Mon, 16 Sep 2013
3D Printer
Apparently 3D printers can nowadays be built for a moderate price,
and their quality is improving. Also, there is a project called
RepRap for developing open-source
3D printer (including design of
components, Arduino as a controller board,
firmware,
CAD, and host software).
There are too many variants to choose from, so I was glad to discover RepRap Workshop, where it is possible to build and configure the 3D printer Průša i3 from the RepRap project under the supervision of somebody who has already built several 3D printers and has lots experience with them. All the parts and electronics were included in the price of the workshop.
My printer prints correctly, but still needs configuration tweaking. In the last image there are parts of this object from the open source repository of 3D objects called Thingiverse. I have printed it scaled by 0.7, but the other two parts were too brittle and their pins snapped off. I am looking forward to print more objects, for example LED lens holders for my Bike Lights project.
2 replies for this story:
Gris wrote:
This is quite an old design, I prefer RepRap Rostock, which is much cooler and, in a way, simpler.
Yenya wrote: Re: Gris
Well, Rostock is next on my todo list. Yes, it is definitely a cool design (and with one stepper less). However, I wonder whether the extruder with bowden is strong and precise enough, compared to the one on i3 - directly connected to the hot end.