DIY 3D Printers

Tom said:
What are you going to use the 3D printer for when its done?
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Spare parts, stuff for DIY projects, maybe a few models to paint and put on display (I still prefer garage kits though)

Avatar said:
I use https://www.robotics.org.za/ for a lot of components for our machines, they're close and really helpful.
AC DC works as well for more general electronics.
http://netram.co.za/ is in CPT, used to be in Hillcrest, quite a good rep.

There was another bunch in Dbn or Ballito, I think they were called Open Hardware, but I can't seem to find them now. Then there're all the makerspaces, like House4Hack in Centurion and Makerlabs in Pinetown, they'd be able to help with advice, especially on upgrading a kit.
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Openhardware.co.za seems to be just a blog now, and aren't selling equipment... We have an ACDC in Nelspruit, so I will check for a power supply with them maybe? Will check out the rest soon. Thanks again!
 
murfle said:
Openhardware.co.za seems to be just a blog now, and aren't selling equipment... We have an ACDC in Nelspruit, so I will check for a power supply with them maybe? Will check out the rest soon. Thanks again!
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They do carry great power supplies, quite stable.
 
murfle said:
Just checked their price list.

Looks like this is the one I need
SNP-250W/12 12VDC 20A(250W) REGULATED POWER SUPPLY BC1 EA 703 81 R 703.00
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I'd recommend getting your steppers, or at least their controller first. That'd tell you the maximum current you'll ever draw. Although, 20A/250W is plenty.. The reason I say this, I got steppers about 4 months ago where the datasheet says 5VDC @ 2.5A. I just could not get it it turn at 5V. Put it on a 24VDC power supply, limited the controller to 2A, and it works a treat. The balance is the the motor is slower now, but I'm okay with that! I'm not running it constantly either, so excessive heat won't be an issue.
 
Avatar said:
I'd recommend getting your steppers, or at least their controller first. That'd tell you the maximum current you'll ever draw. Although, 20A/250W is plenty.. The reason I say this, I got steppers about 4 months ago where the datasheet says 5VDC @ 2.5A. I just could not get it it turn at 5V. Put it on a 24VDC power supply, limited the controller to 2A, and it works a treat. The balance is the the motor is slower now, but I'm okay with that! I'm not running it constantly either, so excessive heat won't be an issue.
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Good advice, thanks. I'll get the PSU near the end of the build. I have a spare xbox 360 PSU that I've read can be converted to use to test things out as I learn.
 
No one seems to have the Prusa i3 parts for the box frame, only the single frame version... diyelectronics doesn't seem interested in making them either from the response I got from them. I could send them the files and see what they'd charge, but there's plenty of places out there who'd be able to do it. Just gotta look harder I guess...
 
murfle said:
No one seems to have the Prusa i3 parts for the box frame, only the single frame version... diyelectronics doesn't seem interested in making them either from the response I got from them. I could send them the files and see what they'd charge, but there's plenty of places out there who'd be able to do it. Just gotta look harder I guess...
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Can you send me a link to those parts?
 
Avatar said:
Can you send me a link to those parts?
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I'm still working on getting the STLs right. There are so many conflicts out there. Even in the source on github, both the single frame and box frame parts are in the box_frame folder. There's a line in the config like "this_is_a_box=0" (or something) to specify which ones to make. The sample ones use the 10mm bearings, but the design I'm working on uses 8, so some more tweaking is needed...
 
murfle said:
I'm still working on getting the STLs right. There are so many conflicts out there. Even in the source on github, both the single frame and box frame parts are in the box_frame folder. There's a line in the config like "this_is_a_box=0" (or something) to specify which ones to make. The sample ones use the 10mm bearings, but the design I'm working on uses 8, so some more tweaking is needed...
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Well, let me know when you've got something to show, I might be able to help with some suppliers or recommendations.
 
Alright, so I decided to go with an aluminum frame, so I'm building around the diyelectronics kit. Ordered the parts, frame, and belts so far. I then went into Nelspruit and got all the nuts, bolts, washers, and threaded rods (couldn't find smooth rods. Buco had, but they were rusted and warped). The nut kit costs R325 and the rods are R325 on the diy site. I paid R80 for both. (probably another R25-50 for the smooth rod if I find one in good condition anywhere). Couldn't find the right bearings anywhere though.

So far, total spent (including shipping) is right about R1500.

