectors). With this change I was able to get things to work reasonably well, but it still felt too fussy to me.</p> <p>As it turns out, I was also becoming interested in learning how to make circuit boards and decided to see if I could make a custom circuit board that would make this a whole lot easier. I’ll cover this journey in a future blog post.</p> John Socha-Leialohahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06008871146248095504noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228372887329990411.post-31743522494344141862014-03-13T07:34:00.001-07:002014-03-13T07:34:16.324-07:00A Better Cooling Fan for PLA<p>You need lots of cooling air when printing with PLA in order to keep the plastic from moving around and deforming. I have a MendelMax 2.0 printer, as well as a Makerbot Replicator 2 (which I won). At first I wasn’t that excited about the Makerbot because I had heard about how it wasn’t a good design and had problems. Until, that is, I tried it. The Makerbot nearly always produced better prints than my MendelMax.</p> <p>The Makerbot produces better prints in two ways: it has no Z artifacts that I can see, and it is amazing at handling overhangs and small features. It was a while before I realized that the secret to the overhangs was the choice of fan on the Makerbot. Unlike almost all FFF 3D printers on the market, the Makerbot doesn’t use a standard 40mm case fan. Instead, it uses a 50mm blower fan (more on this later).</p> <h4>My Journey</h4> <p>The MendelMax came with a single 40mm fan that mounted to the front. I was actually pretty happy with this fan at first. But then I found some designs were harder to print, and I read about Ohmeye’s use of two 40mm fans to increase the airflow.</p> <p><a title="http://ohmeye.com/2013/new-mendelmax2-fan-mounts/" href="http://ohmeye.com/2013/new-mendelmax2-fan-mounts/">http://ohmeye.com/2013/new-mendelmax2-fan-mounts/</a></p> <p>So I designed my own version, which looked like this:</p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/A-Better-Cooling-Fan_1242C/P8251714_600.jpg" width="604" height="454" /> <br /><a title="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:139952" href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:139952">http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:139952</a></p> <p>I was very happy with this design until my experience with a Makerbot Replicator 2 that I won in September 2013--it did a much better job ad made me realize there was much more room for improvement with my MendelMax 2.0. Since then I’ve been working on improving my MM 2.</p> <p>I decided to try making a fan duct that would pressurize the air around the nozzle to provide even better cooling. I started out with a fairly small slot at the end, but not much air came out. I kept enlarging the hole until I ended up with this design:</p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/A-Better-Cooling-Fan_1242C/P1011836_600.jpg" width="604" height="454" /> <br /><a title="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:217208" href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:217208">http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:217208</a></p> <p>The opening at the end of the duct is larger than I wanted. I wasn’t sure why the smaller slot didn’t work well, and then I noticed air was being blown back out of the fan around the outer ring. In other words, when I placed my hand near the fan (to the left of the fan in this picture), I could feel quite a bit of air hitting my hand. That meant more air was being blown back out than was going through the nozzle.</p> <p>So how much of a difference does it make to have a fan duct instead of two fans? The photo below shows the difference, looking from the bottom of the parts. I printed the part on the left with my original two-fan setup, and the part on the right was printed with the fan duct plus an angled fan. You can see I got much better results replacing one of the fans with a ducted fan:</p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/A-Better-Cooling-Fan_1242C/P1021838_600.jpg" width="604" height="454" /></p> <p>In other words, yes, good cooling really makes a difference, especially with the overhang in this design.</p> <p>At this point I probably could have stopped. However I took a better look at the Replicator 2 and discovered they used a completely different type of fan. The fan they used is a centrifugal fan (also know as a blower fan or squirrel cage fan) instead of an axial fan. These fans seem to be much better at pressurizing the air, and therefore can provide a faster flow of air over the nozzle.</p> <p>Here is the fan I purchased for my MendelMax:</p> <p><a title="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BKE445C/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BKE445C/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1">http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BKE445C/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1</a>. </p> <p>This is a 24 V fan since the MendelMax uses 24 V for the heaters and fan.</p> <h4></h4> <h4>The “Final” Design</h4> <p>I designed a new fan duct to use the centrifugal fan, and I decided to if this single ducted fan would be as effective as my two fans (with one being ducted). It was.</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/A-Better-Cooling-Fan_1242C/P3081889_1000.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/A-Better-Cooling-Fan_1242C/P3081889_1000_thumb.jpg" width="644" height="484" /></a></p> <p>I’ll have this design up on Thingiverse soon. Right now it’s not letting me publish a new thing because it keeps forgetting about the STL files that I’ve included. You can find the files here: <a title="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:267212" href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:267212">http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:267212</a></p> John Socha-Leialohahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06008871146248095504noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228372887329990411.post-41689882814833905822014-01-19T17:47:00.001-08:002014-01-26T16:30:16.868-08:00Building the 3DR “Simple” Delta Printer, Part III<p><a href="http://trains.socha.com/2013/09/3dr-simple-delta-printer-part-i.html">3DR “Simple” Delta Printer, Part I</a> <br /><a href="http://trains.socha.com/2013/10/3dr-simple-delta-printer-part-ii.html">3DR “Simple” Delta Printer, Part II</a> <br /><a href="http://trains.socha.com/2013/11/3dr-simple-delta-printer-part-iii.html">3DR “Simple” Delta Printer, Part III</a> <br /><a href="http://trains.socha.com/2013/11/building-3dr-simple-delta-printer-part-i.html">Building the 3DR “Simple” Delta Printer, Part I</a> <br /><a href="http://trains.socha.com/2013/12/building-3dr-simple-delta-printer-part.html">Building the 3DR “Simple” Delta Printer, Part II</a> <br /><a href="http://trains.socha.com/2013/10/3dr-simple-delta-printer-firmware.html">3DR “Simple” Delta Printer Firmware Settings</a></p> <p>This time we’ll look at building the effector, extruder, and finishing up the build platform. </p> <h4>Assembling the Effector</h4> <p>There are five parts that make up the effector and hot-end mount. Begin with the three parts shown below. Place the hot end into the slot, and also place the push-fit connector into the smaller slot. These will both be held in place firmly once you have all the screws in place.</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Building-the-3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Pa_138AA/P1161844_Cropped.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Building-the-3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Pa_138AA/P1161844_Cropped_thumb.jpg" width="644" height="484" /></a></p> <p>Next use four 6-24 by 1 inch (or 1 1/4 inch) screws (you could also use M3 x 26 screws) to bold the three parts together as shown. Use Nyloc nuts on the back side to ensure they won’t come lose over time. You should have a gap of a couple of millimeters between the two larger parts before you bolt them.</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Building-the-3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Pa_138AA/P1161846_Cropped.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Building-the-3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Pa_138AA/P1161846_Cropped_thumb.jpg" width="644" height="484" /></a></p> <p>Next, using three M3 x 24 screws, attach the effector to this assembly. Note that the assembly fits onto the effector in only one orientation. The image below shows the effector before attaching the rods, but you can just as easily install the hot end after installing the effector—it’s easier to photograph before it’s been installed.</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Building-the-3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Pa_138AA/P1161847_Cropped.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Building-the-3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Pa_138AA/P1161847_Cropped_thumb.jpg" width="644" height="484" /></a></p> <p>Finally, add the fan holder to the bottom. The fan holder has slots for M3 nuts:</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Building-the-3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Pa_138AA/P1161848_Cropped.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Building-the-3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Pa_138AA/P1161848_Cropped_thumb.jpg" width="644" height="484" /></a></p> <p>The fan is held in place by two M3 x 12 screws and nuts.</p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Building-the-3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Pa_138AA/P1161851_Cropped.jpg" width="604" height="407" /></p> <h4>Building the Extruder</h4> <p>I built the extruder using the files from RichRap’s site, and you can find the links in <a href="http://trains.socha.com/2013/11/building-3dr-simple-delta-printer-part-i.html">Part I</a> of my series. The only change I made was to add a spacer, shown in yellow below, to provide more clearance between the larger gear and the carriage.