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Thread: My RepRap Build. (3d printer for those not in the know)

  1. #81
    Will YOU be ready when the zombies rise? x88x's Avatar
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    Default Re: My RepRap Build. (3d printer for those not in the know)

    Awesome! Great to see this wasn't abandoned!
    That we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours, and this we should do freely and generously.
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  2. #82
    Resident 100HP water-cannon operator SXRguyinMA's Avatar
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    Default Re: My RepRap Build. (3d printer for those not in the know)

    wheres the update!!!? it's been a few days and then some! lol

  3. #83
    Will YOU be ready when the zombies rise? x88x's Avatar
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    Default Re: My RepRap Build. (3d printer for those not in the know)

    Forget a few days, it's been a few months! 3, to be exact (well, in 5 days).
    That we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours, and this we should do freely and generously.
    --Benjamin Franklin
    TBCS 5TB Club :: coilgun :: bench PSU :: mightyMite :: Zeus :: E15 Magna EV

  4. #84
    If you can't hack it, you don't own it! Oneslowz28's Avatar
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    Default Re: My RepRap Build. (3d printer for those not in the know)

    Well things came up and I had to backburner it again. One big hang up has been electronics. Makerbot had released some affordable electronics that worked quite well with non makerbot printers. Unfortunately they discontinued them and the latest set runs close to $400.

    So I began saving up to just buy a MakerBot Cupcake CNC. It was only $800 and was way more accurate than my McWire. I had enough to make my purchase 2 weeks ago and logged on to buy my cupcake.... Turns out Makerbot discontinued the affordable Cupcake for the more expensive Thing O Matic.

    Very heartbroken and somewhat depressed I mulled over what to do for a few days. I had seen an accurate Makerbot in my near future and my dreams were crushed. I could save up several hundred more and just buy the new larger machine, or I could buy the $400 electronics and deal with a lot of new coding to get things to work.

    I decided to check out the reprap site and see what was new over there, and to my astonishment a completely new set of electronics had been created and named RAMPS. A quick search landed me at a site that sold the electronics. So I decided to just forget about Makerbot forever and buy the new RAMPS electronics, and the parts to make an extruder from MakerGear.com and Ebay. So for less than $400 I have a full set of electronics, 5lbs of 3mm blue PLA filament, parts for an extruder, and spare parts on the way! So who's in for the first set of RepRap Prusa Mendel printed parts?

    I will type a more informative post later. But rest assured that this project is back in full swing and you should start seeing updated post within 2 weeks. (electronics have a 2 week lead time)

  5. #85
    Will YOU be ready when the zombies rise? x88x's Avatar
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    Default Re: My RepRap Build. (3d printer for those not in the know)

    Awesome! I'd call dibs on those first printed parts, but I can't finance the electronics atm. Oh well, at least I can watch.
    That we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours, and this we should do freely and generously.
    --Benjamin Franklin
    TBCS 5TB Club :: coilgun :: bench PSU :: mightyMite :: Zeus :: E15 Magna EV

  6. #86
    Resident 100HP water-cannon operator SXRguyinMA's Avatar
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    Default Re: My RepRap Build. (3d printer for those not in the know)


  7. #87
    If you can't hack it, you don't own it! Oneslowz28's Avatar
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    Default Re: My RepRap Build. (3d printer for those not in the know)

    So lets discuss the Electronics I have chosen to use.

    RAMPS
    http://reprap.org/wiki/RAMPS

    Note that I will be using RAMPS V1.3

    RepRap Arduino Mega Pololu Shield, or RAMPS for short. It is designed to fit the entire electronics needed for a RepRap in one small package for low cost. RAMPS interfaces an Arduino MEGA with the powerful Arduino MEGA platform and has plenty room for expansion. The modular design includes plug in stepper drivers and extruder control electronics on an Arduino MEGA shield for easy service, part replacement, upgrade-ability and expansion. Additionally as long as the main RAMPS board is kept to the top of the stack a number of Arduino expansion boards can be added to the system.

    Schematic Click to enlarge.



    So basically RAMPS is a shield designed to fit the Arduino Mega 2560. It has 3 MOSfet control circuits which are controlled by PWM pins on the Arduino for the extruder hot end and a heated print bed and fan control. Fits 5 Pololu A4983 stepper drivers, and has additional pin-outs for servo control for projects like print bed conveyor belts and the like. Servo style connectors are used to connect to the endstops, motors, and leds. These connectors are gold plated, rated for 3A, very compact, and globally available. It can be powered with a 12v 5 amp (if no heated bed is used) wall wart or power brick, or one can use a 300w PC PSU. I will be using a spare 500W I have laying around. Maybe I will step it up to a spare 800w Modular that's collecting dust!

    This is the kit I purchased. http://ultimachine.com/content/ramps-diy-kit-complete I decided to go with the optical end-stops over the mechanical just out of personal preference












    Pololu A4983 Stepper Driver Stepper Drivers
    http://ultimachine.com/content/polol...r-heatsink-kit


    The A4983 stepper motor driver carrier is a breakout board for Allegro’s easy-to-use A4983 microstepping bipolar stepper motor driver. The driver features adjustable current limiting and five different microstep resolutions. The driver operates from 8 – 35 V and can deliver up to 2 A per coil.

    Simple step and direction control interface
    Five different step resolutions: full-step, half-step, quarter-step, eighth-step, and sixteenth-step
    Adjustable current control lets you set the maximum current output with a potentiometer
    Intelligent chopping control that automatically selects the correct current decay mode (fast decay or slow decay)
    Over-temperature thermal shutdown, under-voltage lockout, and crossover-current protection

    The A4983 stepper motor driver carrier comes with one 1x16-pin breakaway 0.1" male header. The headers can be soldered in for use with solderless breadboards or 0.1" female connectors.

    Last edited by Oneslowz28; 07-13-2011 at 04:22 PM.

  8. #88
    Resident 100HP water-cannon operator SXRguyinMA's Avatar
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    Default Re: My RepRap Build. (3d printer for those not in the know)

    Quote Originally Posted by SXRguyinMA View Post

  9. #89
    Will YOU be ready when the zombies rise? x88x's Avatar
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    Default Re: My RepRap Build. (3d printer for those not in the know)

    Nice! That's actually quite a reasonable price for that kit.
    That we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours, and this we should do freely and generously.
    --Benjamin Franklin
    TBCS 5TB Club :: coilgun :: bench PSU :: mightyMite :: Zeus :: E15 Magna EV

  10. #90
    If you can't hack it, you don't own it! Oneslowz28's Avatar
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    Default Re: My RepRap Build. (3d printer for those not in the know)

    Hey x88x did you get any huge power resistors when you got those surprise boxes? Like the ones that come epoxied into their own heat sink?

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