My Take on 3D Printer

[khalid]

I am indulging into 3d printer world. Want to make it very simple using available resources. All the electronics i purchased from China at very bargain price. Here is the 3D model i developed after 6 hours of work.
Filament are costly 30US dollar/1kg roll... I am also fabricating filament extruder. The price of ABS pellets in Pakistan is 1.5US dollar/kg, if i succeeded to DIY extrude 1.75mm filament from the pellets then the 3D printer running cost will be almost negligible. Discussion is open.

[steve_g]

I think it would be neat to have a hopper that feeds pellets directly to the print head, no filament required... That however, would require a screw auger print head.

SG

[gene]

why not make an attachment that goes on a cnc that extrudes plastic so the cnc is a 3d printer

[khalid]

Filament extruder is a separate project. I already ordered 25mm x 250mmlongAuger bit a PID temperature controller along with 1Kg of ABS pellets.
If someone interested google LYMAN filament extruder. My extruder will be on the same principle. If people interested i shall further share the project.

Steve, actually the filament is fed through the stepper into the extruder hotend. The stepper is driven by RAMP hardware through firmware and have a fine controll. I dont think in very near future pellet driven extruder may evolve.

[myxpykalix]

Gene,
I thought the same thing at first but given my limited knowledge here are a couple reasons i think i'd rather have a seperate total unit.

From what i've read and see (youturd) you absolutely must have an extremely level surface to begin with.
Also you need a "climate controlled" environment for this to work optimally in. In other words, like in my shop in the winter i have no real good heat source other then one of those "jet heaters" that spits out heat then shuts off.

From what i've read there are issues with the heating of the material in the application process and a need to have it cool down properly. Having it in a cold environment i think would create problems. So it would be better in your house or basement shop instead of out in the dusty cold shop.:confused:

[gc3]

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?196381-Updates-on-my-bolt-on-3d-printer-extruder-CNC-router-mod

[khalid]

Almost completed the frame and installation of ball screws and linear slides.

[rb99]

How are you able to make the wood accurate enough for the precision needed for the printer? (Nice work Khalid!)

[khalid]

rb99,
The wood is seasoned. Modern tools made it possible to shape the wood with precision. The Carpenter i hired for this job is very very skillfull. He is talking in micron not in mm.
This is a small stuff. Let me show you the bigger one, the bed diagonal measurement of this 6ft x 6ft router is out only 0.5mm.

[rb99]

Wow that looks great.

Does wood expand and contract depending on the time of year and humidity? If it is dry my guitar necks will shrink and the fret ends will become barbs due to the shrinkage.

[myxpykalix]

Khalid,
It looks like you could use the center for an indexer bay. Mount your stepper on the inside of that bay then lay your surface over top and remove when you want to use it.:D:eek:

[khalid]

@rb99:
The CNC machine is kept in air-conditioned room. The wooden frame has many coats of lacquer, i hope for woodworking sort of thing this expansion/contraction will not have significant impact/affect.

@Jack,
You are right . The bay will be used for rotary indexer.:D

[khalid]

I just finished filament extruder. It is kept on the bed of CNC machine. You can see various object on the bed for size comparison.
Work on electronics in progress hope I shall be able to extrude some plastic in coming weekend. Lets cross the fingers.

[khalid]

Few close up pictures:
1- Nozzle hole diameter = 1.6mm, I think it will give me 1.7mm.
2- used Car wiper motor
3-One gear box laying around in backyard (1:60 ratio)
4- Auger bit was purchased from China at 12US dollar

I have to add Nichrome wire and Kawool (ceramic wool/glass wool). PID temperature controller is on order. The nozzle tips are replaceable.

[nzbrock]

Very cool project. I would still be concerned about humidity affecting the frame but I guess time will tell. I work at the Facility for Arts Research and this is one of our research projects:
http://artsresearch.fsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/et_temp/P7172133-253192_960x480.jpg
http://artsresearch.fsu.edu/project/mmap-the-big-3d-printer/

[khalid]

Wow.. That is the world biggest 3D printer. Very nicely done :) Why not to keep the filament reel on the z-axis.

[khaos]

Khalid, The extruder looks very good.

I bet you could have a lot of creative multi color filaments for some artistic design.

It is very cool to see low tech materials performing high tech actions.

[khalid]

Joe,
Thanks for the compliments... :)
That's the beauty of open source.. You can make thing out of low-tech material but maintaining the quality and mitigating all those risks involved in accuracy etc.
I am just waiting for PID temperature controller along with the sensor (Cost me US 18$ with free shipment). I don't want to DIY the PID controller... Time is limited here...

[khalid]

Here is the dismantle version of the filament extruder. In the center you can see a bolted flange. The white gasket is thermal isolator between hotend and the augur bit cylinder.
I tested the setup without the thermal isolator flange and it worked well, however, the heat traveled toward the auger bit and when i shutdown the unit it was difficult to restart the system as the melted ABS melted and jammed the bit.
I dismantled and provided a thermal barrier between the hotend and the auger bit.
I extruded the filament of size 1.75mm +-0.2mm. I just increased the hole diameter of the nozzle from 1.68mm to 1.7 mm and i shall soon check the end results :)

[khalid]

Here is the link of the video of 1st trial test extruding 1.7mm ABS at 200 Celsius
https://www.dropbox.com/s/b8ultovzcwy2e1t/My%20DIY%20Filament%20extruder.wmv

[chiloquinruss]

Looks like your extruder is working just fine, very nice. At the current prices for filament that should be a real money saver per project. Thanks for posting the updates. Russ

[khalid]

Russ
Merry Christmas to you and the forum members. Thanks for appreciation. I will share more videos.

[khalid]

Wooden base is no problem...I am happy with my first run of machine. Using UC100 from CNCDRIVE with G540 i tested my machine upto 1600IPM and it can still run faster i.e. 2400IPM but i am more scared to run it much faster.
My previous machines rapids were 70IPM. I dont believe this 1600IPM speed watching with my eyes...
The first piece i cut was arabic calligraphy, finish is awesome. Cutting speed was 350IPM. The dimensions of the art 930mm x 840mm and total cut time 1Hr