</p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Building-the-3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Pa_138AA/P1181855_Cropped.jpg" width="604" height="457" /></p> <p>I mounted the extruder so the yellow extension is half way between the top and bottom of the printer. The PTFE tube from the extruder to the hot-end is about 400 mm long, and I put this, as well as the wires (thermistor, heater, and fan) inside a stretch tube to keep things neat and tidy. I also used another stretch tube to run these wires as well as the stepper wires back to the Printrboard mounted under the top of the printer.</p> <h4>Leveling the Print Bed</h4> <p>I found it much easier to manually level the print bed than to get the calibration just right. Some people have suggested that I use the M666 g-code command. I took RichRap’s firmware and plugged in my own numbers, and his version doesn’t have M666 support. So I took a different route. The Printrbot Simple comes with four springs used as part of the bed leveling system. I decided to use the same approach on my printer, so I created these <a href="https://github.com/JohnSL/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer/raw/master/STL/Bed%20Clip.STL"><strong>Bed Clips.stl</strong></a>.</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Building-the-3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Pa_138AA/PB301811_Clips.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Building-the-3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Pa_138AA/PB301811_Clips_thumb.jpg" width="604" height="454" /></a></p> <p>Print three of them and clip them onto the bed, evenly spaced. Also print three thumb wheels: <a title="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:103519" href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:103519"><strong>http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:103519</strong></a>. Although I designed these thumb wheels for the Printbot Simple, they work just as well for this printer:</p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Building-the-3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Pa_138AA/P1181858_Cropped.jpg" width="604" height="437" /></p> <p>Insert the M3 x 20 screw through the knob and hold in place with an M3 nut (you can see both in this photo). Then place one of the Printrbot bed-leveling springs under the bed and insert the screw. By the way, the print bed here is a 1/8” thick laser-cut acrylic bed that I’ve been experimenting with in place of the glass. Since it’s not a heated bed, the acrylic works just as well, and doesn’t require the clips. You can find the cut file for this part here: <a href="https://github.com/JohnSL/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer/raw/master/SolidWorks/Acrylic%20Plate.DWG"><strong>Acrylic Plate.dwg</strong></a>.</p> <h4>Filament Holder</h4> <p>I tried various filament holders for my 3DR “Simple,” and then I found the perfect one, by <a href="http://forums.reprap.org/read.php?178,293200,294091#msg-294091">Reprap Forum user Funkymonk</a>: <a href="http://forums.reprap.org/file.php?178,file=24704,filename=GOYO_3DR_SIMPLE_SPOOL_HOLDER.stl"><strong>GOYO 3DR SIMPLE SPOOL HOLDER.stl</strong></a> along with this Thingiverse part: <a href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:86463">3-size spool holder</a>:</p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Building-the-3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Pa_138AA/P1191866_600.jpg" width="604" height="454" /></p> <p>This filament holder requires two 608ZZ bearings, one M8 x 60 bolt, two M8 washers, and one M8 nut. I thought I might have to create a guide for the filament, but this the filament role turns so easily and smoothly that a guide isn’t required. I must say this works very well, and I’m very happy. Thank you Funkymonk!</p> <h4>Firmware Settings</h4> <p>I’ve updated my previous blog post on firmware settings to reflect the latest design: <a href="http://trains.socha.com/2013/10/3dr-simple-delta-printer-firmware.html">3DR “Simple” Delta Printer Firmware Settings</a>. There you’ll find numbers to use for the different firmware settings. RichRap also has a very good tutorial on setting up the firmware: <a href="http://richrap.blogspot.com/2013/12/3dr-build-tutorial-part4-firmware.html">3DR build tutorial Part4 Firmware</a>.</p> <p>Here are some links to information on downloading firmware to the Printrboard:</p> <ul> <li><a title="http://printrbot.com/support/instructions-and-guides/instructions-flashing-the-firmware-on-your-printrboard/" href="http://printrbot.com/support/instructions-and-guides/instructions-flashing-the-firmware-on-your-printrboard/">Instructions – Flashing the Firmware on Your Printrboard</a></li> <li><a title="http://printrbot.com/support/software-and-firmware-downloads/" href="http://printrbot.com/support/software-and-firmware-downloads/">Software and Firmware Downloads</a></li> </ul> John Socha-Leialohahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06008871146248095504noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228372887329990411.post-40216042255456597582013-12-03T21:51:00.001-08:002014-01-19T17:48:37.580-08:00Building the 3DR “Simple” Delta Printer, Part II<p>This is the fifth part in my series on a delta printer that I designed, which started life as just a few changes from RichRap’s similarly named 3DR RepRap Delta Printer. Here are the previous posts:</p> <p><a href="http://trains.socha.com/2013/09/3dr-simple-delta-printer-part-i.html">3DR “Simple” Delta Printer, Part I</a> <br /><a href="http://trains.socha.com/2013/10/3dr-simple-delta-printer-part-ii.html">3DR “Simple” Delta Printer, Part II</a> <br /><a href="http://trains.socha.com/2013/11/3dr-simple-delta-printer-part-iii.html">3DR “Simple” Delta Printer, Part III</a> <br /><a href="http://trains.socha.com/2013/11/building-3dr-simple-delta-printer-part-i.html">Building the 3DR “Simple” Delta Printer, Part I</a> <br />Building the 3DR “Simple” Delta Printer, Part II <br /><a href="http://trains.socha.com/2014/01/building-3dr-simple-delta-printer-part.html">Building the 3DR “Simple” Delta Printer, Part III</a></p> <p>In my last blog post, I covered printing all the parts and assembling the top and bottom frames. The next step is to disassemble your Printrbot Simple as you’ll need the various vitamins to continue this build.</p> <h4>Finishing the Top Assembly</h4> <p>In this step you’ll mount the Printrboard and end-stop switches. Use two M2.5 x 10 screws and nuts for each micro switch. You’ll want to ensure the free end of the lever is towards the center, as shown here.</p> <p><img src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/PB101795_800.jpg" width="638" height="480" /></p> <p>Next use two M3 x 10 screws to attach the Printboard to two of the posts. The board will need to be attached next to the wing with the extension for the power connector, as shown at the top-right of the photo above. Plug the end stops into the correct slot of the Printboard as shown above. The center socket is attached to the micro switch in the upper-right corner.</p> <p>The power connector is designed to be held in place with the nut on the back. Unscrew the nut and slide the wires through the slot, with the nut on the inside. Place the nut into the slot and then turn the power connector to screw it into the nut. Once this is tight you can plug the square power connector into the Printrboard.</p> <p>Next, each smooth rod is held in place with an M4 x 10 screw and nut. Place one M4 nut into each of the six slots next to the smooth bar holes. Then screw in an M4 x 10 screw so it’s all the way into the nut, but not projecting into the smooth rod hole.</p> <h4>Adding the Carriages</h4> <p>Add one LM8UU bearing to each smooth rod. Then use four zip ties to attach one carriage to each pair of smooth rods. The carriage should be oriented so the rod connections are on the top, like this:</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/e37b3d72a9b6_109E3/PB091794_500.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/e37b3d72a9b6_109E3/PB091794_500_thumb.jpg" width="504" height="380" /></a></p> <p>Make sure the zip ties are very tight.</p> <h4>Installing the Top</h4> <p>Now install the top, with the Printrboard facing down. Carefully slide the parts over the extrusions, and then over the smooth rods. Work it down until 20 mm of extrusion is extending out of the top of each corner. Then lock in place with an M5 x 8 screw and washer that attaches to a T nut in the extrusion. Finally, tighten the six M4 screws on the top corners that hold the rods in place.</p> <h4>Installing the Stepper Motors</h4> <p>The cords on the stepper motors are much shorter than you’ll need. Obtain some 26 gauge stranded wire. You should use the same four colors as on the original motors: red, green, blue, and black. I chose to use new wire and connectors, and also to install connectors on the bottom between the stepper motor and where the wire enters the extrusions. This will make it easy to change stepper motors if I need, but I’m not sure it was that important. In any case, you’ll need to cut the wires on the stepper motors and either splice in new wires, or use a connector like the one shown below.</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/e37b3d72a9b6_109E3/PA051759_500.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/e37b3d72a9b6_109E3/PA051759_500_thumb.jpg" width="604" height="423" /></a></p> <p>The connectors I used are Molex 1625-4PRT .062” 4-pin connectors, although you can use other connectors. These have both a male and female part, and the pins crimp to the wires. To ensure a secure connection, I also soldered the wires to the pins after crimping. Ensure you have the colors matching as shown before you push the pins all the way into the body:</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/e37b3d72a9b6_109E3/PA051760_500.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/e37b3d72a9b6_109E3/PA051760_500_thumb.jpg" width="504" height="379" /></a></p> <p>For the wires that will be attached to the Printrboard, cut wires more than long enough to go through the extrusions and to the Printrboard (you can cut them to length later when you know exactly how long you’ll want them).