Monday, January 16, 2017

DIY 3D Printer Updated to a PRUSA I3 Compatible Version

I am working upgrading  my 3D printer to a PRUSA I3 Compatible Version.  I will also be updating my book "Inexpensive 3D Printer Projects" once the upgrade is completed and working.  Hopefully there will also be a all metal version of the PRUSA i3 3D printer in that book as well.

One of the issues so far is that the PRUSA i3 uses a 5 mm threaded rods for its lead-screws.  I wish that there was a 8 mm compatible version available.  I have found a alternate X axis end design that I can print out that does support 8 mm lead-screws.  Here is a link to the upgrade: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1140733. The other option is to purchase the all metal X axis for the Geeetech i3 printer.  I am also making a normal PRUSA i3 printer to verify that all of the parts are interchangeable with my design.

This is what the rebuilt 3D printer looks like so far:

Here is a progress report picture on rebuilding the 3D printer.

It now has the Y platform installed and the Arduino is in place as well.

This picture shows the wiring (mess).


Here is the results of the first test run.  The X axis belt skipped and caused it to print in the air after a few passes.

There were some more failures before I changed the extruder and fixed a wiring problem.

After a couple of calibrations it is now working.


This is what the finished elephant looks like.  My Z axis was off (3333 vs 4000) so it is shorter that it should have been.

To verify compatibility I am also building a PRUSA i3.  Here is the frame with the printed parts.

Then I switched to my home made metal parts.  I need to cut the Z axis shafts off so they are shorter.

I spray painted the frame with about 4 coats of gloss black paint.  It looks a lot better now.

I have added a Geeetech i3 all metal X axis to the Prusa i3 frame!  The secret is the home made motor mounts.
This is what the completed GeeeTech i3 all metal 3D printer on a PRUSA frame looks like.
This is the electronics for that 3D printer.

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

DIY Arduino GRBL CNC with a Laser!

I have added a laser to my CNC machine, here are some pictures.
This picture shows the addition of a relay board on the left to turn the laser on and off.

This is the laser at work.


Here is the results.

This is the video on YouTube.


This next video is of engraving an image with the laser.


Here is the latest results.

Here is a picture of my software setup.  The image is processed with 3dpBurner Image2Gcode.  Then Universal G code Sender sends it to the CNC.