Some Great Resources

The good thing about all the issues my Mendel has been facing is that I have found some truly great resources for troubleshooting some common issues. I'll be posting these here and on a separate page so that they will be easy to find.

Software/Firmware
Make Something! Printer Firmware

Electronics

A Note on Calibration

I know that there are a lot of people out there who dislike the calibration process. This is especially true for people that are using derivatives of printers or have made their own modifications. That being said, anyone who recieves a printer as a perk will have their printer pre-calibrated with the standard values for my particular build. This also goes for those donors who are only recieving the printed parts or the files.
I know it really doesn't seem very important or necessary since the maths involved is pretty simple but it's my way of making everything just a tad easier. That is one of my goals for this project, isn't it? To make this whole process just a tiny bit easier. Also, I'm familiar with technical difficulties in classrooms and, although it is recommend in the materials provided with the printers that calibration methods and formulae be covered simply to round out the build experience, it's one less thing to worry about for whatever reason.
Happy Building!

What to do about fumes

I know a lot of people are concerned about the fumes produced by melted plastics. As I understand it, many people "prefer" the fumes of PLA over ABS. I say "prefer" because it really is a choice about which is less offensive since both are not exactly pleasant fumes, unless you are into that sort of thing. While you will be able to use both PLA and ABS with the printer (simply adjust the settings from ABS to PLA), some people simply cannot deal with the fumes because it makes them sick or just because they don't like it. This is especially true for this project as its intended use is in the classroom where parents may not appreciate having their child exposed to fumes and the potential chemical burn-off associated with melting plastic. So, in an effort to make this project as kid-friendly (especially for people who may want to build this printer as a family project/ science fair project/ class project) I have come up with some ideas how to minimize exposure.
- Place the unit near an opened window (if there is no cross breeze, a fan directed at the window may help with circulation)
- Choose a printer option with a case and affix some piping to the back to lead out a window. (this will probably be an extra option)
- Print in a garage or a room that is not being used (I chose my bedroom with the door closed)

Some Preliminary Specs

So, while I fiddle with the Mendel and get things ready to build the delta prototype, I thought I should let you all in on some of the preliminary specs. Here are some details to pique your interest:
-Build Envelope: 12.5"x12.5"x12.5"
-Footprint: 14"x16"
-Dimensions: 14"x16"x20"
-Weight: approx. 15 lbs
-Heated Bed: Yes
-Motors: 5 NEMA 17 Stepper Motors
-Electronics: Sanguinololu (standard) or RAMPS (Request)with SD card reader
-Bluetooth: Optional
-Non-Printed Parts: Casing (structural support- Carbon Fiber or Acrylic), Hot End, Motors, Nuts and Bolts, Cabling, Timing Belt (this may change)

Day 30: Another Draft

In keeping with the promise I made the other day, here is the first draft of the top plate. Again, not sure if I want to have a bolt that will attach the arms or if I want to have the ends of the arm connect to a printed piece. Ultimately, it will come down to what creates the smoothest movement. Right now, I'm leaning towards a smooth rod fitted into each diagonal for the four arms.

Update (5:36 pm): Here's the first draft of one segment of the arms.

Day 29: First Drafts and an Update

Okay, so this first draft is pretty awful and incomplete but I promised to post something and I am.

The design is pretty general and looks like every other delta bot out there pretty much. The arms each have two points of articulation for a grand total of 16 printed pieces not including the pulleys that will be attached between the two rods that make up each arm. The extruder carriage is pretty basic as well. This is mostly because I can't decide what kind of attachment I want.
The motor for the extruder may be mounted on the extruder and hot end or it may be mounted to the side. It really depends on the weight of the motor, which, if there are any RepRap forum readers here that have seen my thread, will either be the standard Nema 17s or 23s. Again, this all depends on how much weight the printed arms can handle since I really want to keep this area as light as possible. There are so many options for this that I really won't know what I like for this project until I start building.
This morning, I ordered new motors for my mendel so, hopefully, I can start printing by Monday or Tuesday, depending on when my post arrives and assuming that the motors work.
I have also decided that there will be some lower priced perks:
-Printed parts only- This is for those of you that would like to source your own materials. This includes only the printed parts and fasteners. The price for this will likely be in the $50- $75 range and will account for the cost of printing materials.
- Printed parts files- This will be the lowest option and will be a $25 donation for which you will recieve the .stl files to print out your own parts.

Options

While I have yet to set final price points, here are the tentative donation amounts and the perks that go with them!

~$50-$100 - These amounts don't have perks as of yet. What it is is a $100 donation towards a printer that I will be donating to a deserving teacher or school. If you would like to nominate someone to be the recipient, please let me know why you think they deserve to recieve a free unit and how it might make their job a bit easier. ~$250 - The Class Project: Included is everything you need to get set up: An unassembled (this includes the electronics which you will recieve unsoldered) kit with everything you need to build your opensource printer. Also included are worksheets, diagrams, software options and instruction manual on a thumb drive. Shipping is not included.

~$350 - Deluxe Class Package- Everything from the basic package except the electronics will come to you pre-soldered and you will recieve a spool of ABS filament. Shipping is not included.

~$600 - Premium Classroom Model- This has everything you need: 2kg Filament, pre-soldered electronics, class materials, a larger print bed, 3D laser scanner, and acrylic casing.

~$800 - Premium Model (Aseembled)- Note: The increase in price has to do with the cost of shipping the finished product to you. This includes everything from the premium modeled but you will recieve it pre-assembled and ready for use.

~$1200- The Ultimate Perk- Light and tough, this model includes everything found in the previous models except that it has a casing of 2mm thick carbon fibre and will arrive mostly assembled (The plates for the casing will be laid flat and wrapped to preserve their high gloss finish and the top portion of the frame will be left off to make shipping easier). The frame will either be of carbon fibre or of aluminum. I anticipate that this model will also come with bluetooth and a second print bed for larger projects.
This information is likely to change as I come across parts and make final adjustments to the kits. I will likely be posting a detailed expense list in the next couple of days. Also, I have decided that I will be listing this project on Indiegogo instead of kickstarter simply to get this project in motion and not have to worry about it not making the fundraising goal.

Delivery updates

After a delightful time scolding the awful people at my local post office about actually ringing the doorbell to delivery a parcel, I just recieved the NEMA 17 motors that I ordered a couple of days ago along with the extruder. Progress!
I'm expecting more deliveries in the next couple of days and hopefully I will be recieving them on time and not this poor excuse for a delivery service that has been the cause of much frustration and aggravation.

On a side note, it's Friday? When did that happen?

Day 1

Work Done: Casing designs For a free product, Google Sketchup is doing a good job of letting me design a casing for the printer. I wanted to get this step out of the way since I'm still waiting for my massive haul of electronics and parts to arrive from various corners of the world. So, it might not be the slickest of CAD drawings but the first casing concept doesn't look too awful. I'll finish cleaning it up a bit whenever I get a chance and fine tuning the design as my parts arrive, my mood changes, whatever. Here's the concept for the casing:

I'm working on a slightly differnt casing design as well that I'm pretty sure is the result of staring at cars and reading car magazines for a good portion of the day and listening to a mix of club music and who knows what else.