</p> <p>Once you have the connector attached to the long wires, fish the cut ends of the wires through the rectangular hole on the bottom part and into the hole in the extrusion. Keep feeding them until they come out the top.</p> <h4>Mounting the Stepper Motors</h4> <p>Cut three lengths of Spectra fishing line. RichRap recommends two meters each. It’s better to have them too long than too short. Thread one end through the holes in the spool so it looks like this:</p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/e37b3d72a9b6_109E3/PC011813_400.jpg" width="404" height="304" /></p> <p>The two lengths of string coming out of the spool should be about the same length. Next wrap the string around the  spool in opposite directions. Each one should be wrapped eight times around. Secure in place with a piece of tape. Make sure you wind all spools the same way.</p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/e37b3d72a9b6_109E3/PA051759_400.jpg" width="504" height="379" /></p> <p>The nuts and screws can be a little tricky to install on the spools. Using a round object inserted in the hole can help hold the nut while you place the screw, as shown here:</p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/e37b3d72a9b6_109E3/PA051762_400.jpg" width="404" height="304" /></p> <p>Now attach the spool to the stepper motor shaft. There should be a small gap of about 1 mm between the spool and the stepper motor. Tighten each of the three set screws in turn so you keep the spool aligned with the shaft. Make sure the set screws are all quite tight. You might wish to place some thread lock on the screws to keep them from coming loose.</p> <p>Finally, attach the stepper motors to the lower mount and connect the cables. It will look like the following picture once you’ve finished string the fishing line. Remember to install the bottom end cap on each extrusion so you don’t scratch your work surface.</p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/e37b3d72a9b6_109E3/PC031814_600.jpg" width="604" height="454" /></p> <p>For now, tape the fishing line to the top surface of the base:</p> <p><img src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/PB091794_800.jpg" width="638" height="480" /></p> <h4>Running the Fishing Line</h4> <p>First create the idler assemblies. Each one consists of an M5 x 20 button head screw, two 625ZZ bearings, one M5 nut, one M5 washer (a wider penny washer would be better, but I didn’t have any handy), and finally an M5 T nut:</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/e37b3d72a9b6_109E3/PC031815_300.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/e37b3d72a9b6_109E3/PC031815_300_thumb.jpg" width="304" height="229" /></a></p> <p>You’ll need three of these assemblies, with one for each extrusion. Insert these into the slot closest to the center, at the top of the extrusion. You can either leave the T nuts loose or tighten them ever so slightly to keep them in place. Make sure the regular M5 nut is very tight against the back of the bearings. If it’s not, the fishing line could work it’s way down between the two bearings and get stuck.</p> <p>Now tape each carriage so it’s towards the top of the tower, but with enough distance so you can get in there to tie the fishing line to the carriages. You’ll want it to look like this when you’re finished:</p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/e37b3d72a9b6_109E3/PC031816_500.jpg" width="404" height="304" /></p> <p><strong>Note:</strong> Although this photo shows the rods attached to the carriage, it’s easier to tie the fishing line to the carriages before attaching the rods.</p> <p>The fishing line shown on the right loops over the top of the idler bearing you installed and then down to tie onto the top hole of the carriage. While the other side of the line coming from the spool ties to the bottom hole in the carriage. Try to make these somewhat tight when you tie them on.</p> <p>Then push up on the idler bearing as much as you can and tighten them in place. The strings should be fairly tight, but will loosen a little after some movement, so you’ll need to re-tighten every now and then.</p> <p>At this point you can remove the tape holding the fishing line to the spools and move the carriage up and down to ensure they work smoothly without any binding.</p> <h4>Making the Rods</h4> <p>I found a really nice jig on Thingiverse by ichibey: <a title="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:166605" href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:166605">http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:166605</a>. Print out two of these and add two M3 x 20 screws from the back. Then use two M5 x 10 screws to attach them to one of the extrusions (using two T nuts, of course):</p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/e37b3d72a9b6_109E3/PB191796_500.jpg" width="233" height="504" /></p> <p>As you can see, these two printed parts make it really easy to set the length exactly the same for all six rods. If you’re using 200 mm rods, like I am, the carbon fiber tube needs to be cut into six lengths of 160 mm each (the printed adapters and joints add 40 mm to the total length). I used 5-minute epoxy to glue the tubes into the printed adapters (shown in yellow above), and the Traxxas joints into the other end. Do one rod at a time, and before the epoxy sets, fit the assembly onto the jig as shown above and adjust so it’s a loose fit. Also make sure the flat parts of the Traxxas joints line up with each other.</p> <p>Take your time on this step. It’s very important to have all six rods exactly the same length for the best performance of your printer.</p> <h4>Attaching the Effector</h4> <p>Once you’ve finished all six rods, you can move on to attaching them to the carriages and to the effector platform. First attach them to the platform, as shown here, using M3 x 16 screws and nuts (this is looking at the bottom of the platform):</p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/e37b3d72a9b6_109E3/PC011812_500.jpg" width="504" height="379" /></p> <p>Next attach the other ends of the rod to the carriages with M3 x 16 screws and nuts, as shown here (make sure the attachment points on the platform are at the bottom, as shown here):</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/e37b3d72a9b6_109E3/PB191796_800.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/e37b3d72a9b6_109E3/PB191796_800_thumb.jpg" width="644" height="484" /></a></p> <p>I used a tape roll on the print bed to help hold it in place, which made the work a little easier.</p> <h4>Print Bed</h4> <p>To make things a little easier, I designed clips that allow leveling the bed and slight adjustments between the bed and the nozzle, shown in the previous photo. These clamps use three of the bed leveling springs from the Printbot Simple, along with M3 x 20 screws and nuts. The nut slot under the frame is tapered, which allows you to trap the nut firmly in place. Before installing the clip, add the nut to the bottom side of the frame and then screw an M3 screw all the way in, pulling the nut firmly in place. Then remove the M3 screw.</p> <p>Attach the clips to the print bed and then use an M3 x 20 screw through the clip, and then through the spring, to hold the bed in place.</p> <h4>Next Up, Extruder</h4> <p>There are two more parts I expect to publish. Next up will be building the extruder and hot-end mounts, and finishing up the wiring. The final part (I think), will be on installing new firmware onto the Printrboard and getting the printer running.</p> John Socha-Leialohahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06008871146248095504noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228372887329990411.post-30437608904862194122013-11-30T13:22:00.001-08:002014-03-13T07:51:43.166-07:00Building the 3DR “Simple” Delta Printer, Part I<p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/PB301811_500_3.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/PB301811_500_thumb.jpg" width="504" height="718" /></a></p> <p>The previous three posts provide background information about this printer. This is the first part of how to build the “final” version of this printer.</p> <p><a href="http://trains.socha.com/2013/09/3dr-simple-delta-printer-part-i.html">3DR “Simple” Delta Printer, Part I</a> <br /><a href="http://trains.socha.com/2013/10/3dr-simple-delta-printer-part-ii.html">3DR “Simple” Delta Printer, Part II</a> <br /><a href="http://trains.socha.com/2013/11/3dr-simple-delta-printer-part-iii.html">3DR “Simple” Delta Printer, Part III</a> <br />Building the 3DR “Simple” Delta Printer, Part I <br /><a href="http://trains.socha.com/2013/12/building-3dr-simple-delta-printer-part.html">Building the 3DR “Simple” Delta Printer, Part II</a> <br /><a href="http://trains.socha.com/2014/01/building-3dr-simple-delta-printer-part.html">Building the 3DR “Simple” Delta Printer, Part III</a></p> <p>Since my last post, I’ve redesigned almost every part of my 3DR “Simple” Delta printer. Yesterday I got it printing, and it works really well. I have one final parts I’m working on, which is a combination fan and ring LED mount. Once these are done, I’m going to declare this complete.</p> <h4>Sourcing Parts</h4> <p>The idea of this project is that you can start with a Printrbot Simple, which is a very low cost printer. You can use the Simple to print all the printed parts required for this build and then start the build. You won’t need to disassemble the Printrbot Simple until you’ve assembled the printed parts. Then, and only then, you can disassemble the Printrbot Simple and use it’s “vitamins” to finish the build. Even so, you’ll need to purchase some additional parts, such as the smooth rod and extruded aluminum.