D-Bot 3D Printer

[tekkydave]

Now printing the right rear idler. This may take a while......

 

[tekkydave]

Still printing parts. In the meantime I inserted all the bearings & shims into the v-slot wheels. Also unpacked and sorted all the v-slot sections into order ready for assembly.

 

[Dave_D]

watched this seriesof vids last night... i'm soooo tempted to do one

 

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1752766

[Dr_Ju_ju]

I'm in the process of putting one of these together & I've found that the 'stock' 4 wheel Y & Z printed carriages, wouldn't allow correct alignment correct running etc. So I've tried the 2, 3-wheeled versions http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1802733 & http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1930200 (V2) & these work a treat....

Also a good source of some info is MavericCCIE's build on Openbuilds http://www.openbuilds.com/builds/d-bot-with-mods.4685/

 

 

[tekkydave]

Thanks for the info. I'm planning to build it vanilla and make improvements later. 

[tekkydave]

The build so far. Can't proceed any further till the corner brackets I ordered arrived. There are still quite a few parts to print so lots to do.

 

[Gina]

Beginning to take shape now

[tekkydave]

Yes, and also bigger than I imagined. Eventually it will take a 300x300mm bed but I'll be starting with the 200x200mm from the Prusa.

[tekkydave]

The cast metal corners arrived during the week so I fitted them to the frame. I also fitted four feet. They are actually rubber doorstops!

 

[tekkydave]

More progress today. Built the print bed support.

 

[tekkydave]

Managed to get the z and y axis built today. Its a bit fiddly geting all the wheels, spacers & shims in place but the result is worth it. The axes are very smooth with no play at all.

 

 

Video of axes moving: 2017-06-27 15.26.12 z and y axes working.mp4

Edited June 27, 2017 by tekkydave

[tekkydave]

Some of the M5 x 40mm bolts I bought for this project weren't of the highest quality (LHS in image). The diameter is not consistent all the way to the head. When I used them for the z axis wheel guides they needed a washer in order for the head to sit square on the wheel. The problem with this was that the washer was too large causing the wheel bearing to bind against the washer when tightened. Fortunately I had enough in stock of better quality to use instead (RHS in image).

 

[tekkydave]

Also, look what arrived in the post today. I printed a bracket this afternoon to fit it to the Dbot x carriage.

 

[Gina]

The Titan is a great extruder   I'm pleased with both of mine.  Take care with the front clear plastic cover though - it's not very strong.  That's my only criticism.

Making good progress Dave

[tekkydave]

Thanks Gina. It's getting closer to the point where I will have to start taking parts from the Prusa. I need 4 of the motors, the electronics and heated bed. I'm making sure I have everything I need printed.

[tekkydave]

Today I fitted the x carriage. The rear half is PETG and the front half is PLA being a customisation for the Titan extruder. I have assembled the Titan but can't install it until I have put all the belts in place. It's time to start nicking bits off the Prusa

 

I also fixed the issue of the y endstop not being triggered by adding this diameter extension from Thingiverse

 

[tekkydave]

Video of the x/y carriage movement: 2017-06-28 14.37.02.mp4

 

[tekkydave]

Bit the bullet today and took the Prusa apart. It's looking a bit sad now

Once I had liberated the motors I attached the new 500mm leadscrews and installed them in the Dbot frame

Then I installed the other 2 motors to drive the gantry and fitted the belts

Then the Titan extruder was fitted to the x carriage. It was a bit of a struggle as one of the wheel nuts and belt clamps blocks access to the lower right fixing screw on the Titan. I got round it by temporarily removing them while I fitted the Titan then put them back afterwards. 

Once I get the Dbot printing I think I'll design a better version of this bracket.

Next steps are to connect up the Ramps, configure Marlin and do some testing. Haven't we been here before?....

[Gina]

I see that's the new smaller NEMA17 motor on your Titan Dave.  Buying with a Titan extruder seems to be the only way of getting hold of them.  Must be a lot lighter than the standard smallest NEMA17 as well as shorter

[tekkydave]

Yes, it was only an extra £8 on the cost of the Titan. It's also a 0.9deg step size. Looking forward to getting it all connected up.

[Gina]

As you've seen, I'm getting considerable problems with my larger printer, particularly the Z drive system and trying to decide what to do about it.  I think I shall need more V-grove extrusion and one option I'm considering is buying the ooznest D-Bot rail bundle.  This is undoubtedly good value and could be cheaper than buying individual parts depending on how far I want to go.

[Gina]

What are the external dimensions of the D-Bot framework please Dave?

[tekkydave]

Mine is 543mm wide x 453mm deep x 560mm high. That's for the 300mm x 300mm print area. The 300x200mm rail bundle will be 100mm less deep.

I think the price difference is only a few quid though as the number of cuts is the same and there's only about 600mm linear length of v-slot difference between the two bundles.

It's a good quality bundle - all the cuts are perfect and are pre-tapped for M5 bolts in the right places for the DBot build. They could be used, however for any corexy type build.

[Dave_D]

Looking very good there Dave...

Are you using the eccentric bolts on the wheels to remove any slop btw? if so, how are the printed parts holding up?

I've decided on this one https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2254103 HyperCube Evolution... it's gonna be a biggie lol.

Just got to find a source for 30x30mm extrusion as ooznest don't seem to supply it :/

I've just switched to PET-G and started printing the parts for the hypercube. Going to be a 'from scratch' build as i plan on using a Duet3D controller... bit of a step up from 8bit to 32bit

Had a real laugh (not) when i switched to PET-G... thought i'd get some nice translucent red by real filament... i think they mix some sort of molecular welding glue in with the filament as the first print pulled a lump of glass out of my glass bed, and the second print pulled the surface of my buildtak 

It also strings like crazy regardless of which settings i use and actually comes out more carrot colour than red. Avod Real Filament if you can

Anyway, i ditched anything from Real Filament and went with my usual brand by Prima... their PrimaSelect PET-G prints wonderfully and pops off the glass just like their PLA.

Luckily, i just got a bonus at work so as soon as i source the 30x30 extrusion, i'll be decimating my bonus lol

[tekkydave]

I'm using the standard bolts. I haven't connected all the electronics up yet so I can't say how it performs so far. There are so many improvements people have made to this design it was hard to decide what to adopt. In the end I opted to build it 'as designed' and enjoy making the improvements myself.

I found with PETG I had to increase the retraction from 1 to 2.5mm and use lots of tricks with the slicing to avoid retraction. 

Good look with your build. I haven't seen 30x30 extrusion anywhere. Can you adapt it to use 20x40?