I'm also looking for a good cable crimper/wire stripper. I need 14-24 gauge stripping capabilities, and be able to crimp pcb interconnect pins as well as the normal kinds of blue/red/yellow ones. Any recommendations? I want them to last me forever and a day, so I don't mind spending a bit more on good ones.
 
murfle said:
Alright, so I decided to go with an aluminum frame, so I'm building around the diyelectronics kit. Ordered the parts, frame, and belts so far. I then went into Nelspruit and got all the nuts, bolts, washers, and threaded rods (couldn't find smooth rods. Buco had, but they were rusted and warped). The nut kit costs R325 and the rods are R325 on the diy site. I paid R80 for both. (probably another R25-50 for the smooth rod if I find one in good condition anywhere). Couldn't find the right bearings anywhere though.
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The smooth rods are typically called round bar, you might have some luck here:

http://www.njrsteel.com/product/round-bar-square-bar-drilled-rails or
http://www.macsteel.co.za/macsteel-trading-nelspruit or
http://www.stewartsandlloyds.co.za/

although NJR are the only ones where I could see for a fact that they have a trade counter. Also, take care, I see on the Prusa site that they refer to it as M8 smooth. M8 actually refers specifically to a threaded part, so it might cause some confusion. Call it 8 mm round bar, and you'll be golden. You might have some trouble with finding galvanized, but I could be wrong there. Galvanizing parts usually adds some 0.1 mm to the surface, so you'll end up with 8.2 mm round bar if you have it done after buying.

murfle said:
I'm also looking for a good cable crimper/wire stripper. I need 14-24 gauge stripping capabilities, and be able to crimp pcb interconnect pins as well as the normal kinds of blue/red/yellow ones. Any recommendations? I want them to last me forever and a day, so I don't mind spending a bit more on good ones.
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Can't help you there. I use a R100 one from builders, that serves me quite well, but it only strips 10-20 AWG.
 
Avatar said:
The smooth rods are typically called round bar, you might have some luck here:

http://www.njrsteel.com/product/round-bar-square-bar-drilled-rails or
http://www.macsteel.co.za/macsteel-trading-nelspruit or
http://www.stewartsandlloyds.co.za/

although NJR are the only ones where I could see for a fact that they have a trade counter. Also, take care, I see on the Prusa site that they refer to it as M8 smooth. M8 actually refers specifically to a threaded part, so it might cause some confusion. Call it 8 mm round bar, and you'll be golden. You might have some trouble with finding galvanized, but I could be wrong there. Galvanizing parts usually adds some 0.1 mm to the surface, so you'll end up with 8.2 mm round bar if you have it done after buying.



Can't help you there. I use a R100 one from builders, that serves me quite well, but it only strips 10-20 AWG.
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Sweet, thanks. I think the place I got the threaded ones from didn't have despite the naming confusion, since they're a fastener's shop... Buco found it as an 8mm round bar on their system, so good on them. Too bad they didn't have fresh stock.

I'll check out the other places next time I'm in town. That helps, much thanks! There's also a agriculture depot (forget the name) that might be worth checking if I have trouble.
 
Well crap, I saw a "buy two, get one free" filament sale on a site somewhere, good March 3-4 only. I can't find it now :|

Edit: Scrap that... It is on netram.co.za. eSun ABS 1kgs
 
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Came here from TK, since it's waaaaay past decent to quote that post. I'm glad you got it working! I've got no experience with tweaking a printer, so I can't really help there. How closely did you follow the diyelectronics build? And what upgrades are you thinking about?
 
Avatar said:
Came here from TK, since it's waaaaay past decent to quote that post. I'm glad you got it working! I've got no experience with tweaking a printer, so I can't really help there. How closely did you follow the diyelectronics build? And what upgrades are you thinking about?
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I ended up going with the diyelectronics grame and XL heat bed. I did get their extruder as a backup, but I'm currently using a bowden I got from 3dprintingstore. I did have to get creative and ended up using a steel bracket to mount the hotend, so there's a bit of 'murfle' in the build.

Still gotta do some cable management, and eventually stick my dremel on for some cnc action, but that is way down the road. I am writing up some code for the Arduino to add in some lighting with LEDs that I have kicking around, but I'm not sure if I'm going to integrate it with the firmware, or use a seperate Uno...

Most of my prints so far have come out very clean. Did a stress test with a calibration stl off thingiverse that came out a little messy, but I've done some tweaking since then, so I'll have to try it again sometime.
 
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