</p> <p>You’ll need to decide how tall you want to make your printer. My printer has a maximum print height of about 80mm, which works very well for me. However, you’ll most likely want a little more height. The first version of my design had the same dimensions as RichRap’s 3DR RepRap Delta Printer and had a larger maximum height. However, when I discovered I couldn’t use the full diameter, I widened the printer, which resulted in longer rods, and therefore reduced my maximum print height. So, here is what I would recommend:</p> <p><strong>Smooth Rods:</strong> 500 mm <br /><strong>Extrusions:</strong> 550 mm</p> <p>This will give you a maximum print height of about 150mm. You can, of course, choose different lengths. Just make sure the smooth rods are 50mm shorter than the extrusions. Here are some links on <strong>Msiumi</strong>’s US sight for these parts:</p> <ul> <li>6 each of RGOCG8-500 <a href="http://us.misumi-ec.com/vona2/detail/110300229270/?ProductCode=RGOCG8-500">Precision Rods - g6 Tolerance / h7 Tolerance</a> </li> <li>3 each of HFSB5-2020-550 <a href="http://us.misumi-ec.com/vona2/detail/110302368740/?ProductCode=HFSB5-2020-550">Aluminum Extrusion - 5 Series, Base 20, Four-Side Slots</a> </li> <li>14 each of HNTAJ5-5 <a href="http://us.misumi-ec.com/vona2/detail/110302247910/?ProductCode=HNTAJ5-5">Post-Assembly Insertion Short Nuts -For HFS5 Series Aluminum Extrusions</a> </li> <li>6 each of SC625ZZ <a href="http://us.misumi-ec.com/vona2/detail/110302399970/?ProductCode=SC625ZZ">Stainless Steel Small Deep Groove Ball Bearings </a></li> </ul> <p><strong>Note:</strong> The 400mm long smooth rod is about $12 per rod. But as soon as you increase this to even 401 mm, the price goes up to $19 a rod. So if you’re happy with 80 mm maximum print height, go with 400 mm rods. Otherwise, you can go up to the maximum of 500 mm length for the smooth rods. I’ve also listed T nuts that have a spring to hold them in place, and can be inserted after the fact, which is really handy. When I added the above to my shopping cart, the total came to $147.</p> <p>There are some other supplies I got from <a href="http://www.tridprinting.com/">tridprinting.com</a>:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.tridprinting.com/Mechanical-Parts/#3D-Printer-Rod-Ends">3D-Printer-Rod-Ends</a>, which is a set of 12 Traxxas 5347 joints </li> <li>Alternatively, you could get their <a href="http://www.tridprinting.com/Mechanical-Parts/#3D-Printer-Rod-Kit">pre-assembled rods</a>, either 180 mm or 240 mm (on my printer I have the rods 200 mm long from joint to joint) </li> <li><a href="http://www.tridprinting.com/Misc/#3D-Printer-Spectra-Line">65 lb Spectra Line</a> </li> <li>Optional, 3 each of <a href="http://www.tridprinting.com/Mechanical-Parts/#3D-Printer-Spool">Aluminum Filament Drive Spool</a> </li> <li>2 each of <a href="http://www.tridprinting.com/Hot-Ends/#3D-Printer-Push-Fit-Fitting">10 mm Width Push Fit Connectors</a> </li> <li><a href="http://www.tridprinting.com/Hot-Ends/#3D-Printer-PFTE-Teflon-Tube">2 mm Inside Diameter PTFE Teflon Tube</a> </li> </ul> <p>If you purchase 180 mm rods, you won’t be able to get the full 170 mm diameter—it will probably be closer to 160 mm. If you plan to assemble your own rods instead, you’ll need to purchase some carbon fiber rod:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/119/3613/=pnmauw">McMaster Part 2153T32</a>, carbon fiber tube, .156” outside diameter, 48” long. </li> </ul> <h4>Electrical Connectors</h4> <p>The following electrical connectors are optional, and you’ll only need them if you choose to use new connectors instead of simply splicing new wires into the stepper motors (covered in the next installment):</p> <ul> <li>(<em>optional</em>) Molex 1625-4PRT .062” 4-pin connectors (to connect the steppers to the wires that go up the extrusions) </li> <li>(<em>optional</em>) Molex WMLX-102 .100 4-pin connectors (to replace the stepper-motor to Printrboard connections) </li> <li>(<em>required</em>) 26 gauge stranded wire in red, blue, green, and black </li> </ul> <p></td></p> <h4>Screws and Nuts</h4> <p>I’m still working on updating the list of all the screws required. Here’s what I have so far:</p> <ul> <li>M3 x 6 button head (9) </li> <li>M3 x 16 screws (12) </li> <li>M4 x 10 screws (39) </li> <li>M4 x 20 screws (18) </li> <li>M4 nuts (57) </li> <li>M5 x 8 (6) </li> <li>M5 x 20 button head (5) </li> <li>M5 Washers (9) </li> <li>M5 Nuts (3) </li> </ul> <h4>Extruder Parts</h4> <p>The extruder needs some parts that don’t come with more recent Printrbots, and perhaps the easiest (and even most cost effective) way to get these might be to order the hard-ware only kit from Makerfarm (they call it the No Printed Parts option, which is $15 at the time I’m writing this): <a title="http://www.makerfarm.com/index.php/3d-printer-kits/greg-s-hinged-accessible-extruder.html" href="http://www.makerfarm.com/index.php/3d-printer-kits/greg-s-hinged-accessible-extruder.html">http://www.makerfarm.com/index.php/3d-printer-kits/greg-s-hinged-accessible-extruder.html</a></p> <ul> <li>M3 x 50 (2) for extruder</li> <li>M8 x 20 (1) smooth or threaded rod (no head)</li> <li>Hobbed bolt and other extruder parts (not included in direct-drive Printbot Simple kits)</li> </ul> <p>There are various M3 nuts and screws. However, I believe all of these can be reused from the Printrbot Simple.</p> <h4>Printrbot Simple Parts</h4> <p>Here is a list of parts I reused from the Printbot simple (so you won’t have to buy them)</p> <ul> <li>Stepper motors (4) </li> <li>Hot end </li> <li>Printrboard </li> <li>Power supply </li> <li>LM8UU bearings (6) </li> <li>Hobbed bolt and other extruder parts (not included in direct-drive Printbot Simple kits)</li> <li>M3 x 10 screws (12) </li> <li>M3 nuts (24) </li> </ul> <p>If you have a Printrbot Simple V2 with the direct-drive extruder, you’ll also need a hobbed bolt (which is what my V1 came with): <a title="http://printrbot.com/shop/hobbed-bolt/" href="http://printrbot.com/shop/hobbed-bolt/">http://printrbot.com/shop/hobbed-bolt/</a>. Alternatively, you can purchase the hard-ware only kit from Makerfarm (link in previous section)</p> <p>While you’re there, you might choose to use their injection-molded gears instead of 3D printing the gears: <a title="http://printrbot.com/shop/injection-molded-large-and-small-gear-set/" href="http://printrbot.com/shop/injection-molded-large-and-small-gear-set/">http://printrbot.com/shop/injection-molded-large-and-small-gear-set/</a></p> <h4>Other Parts</h4> <p>You’ll need a 170 mm diameter print bed. I purchased a 170 mm round Borosilicate plate from Trinity Labs: <a href="http://trinitylabs.com/products/borosilicate-glass-170mm-round">http://trinitylabs.com/products/borosilicate-glass-170mm-round</a>. Without a heated bed, you don't really need Borosilicate glass. So you might be able to get a glass place to cut one for you.</p> <h4>Assembling the Lower Frame</h4> <p>As I’ve mentioned before, all the printed parts are designed to be printable on a Printrbot Simple, with a 100mm x 100m print bed. That means you should be able to print all the printable parts on just about any printer.</p> <p>For most of the parts, I print with 0.2 mm layers, 20% infill and either two or three perimeters (I’m not sure it makes much difference).</p> <p><strong>Print</strong> 3 of <strong><a href="https://github.com/JohnSL/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer/raw/master/STL/Simple%20Parts/3DR%20Bottom%20Motor%20Mount%20Simple.STL">3DR Bottom Motor Mount Simple.stl</a></strong>:</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/3DR-Bottom-Motor-Mount-Simple.png"><img title="3DR Bottom Motor Mount Simple" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="3DR Bottom Motor Mount Simple" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/3DR-Bottom-Motor-Mount-Simple_thumb.png" width="216" height="240" /></a></p> <p><strong>Print</strong> 3 of <strong><a href="https://github.com/JohnSL/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer/raw/master/STL/Simple%20Parts/Wings.STL">Wings.STL</a>:</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/Wings.png"><img title="Wings" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Wings" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/Wings_thumb.png" width="240" height="156" /></a></p> <p><strong>Print</strong> 3 of <strong><a href="https://github.com/JohnSL/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer/raw/master/STL/Simple%20Parts/Wing%20Mirror%20Long.STL">Wing Mirror Long.STL</a>:</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/Wing-Mirror-Long.png"><img title="Wing Mirror Long" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Wing Mirror Long" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/Wing-Mirror-Long_thumb.png" width="240" height="169" /></a></p> <p>Connect the base pieces with M4 x 10 and M4 x 20 screws and nuts. The wings connect to each other with four sets of M4 x 10 screws and nuts. While the wings connect to the motor mount with a pair of M4 x 10 and another pair of M4 x 20 screws. Assemble these on a flat surface and ensure the screws are tight:</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/PB301804_600.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/PB301804_600_thumb.jpg" width="604" height="503" /></a></p> <h4>Milling the Extrusions</h4> <p>There is enough room inside the extrusion to run wires for the stepper motors. You’ll need to mill a slot on each end of each extrusion in order to accommodate the wires. Here is what the slot looks like on the bottom:</p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/PB301807_400.jpg" width="404" height="304" /></p> <p>You can see that the slot is toward the middle of the printer. On the top, the slot should be to the side shown here:</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/PB301808_600.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/PB301808_600_thumb.jpg" width="564" height="424" /></a></p> <p>Take your time to ensure the slots are milled in the correct location, and that they’re smooth so they won’t cut into the wires.</p> <p>Insert a T nut into the extrusion and then insert the extrusion into the base. Fasten in place with an M5 x 8 screw and washer. You’ll need to make sure the T nut is aligned with the hole first, of course. Once you have the screw started in the T nut, and before you tighten, make sure the extrusion is flush with the bottom of the base, as shown in the first image of this section.</p> <p><strong>Print</strong> three of <a href="https://github.com/JohnSL/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer/raw/master/STL/misumi_2020_extrusion_cap%20two%20Ts.stl">these end caps</a> and install them on the bottom of the extrusions (so you don’t scratch your work surface):</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/misumi_2020_extrusion_cap-two-Ts.png"><img title="misumi_2020_extrusion_cap two Ts" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="misumi_2020_extrusion_cap two Ts" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/misumi_2020_extrusion_cap-two-Ts_thumb.png" width="278" height="185" /></a></p> <p>I modified these end caps from this Thingiverse part: <a title="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:45339" href="http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:45339">http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:45339</a>.</p> <p>Once you’re finished, the base will look something like this (without the carriages, stepper motors, and bed):</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/PB091794_800.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/PB091794_800_thumb.jpg" width="644" height="484" /></a></p> <h4>Assembling the Upper Frame</h4> <p>The upper frame, like the lower frame, is made from 9 printed parts. Note that the three parts for the top all have the same file names as the corresponding bottom parts, but they’re in a folder named Top on Github. In case you’re curious, both the top and bottom files are contained in the same Solidworks file, which is why the STL files have the same name.</p> <p><strong>Print</strong> 3 of <strong><a href="https://github.com/JohnSL/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer/raw/master/STL/Top/3DR%20Bottom%20Motor%20Mount.STL">3DR Bottom Motor Mount.STL</a>:</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/3DR-Top-Motor-Mount-Simple.png"><img title="3DR Top Motor Mount Simple" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="3DR Top Motor Mount Simple" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/3DR-Top-Motor-Mount-Simple_thumb.png" width="240" height="208" /></a></p> <p>Note that this has the same file name as the bottom motor mount, but it’s a different file (it’s in the Top folder in Github).</p> <p><strong>Print</strong> 2 (note, only two)  of <strong><a href="https://github.com/JohnSL/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer/raw/master/STL/Top/Wings.STL">Wings.STL</a>:</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/Wings-Top.png"><img title="Wings Top" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Wings Top" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/Wings-Top_thumb.png" width="240" height="149" /></a></p> <p><strong>Print</strong> 3 of <strong><a href="https://github.com/JohnSL/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer/raw/master/STL/Top/Wing%20Mirror%20Long%20Top.STL">Wing Mirror Long Top.STL</a>:</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/Wing-Mirror-Long-Top.png"><img title="Wing Mirror Long Top" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Wing Mirror Long Top" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/Wing-Mirror-Long-Top_thumb.png" width="240" height="199" /></a></p> <p><strong>Print</strong> 1 of <strong><a href="https://github.com/JohnSL/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer/raw/master/STL/Top/Wings%20with%20Power.STL">Wings with Power.STL</a></strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/Wings-Top-with-Power.png"><img title="Wings Top with Power" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Wings Top with Power" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/Wings-Top-with-Power_thumb.png" width="240" height="153" /></a></p> <p>Assemble on a flat surface using M4 x 10 and M4 x 20 screws and nuts, just like you did for the base. Once assembled, it will look like this (without the electronics, of course):</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/PB101795_800.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/PB101795_800_thumb.jpg" width="644" height="484" /></a></p> <h4>Printing the Remaining Parts</h4> <p>Before you can complete assembly, you’ll need to print some more parts (while your Printrbot Simple is still assembled and working):</p> <p><strong>Print</strong> 3 of <strong><a href="https://github.com/JohnSL/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer/raw/master/STL/Spool.STL">Spool.STL</a>:</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/Spool.png"><img title="Spool" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Spool" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/Spool_thumb.png" width="200" height="240" /></a></p> <p><strong>Print</strong> 3 of <strong><a href="https://github.com/JohnSL/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer/raw/master/STL/Carriage%20for%20LM8UU.STL">Carriage for LM8UU.STL</a>:</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/Carriage-for-LM8UU.png"><img title="Carriage for LM8UU" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Carriage for LM8UU" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/Carriage-for-LM8UU_thumb.png" width="240" height="185" /></a></p> <p><strong>Print</strong> 12 of <a href="https://github.com/JohnSL/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer/raw/master/STL/Bearing%20Shaft%20Coupler.STL"><strong>Bearing Shaft Coupler.STL</strong></a> (assuming you’re going to make your own rods with 3 mm inside diameter carbon fiber rods)<strong>:</strong></p> <p><img title="Bearing Shaft Coupler" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Bearing Shaft Coupler" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/Bearing-Shaft-Coupler.png" width="107" height="160" /></p> <p><strong>Print</strong> one of <strong><a href="https://github.com/JohnSL/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer/raw/master/STL/Hot%20End/Platform.STL">Platform.STL</a>:</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/Platform.png"><img title="Platform" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Platform" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/Platform_thumb.png" width="240" height="194" /></a></p> <p><strong>Print</strong> one of Hot <strong><a href="https://github.com/JohnSL/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer/raw/master/STL/Hot%20End/Hot%20End%20Holder.STL">End Holder.STL</a>:</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/Hot-End-Holder.png"><img title="Hot End Holder" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Hot End Holder" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/Hot-End-Holder_thumb.png" width="226" height="240" /></a></p> <p><strong>Print</strong> one of <strong><a href="https://github.com/JohnSL/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer/raw/master/STL/Hot%20End/Hot%20End%20Holder%20Tabs.STL">Hot End Holder Tabs.STL</a>:</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/Hot-End-Holder-Tabs.png"><img title="Hot End Holder Tabs" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Hot End Holder Tabs" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/Hot-End-Holder-Tabs_thumb.png" width="240" height="186" /></a></p> <p><strong>Print</strong> one of <strong><a href="https://github.com/JohnSL/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer/raw/master/STL/Hot%20End/Hot%20End%20Plate.STL">Hot End Plate.STL</a>:</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/Hot-End-Plate.png"><img title="Hot End Plate" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Hot End Plate" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/Hot-End-Plate_thumb.png" width="240" height="166" /></a></p> <p><strong>Print</strong> one of <strong><a href="https://github.com/JohnSL/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer/raw/master/STL/Extruder/Extruder%20Spacer.STL">Extruder Spacer.STL</a>:</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/Extruder-Spacer.png"><img title="Extruder Spacer" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Extruder Spacer" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-IV_869B/Extruder-Spacer_thumb.png" width="240" height="140" /></a></p> <h4>Print Extruder Parts</h4> <p>For the extruder, I used RichRap’s parts without change:</p> <p><strong>Print</strong> one of <strong><a href="https://github.com/RichRap/3DR-Delta-Printer/raw/master/stl/3DR_Extruder_body_V2_Test_001_RTP.stl">3DR_Extruder_body_V2_Test_001_RTP.stl</a></strong></p> <p><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivo2pAA_i4SK4HhplWVDAMsI5Cyl0T5sDE35qvoS6VtDZmBNq6x60jQYUOtN-a5HvpNlz8IdVT5_FNnoCfrA9qBlX8lRkxx0aq8Mu6ZRjBoU2sgk-NtxFy65I8tRgP_Pf1eThPZQkHJHF6/s1600/3DR_Extruder_body_V2_Test_001_RTP.jpg" width="224" height="240" /></p> <p><strong>Print</strong> one of <strong><a href="https://github.com/RichRap/3DR-Delta-Printer/raw/master/stl/RichRap_Greg_style_Guidler_Modified_with_grab_lever_For_1_RTP.stl">RichRap_Greg_style_Guidler_Modified_with_grab_lever_For_1_RTP.stl</a>:</strong></p> <p><strong><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgv9td_0wtJvd-vD9T13_0GDDPuapLmpnSVPVW9d6_ztgS_E11Haw1uIFxyTU1Rcjp4TIwov5sx5CGqIhyphenhyphentR7JgwOe4iYfJdEjIXDxC0Tw4gMdyx4T_DRyxANzHuUvxzgYysPrbWzR_x9J/s1600/RichRap_Greg_style_Guidler_Modified_with_grab_lever_For_1_RTP.jpg" width="209" height="240" /></strong></p> <p><strong>Print</strong> one of <strong><a href="https://github.com/RichRap/3DR-Delta-Printer/raw/master/stl/herringbone-gear-large.stl">herringbone-gear-large.stl</a>:</strong></p> <p><strong><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMe3aLGLU5GkXx_OvSU2RB8s_ZwRr2OgFryiuUSl7mua6oQSULt2inOwVlBCtw2Jc5Hs8iJ3kLqynjATqV3UG8-Kl589DXci0carBGNIC0pd0Y3w7hbLMlPYmXu7nT6XOX6xkDAukp8cf5/s1600/herringbone-gear-large.jpg" width="218" height="240" /></strong></p> <p><strong>Print</strong> one of <strong><a href="https://github.com/RichRap/3DR-Delta-Printer/raw/master/stl/herringbone-gear-small.stl">herringbone-gear-small.stl</a>:</strong></p> <p><strong><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhgyQ-NSLb9F6of_BHW1zn62fZxLFksWC5IryO2ZwYbeWRsvrlhBD-mN9OFHVbidawTT1Zamwu40xqcjjOu1moiLmCTyfybxND92VkOqrAHnJYpofEP6zchkm7amiwxD_hyZ10n4UBiwGO/s1600/herringbone-gear-small.jpg" width="222" height="240" /></strong></p> <h4>Next Steps</h4> <p>In the part II, I’ll continue with the assembly instructions. You’ll need to ensure you have all the parts printed and they’re of good quality before you continue, as the next step will be to disassemble your Printrbot Simple so you can reuse parts form it.</p> John Socha-Leialohahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06008871146248095504noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228372887329990411.post-12325542361391978542013-11-02T14:18:00.001-07:002013-11-02T14:18:46.870-07:003DR “Simple” Delta Printer, Part III<p>I finished assembling my printer and actually got it printing…but only for a short while. Before I get into what I learned and the problems I encountered, here are are some in-progress photos of the build.</p> <p>First is the base with the stepper motors mounted and the spools wrapped with the Spectra fishing line:</p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-III_1209C/PA051764_600.jpg" width="604" height="454" /></p> <p>Assembly is nearing completion. Still to be installed are two of the carriages, the hot end effector and rods, the extruder, and the end stops. At this point the wiring looks pretty neat—but that changed later once I had all the wiring in place.</p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-III_1209C/PA121771_500.jpg" width="504" height="634" /></p> <p>I ended up designing a new hot end mount. This is made from two halves that bolt together and clamp both the hot end and the pneumatic fitting securely in place. The two-part mount is easier to make because it requires less precision than if you needed tight-fitting holes.</p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-III_1209C/PA161776_500.jpg" width="504" height="379" /></p> <p>And the fully assembled printer:</p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-III_1209C/PB021793_600.jpg" width="397" height="604" /></p> <p>You can see from the last photo that there are wires all over the place. I discovered I didn’t have any place where I could use zip ties to hold the wires in place. Something I’ll fix with in the next version.</p> <p>For the extruder, I downloaded RichRap’s 3DR files and built the extruder without any modifications. I was able to reuse most of the extruder hardware from my Printrbot Simple.</p> <h4>Problems</h4> <p>My main problem was with the Spectra spools attached to the stepper motors. First, the set screws kept coming loose and falling out. So it would print fine for a while, and then start to do odd things because one of the spools had come loose. Tightening the screws was also difficult because they were hard to get to. And when I did get the screws tight again, sometimes the spool was a little off axis, which then caused it to rub against the base piece, and therefore not move correctly.</p> <p>After fighting the spool problems, I decided I could either make new spools that were shorter. Or I could modify the base pieces to provide more clearance between the spools and the base.</p> <p>I also discovered that I couldn’t use the full 170mm diameter of the print area. When I asked on the RepRap forums, I found out that others plan for about 110mm as the usable diameter for printing. Hmmm. In looking at the Kossel Mini, I noticed the extrusions were quite a bit farther away from the center bed.</p> <p>Finally, the entire printer wasn’t quite as sturdy as I would like. I could wiggle the top of the printer back and forth too easily for my liking.</p> <p>So with all of these problems, I decided to start on version 2.</p> <p>First I tackled the sturdiness. In my original design, each part had three walls and one row of screws. Adding the fourth wall and a second row of screws made the assembly much stiffer than the old design. Here you can see a test with a new set of parts.</p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-III_1209C/PA161779_600.jpg" width="604" height="454" /></p> <p>Next I extended each wing section (the green and yellow below) by 20mm. This increased the side-to-side distance between the extrusions by 40mm, which will allow a larger print area. The printable diameter increases by about 35mm, so I should end up with a useable print diameter of about 145mm, which is about the same as the printable height.</p> <p><img title="Larger Base" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Larger Base" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-III_1209C/Larger-Base.png" width="624" height="441" /></p> <p>I also modified the base parts that hold the stepper motors to provide much more clearance between the spool and the base (can’t really see here). And I redesigned the upper parts so each one has a slot for zip ties that will help hold the wires in place.</p> <p>Right now I’m busy printing a new set of parts, and we’ll see how the new design turns out.</p> John Socha-Leialohahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06008871146248095504noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228372887329990411.post-31066645386920514552013-10-14T21:13:00.001-07:002014-01-26T16:25:06.147-08:003DR “Simple” Delta Printer Firmware Settings<p>I’m going to take a brief pause from describing the design and construction of my new Delta printer. I have more I need to write up about my printer. Today, however, I’d like to focus on what values you’ll need to change in Configurtion.h for the Marlin firmware designed for a Delta printer.</p> <p>It started yesterday when I managed to download the delta version of Marlin into my Printrboard, so I was able to test moving of the effector (the platform in the center). I don’t have a hotend of extruder installed yet, but I really wanted to see it moving. At first things didn’t go well. As it turned out, all my problems were lack of knowledge, and once I figured out what I’ve described below, it worked perfectly.</p> <h4>Setting up Repetier</h4> <p>My first step was to setup Repetier. This is actually very simple once you know what to set, but I stumbled across the right settings through trial-and-error:</p> <p><img title="Printer Settings" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Printer Settings" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-III_AF70/Printer-Settings.png" width="509" height="528" /></p> <p>Here are the important settings:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Printer Type:</strong> Repetier uses <strong>Rostock</strong> as the printer type. This will turn your preview area into a cylinder </li> <li><strong>Home X and Y:</strong> Set both to <strong>0</strong>, since the hot end will be above the center of the bed when homed (I had them set to Max at first, and only got motion in one direction) </li> <li><strong>Home Z:</strong> Set to <strong>Max</strong>, as the end stops are at the top of the printer </li> <li><strong>Printable Radius:</strong> The 3DR is designed for a 170mm diameter print bed, so I set the radius to half that, or 85mm. This may be a little optimistic, and I’ll reduce this once I find out the useable radius </li> </ul> <h4>Using Microswitch Endstops</h4> <p>RichRap modified the Marlin software for his 3DR, which uses Hall-effect sensors as end stops. I had to make two changes from his settings in order to get them to work correctly with the microswitches from the Printrbot Simple donor:</p> <p><font face="Courier New">const bool X_ENDSTOPS_INVERTING = false; <br />const bool Y_ENDSTOPS_INVERTING = false; <br />const bool Z_ENDSTOPS_INVERTING = false;</font></p> <p>These need to be false, so the end stops are triggered when you push on the switch. That was pretty clear. However, the next change wasn’t clear to me at first:</p> <p><font face="Courier New">#define ENDSTOPPULLUPS</font></p> <p>RichRap had this line commented out (which means he had // at the start of the line). So here’s what happened before I removed the // from the start of the line. When I clicked the home button X (so it would only move one stepper motor), the carriage moved up and hit the stop, and then the motor would keep pushing it for a few seconds before it would finally back off. Once I set this value, everything worked perfectly. It appears the end stop would work after several seconds without the pull-ups.</p> <h4>Delta Measurements</h4> <p>There are a set of values you’ll need to enter in order for your effector to move correctly. These values are all based on the geometry of your printer. The only documentation I could find were comments in the Marlin source code. This blog post is to document what I figured out so others won’t have to do it the hard way.</p> <h5>Diagonal Rod</h5> <p>The first is the length of one diagonal rod, measured from the screw hole to screw hole. I made this 200mm on my printer:</p> <p><font face="Courier New">#define DELTA_DIAGONAL_ROD 200.0</font></p> <h5>Effector Offset</h5> <p>This is the distance from the center of the effector (which holds the hot end) to a line that goes through the two holes on one side. In the picture below, my first effector design has a value of 22.87mm (marked as <strong>dY</strong>), represented by the green almost horizontal line.</p> <p><font face="Courier New">#define DELTA_EFFECTOR_OFFSET 22.87 // mm</font></p> <p><img title="Effector Offset 2" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Effector Offset 2" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-III_AF70/Effector-Offset-2.png" width="569" height="405" /></p> <h5>Smooth Rod Offset</h5> <p>This is the offset from the smooth rods to a plane that intersects the center (which needs to be parallel to the two smooth rods on either side of a tower). This plane is shown in the picture below with a green outline, and the distance is labeled <strong>Center Dist</strong>, and has a value of 133.54.</p> <p><font face="Courier New">#define DELTA_SMOOTH_ROD_OFFSET 133.54 // mm</font></p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-III_AF70/Smooth-Rod-Offset-2.png"><img title="Smooth Rod Offset 2" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Smooth Rod Offset 2" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-III_AF70/Smooth-Rod-Offset-2_thumb.png" width="644" height="468" /></a></p> <h5>Carriage Offset</h5> <p>This is the distance from the outside of the printer towards the center between the smooth rods and the rod ends. In the picture below, it’s the almost horizontal green line (labeled <strong>dY</strong>) that extends from the center of the smooth rod (not shown) to the center of the screw hole used to attach the diagonal rod to the carriage.</p> <p><font face="Courier New">#define DELTA_CARRIAGE_OFFSET 16.5 // mm</font></p> <p><img title="Carriage Offset 2" style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="Carriage Offset 2" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-III_AF70/Carriage-Offset-2.png" width="564" height="431" /></p> <h5>And the Results</h5> <p>Most printers are not perfectly tuned, so either print the parts a little larger or a little smaller. That means you’ll need to adjust the DELTA_SMOOTH_ROD_OFFSET value up or down a little in order to compensate. When this value is not quite correct, you’ll find that the nozzle moves either up or down between the outside of the print bed and the center.</p> <p>First adjust the nozzle to be the just above the print surface at the towers. Then if you find the nozzle has moved higher (farther from the print bed) when it’s at the center, increase DELTA_SMOOTH_ROD_OFFSET a little and try again. Likewise, if it pushes into the print bed, decrease the value a little and try again. I found I had to increase my number by about 1 mm to keep the nozzle the same distance between the outside and the center.</p> <p>Here is a nice blog post: <a href="http://minow.blogspot.com/index.html#4918805519571907051">Calibrating a Delta 3D Printer</a>.</p> John Socha-Leialohahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06008871146248095504noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228372887329990411.post-33800815382121559312013-10-06T12:27:00.001-07:002013-10-06T12:27:26.822-07:003DR “Simple” Delta Printer, Part II<p><a href="http://trains.socha.com/2013/09/3dr-simple-delta-printer-part-i.html">In Part I</a>, I introduced the derivative of RichRap’s 3DR printer that I’ve been working on. I’ve had some people at our work’s maker space ask me about various decisions I made in this design. Almost all my decisions are based on the idea of making this a grown-up Printrbot Simple. Here are some of the characteristics/parts is will share with the Printrbot Simple:</p> <ul> <li>Use 8mm rods. Since the Simple has 12 LM8UU bearings, I can reuse the bearings from the Simple (the 3DR uses 6mm rods) </li> <li>Use fishing line, just like the Simple, for motion control (except I’ll be using a different line) </li> <li>No heated bed, just like the Simple </li> <li>Use micro switches for end stops, just like the Simple (the 3DR uses Hall effect end stops) </li> <li>Keep it small, like the Simple (and the 3DR). Although it will have a 170mm diameter bed, compared with the 100mm x 100mm bed on the Printrbot Simple </li> <li>Allow printing all parts on a Printrbot Simple (more on this later) </li> </ul> <h4>Design Changes</h4> <p>After my last post, I discovered a few changes I needed to make. Here is the preliminary list, before I decided to allow printing the parts on a Printrbot Simple:</p> <ul> <li>The parts were a little too large to be self-replicating. These parts would need to be printed on a 180mm bed, but the 3DR bed is 170mm. So I changed the design to be a little smaller, with a maximum dimension of 164mm </li> <li>I discovered I didn’t have easy access two of the stepper motor screws. RichRap left an large opening for this purpose. I added small round holes (which you can below on the outside wall, near the extrusions) </li> <li>Relocated the ribs stiffening the smooth rod sockets since they blocked hex key access to some of the stepper-motor screws </li> <li>Removed the triangular “foot” in the center </li> <li>Moved the stepper motor mount farther from the extrusions. I’d read reports of a very tight fit, and experienced it myself, so I moved the mount to provide a little more clearance </li> <li>Added a chamfer to the holes in the motor mount on the side with the motor. I was having some extra material here from overhangs, and the chamfer eliminates the need to clean up the holes </li> <li>Added side slots so I can feed wires into the sides of the extrusions in case I can’t fit all the wires through the middle of the extrusions </li> <li>Added nut traps for the M4 nuts used to hold the base and top parts together </li> </ul> <p>Here is the new design for the base:</p> <p><img title="New Base 2" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="New Base 2" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-II_8599/New-Base-2.jpg" width="717" height="504" /></p> <p>And here is a view from the bottom:</p> <p><img title="New Base 2 Below" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="New Base 2 Below" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-II_8599/New-Base-2-Below.jpg" width="687" height="580" /></p> <p>The “curve” where the parts meet is now less pronounced in order to keep the parts small enough to be self-replicating. This was all looking really nice, and I even printed out a test part.</p> <h4>Printing on a Printrbot Simple</h4> <p>While I really like the design above for it’s clean lines, the parts are too large to print on the Printrbot Simple’s 4” x 4” bed. The top and bottom parts have a maximum dimension of 6.5”. I thought about doing something like the “pay it forward” program available for the Kossel Mini. But then <a href="http://forums.reprap.org/read.php?178,244826,250322#msg-250322">ProfessorBean on the RepRap</a> forums gave me the idea of breaking up the larger parts into smaller parts. Hence was born a new iteration that can be printed on a 4” x 4” print bed, and thus a Printrbot Simple can entirely spawn this printer. How cool is that!</p> <p>You can see I divided each of the previous base pieces further, so there are now a total of nine base piece, all held together with screws and nuts:</p> <p><img title="New Base 3" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="New Base 3" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-II_8599/New-Base-3.jpg" width="641" height="461" /></p> <p>With all these parts, I wanted to make assembly and alignment easier. In the next photo you can see I’ve made several changes:</p> <ul> <li>Added nut traps </li> <li>Added bumps and dimples for self alignment </li> </ul> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-II_8599/P9301749_Cropped.jpg" width="604" height="454" /></p> <p>I really like the way the parts assemble without requiring fiddling to get them lined up well. After three evenings printing, I had a completed base:</p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-II_8599/PA041752_600.jpg" width="604" height="454" /></p> <p>A few days later I got the glass base plate and used RichRap’s bed clips to hold it in place:</p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-II_8599/PA041755_600.jpg" width="604" height="454" /></p> <p>It turns out I’d positions the holes for a 175mm diameter print bed, but he glass Borosilicate glass that I ordered was 170mm in diameter. I was going to either move the holes closer to the center, or make larger clips. And then I had another idea, which was to make spiral clips that would allow different sizes, and help center the build plate:</p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-II_8599/PA051756_400.jpg" width="404" height="304" /></p> <p>On the left you can see the bottom of the clip, which has a spiral that will push against the glass. Here is a photo showing the clips installed:</p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3DR-Simple-Delta-Printer-Part-II_8599/PA051757_600.jpg" width="604" height="454" /></p> <p>These clips are still not large enough, so I modified the clips after taking this photo. I’m currently printing out a new set of clips.</p> <p>I also need to reprint the green part under the clip. My original version didn’t have a nut trap, whereas my current design does. Having a nut trap will make it much easier to tighten or loosen the screw from above, without needing to reach underneath to hold the nut.</p> John Socha-Leialohahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06008871146248095504noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228372887329990411.post-19059954045455944792013-09-22T09:28:00.001-07:002013-09-22T09:28:38.965-07:003DR “Simple” Delta Printer, Part I<p>About 8 months ago I discovered personal 3D printers when I learned we had an Up! 3D printer at work specifically for employees to play with. This is a very nice little printer that prints in ABS plastic. I used it to create some parts for my injection molding machine, and I got hooked.</p> <p>So about 6 months ago I got my first 3D printer, which is a Printrbot Simple:</p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3D-Printer-Madness_F164/P9201742_Cropped_600.jpg" width="604" height="454" /></p> <p>They had a special beta price for the first 200 printers of $250 for the kit. For that price, I figured I couldn’t go wrong. I ended up making a lot of modifications to the printer. All parts that are in blue are parts I designed and installed on this printer. I thought this printer was just wonderful, until I purchased a larger and more capable printer, a <a href="http://www.makerstoolworks.com/">MendelMax 2.0</a>. Once I got that printer running, I didn’t touch my Simple.</p> <p>Then about a month ago, I saw an open-source design created by RichRap, one of the well-known early contributors to the personal 3D printer movement. I’d been wondering what to do with my Simple, and then I realized I could use all of the “vitamins” (things like the electronics, stepper motors, bearings, etc.) to build a new printer for not that more more in cost.</p> <p>RichRap’s printer is called the <a href="http://richrap.blogspot.com/2013/07/3dr-reprap-delta-printer-part-1-release.html">3DR RepRap Delta Printer</a>. His printer uses 6mm diameter smooth rods, whereas my Printrbot Simple uses 8mm rods, and therefore has a bunch of 8mm bearings. In the spirit of using as many parts as I could from my Simple, I set out to modify his parts to use 8mm rods.</p> <p>And there began an adventure. You see, his parts’ design files are published in Sketchup and STL files. I use Solidworks, so I couldn’t just open his files and change a few things. I figured it wouldn’t take much work to re-create his parts in Solidworks, and it didn’t. But I couldn’t leave well enough alone. I ended up adding curves where he had straight lines to make it look “nicer.” Here is the first version of my derivative design:</p> <p><img title="Progress 2" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Progress 2" src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3D-Printer-Madness_F164/Progress-2.jpg" width="581" height="847" /></p> <p>I use different colors to denote the different parts. The base of this printer is made from three identical parts that are bolted together, just like RichRap’s design. Once I had this design more or less worked, out, I printed a set of parts for the base. Here is the first one being “born” on my MendelMax 2.0:</p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3D-Printer-Madness_F164/P9201737_Cropped_600.jpg" width="604" height="454" /></p> <p>And here are the first three parts assembled:</p> <p><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3D-Printer-Madness_F164/P9201740_Cropped_600.jpg" width="604" height="454" /></p> <p>Not a bad start. Part II will continue the journey.</p> John Socha-Leialohahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06008871146248095504noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228372887329990411.post-20984713366639979462013-07-06T18:41:00.001-07:002013-07-06T18:41:56.025-07:003D Printing Pellet Funnel<p>I’ve finally gotten back to working on the Concrete Tie Car project. The mold is finished (I’ll cover that in another blog entry), and I’m ready to start producing injection-molded stacks of N-scale ties. For this project, I’m going to be using my <a href="http://www.travin.co.uk/tp1.html">Travin TP1</a> injection-molding machine because it has support for activating ejector pins. I’m going to have to make about 1,000 parts, so having ejector pins makes a huge difference.</p> <p>There is one little flaw in the TP1 design that has been driving me nuts. On top of the machine is a hopper that contains the plastic pellets, which are fed into the hot cylinder via a small tube. This works OK, except that some of the pellets tend to jump out of the cylinder and get all over my table:</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3D-Printing-Pellet-Funnel_10125/P7061659_700.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3D-Printing-Pellet-Funnel_10125/P7061659_700_thumb.jpg" width="704" height="529" /></a></p> <p>You can see the gray pellets on top of the flat yellow part. The rust-colored tube that is at an angle near the top of the photo is the pellet-delivery tube. Given it’s location and angle, it’s amazing that most of the pellets make it into the cylinder (in the center of the photo). The plunger, by the way, is the rod that goes from the top of the photo to near the center. Because I didn’t have air pressure applied, it’s sitting slightly inside the cylinder.</p> <p>To fix my problem, I decided I needed a funnel to keep the pellets from jumping out. And I certainly could have made one with some cardboard. However I recently got a very nice 3D printer (a <a href="http://www.makerstoolworks.com/">MendelMax 2.0</a>), so I had to make a funnel on the 3D printer</p> <p>I designed a funnel that I could fit in between the bars and then clamp in place. The funnel itself is split in two so I can get it between the bars and around the plunger. All together there are four parts, and here is the final result:</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3D-Printing-Pellet-Funnel_10125/P7061660_700.jpg"><img title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " style="border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px" border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/3D-Printing-Pellet-Funnel_10125/P7061660_700_thumb.jpg" width="704" height="529" /></a></p> <p>It took me about an hour to design the parts, and a couple of hours to print all the parts (which it doesn’t without me having to watch it). There are some things that aren’t quite right, but it works, so I’ll call it a job well done and move on to injection-molded parts.</p> John Socha-Leialohahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06008871146248095504noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228372887329990411.post-74014019385102698992012-10-16T22:14:00.001-07:002012-10-16T22:14:42.149-07:00Making RGS 0409 in HOn3, Part III<p>My next challenge was to make the curved roof on the cupola. Again, Dave Hussey provided some suggestions. In order to get hard corners on the end of the roof, he suggested I make the cavity half of the mold out of three pieces that would be bolted together. I gave serious consideration to his suggestion. In the end, I decided on what I thought would be a simpler approach.</p> <p>I cut some slots into the mold about .170” wide and them milled out the top part of the roof. Next I took some 3/16” square brass bar and milled it down to be slightly over .170” wide (I think I made them about .001” wider). I slightly tapered the bottom of each bar to make it easier to get them into the slots, and then I used a hammer to pound them in place, as you can see here:</p> <p><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Making-RGS-0409-in-HOn3-Part-III_134CE/PA151558_500.jpg" width="500" height="305" /></p> <p>At this point the bars are sticking up .020” inches. I then milled these down so there were nearly flush with the rest of the mold. I actually went about .0005” too deep, so I then sanded the molds flat, as you can see here:</p> <p><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Making-RGS-0409-in-HOn3-Part-III_134CE/PA151560_500.jpg" width="500" height="321" /></p> <p>Finally, I milled the runners and gates into the mold, and also the slightly higher curved ends (near the top and bottom of photo) that mate with the curved surface on the other side of the mold to create a “shut-off” for the plastic.</p> <p><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Making-RGS-0409-in-HOn3-Part-III_134CE/PA161566_500.jpg" width="500" height="304" /></p> <p>And here is the final result, blown up about 3 times larger than real life:</p> <p><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Making-RGS-0409-in-HOn3-Part-III_134CE/PA161565_500.jpg" width="500" height="320" /></p> <p>Not bad—the corners are nice and square! I see some imperfections that I’ll probably work on. </p> <p>Next up the main roof and body. I think I’m going to start with the roof since I’ll then be able to build the roof with a finished cupola on top. Then I’ll move onto the molds for the body.</p> John Socha-Leialohahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06008871146248095504noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2228372887329990411.post-69080069056680307542012-10-13T22:07:00.001-07:002012-10-13T22:07:55.684-07:00Making RGS 0409 in HOn3, Part II<p>Today we had a <a href="http://www.northwestrpm.com/">Railroad Prototype Modelers</a> meet here in the Seattle area, so of course I wanted to see how far I could get with my caboose kit. I made a mold for all four the the cupola walls and here is what I got:</p> <p><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Making-RGS-0409-in-HOn3-Part-II_12DAA/PA131554_500.jpg" width="500" height="372" /></p> <p>In other words, it turned out great. Well, sort of. It took me several tries to get tries to get a good shot. Most of the shots were either short or blew the mold apart, resulting in a blob of plastic. Here is what a short shot looks like (on the left) and a “blown” shot (on the right):</p> <p><a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Making-RGS-0409-in-HOn3-Part-II_12DAA/PA131553_500.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Making-RGS-0409-in-HOn3-Part-II_12DAA/PA131553_500_thumb.jpg" width="240" height="188" /></a>  <a href="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Making-RGS-0409-in-HOn3-Part-II_12DAA/PA131556_500.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Making-RGS-0409-in-HOn3-Part-II_12DAA/PA131556_500_thumb.jpg" width="240" height="167" /></a></p> <p>As you see on the left, the plastic didn’t complete fill the end walls. Fortunately, at the RPM meet, I ran into Dave Hussey, who is the owner of <a href="http://www.cannonandco.net/">Cannon & Company</a>, and he gave me two suggestions, which together completely solved my problem. Here is what he suggested:</p> <ul> <li>Cut an air vent into the mold to allow air to escape</li> <li>Raise the melt temperature</li> </ul> <p>I had been using a melt temperature of 460 F for most of my work so far. Dave mentioned that he goes up to 600 F for some of his molds. Since the polystyrene flows easier at higher temperatures, the theory is that I should be able to use a slightly lower injection pressure and fill the mold. I cut the vent slot, as you can see here:</p> <p><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " border="0" alt="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA " src="http://www.socha.com/blogs/trains/Making-RGS-0409-in-HOn3-Part-II_12DAA/PA131555_500_Circled.jpg" width="500" height="344" /></p> <p>There is a vent slot that goes from one side to another. This slot is about 1/8” wide and about .015” deep. Next to each window of an end wall, I cut a 1/8” wide slot about .0005” deep (I’ve circled one). These vents are shallow enough to keep plastic from flowing into them, while still allowing air to escape.</p> <p>I next increased the melt temperature a little at a time. At about 530 F, and with a slightly lower injection pressure, I was able to fill the mold every time with absolutely no flash!</p> <p>Thanks to Dave and the wonderful sharing at RPM meets, I can declare success for this mold and move onto the next mold. I’ve decided to tackle the curved roof the the cupola next, which will present a new set of challenges. Once again, Dave had some suggestions that I’m going to try. The next RPM meet is on November 10 and is part of the <a href="http://www.bctrains.org/">Trains 2012 Model Railway Exhibition</a> in Burnaby, BC, about a 3-hour drive away from here. We’ll see how far I get for that RPM meet.</p> John Socha-Leialohahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06008871146248095504noreply@blogger.com0