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Thread: Prusa I3 with aluminum Upgrades

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    Default Prusa I3 with aluminum Upgrades

    I have started building a Prusa I3. Purchased the plactics off ebay and planned to cut the plates on my G704. I could not get TurboCAD to open the DXF files for the original designs. Found where thainfamousnate posted his version with aluminum upgrades. His files opened no problem.

    prusa i3 aluminum frame w/ aluminum upgrades by thainfamousnate - Thingiverse

    Once I started looking at dimensions, I realized my G704 was not going to have enough travel in the Y axis. I split the frame into two pieces with a spacer bar between the halves to get the width needed. The design of the frame, braces, and brackets by thainfamousnate is well done. I used a 1/8" 2 flute solid carbid endmill. At 6" a minute, it took 1.5 hrs to cut one half. Slow, but results are very good.

    So far, I have cut the main frame, the brackets for the motor mounts, and the brackets for the top mounts. I discovered .25" aluminum may not be .25" thick. Mine is .258". This made assembly a bit of a challenge as the holes for the brackets are all laid out for .25". A small file and a rubber mallet persuaded the pieces into place.

    Still need to cut the back braces and the deck.

    I order a rod kit off ebay. The Y axis assemble easily. Still need to purchase electronics.

    I will try to keep this updated as I assemble parts.

    Similar Threads:
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Prusa I3 with aluminum Upgrades-img_20131205_213044_771-jpg   Prusa I3 with aluminum Upgrades-img_20131205_213052_331-jpg  


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    This weekend, I cut the tray and one of the back braces. I came up short about 17"on aluminum.

    Below you can see the assembled frame short one back brace. Three frame pieces fit together nicely. It should be a solid foundation.

    The rod kit I purchased, was not intended for the upgraded frame. I need some 8mm thread rod that is longer so that I can tie the back braces to the Y axis in the rear.

    Need to decide on an electronics kit. The LCD controller seems to be a logical choice. I don't need a power supply as I have a good one. Any suggestions on a kit?

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Prusa I3 with aluminum Upgrades-uploadfromtaptalk1386562606965-jpg   Prusa I3 with aluminum Upgrades-uploadfromtaptalk1386562274417-jpg  


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    Quote Originally Posted by rcazwillis View Post
    This weekend, I cut the tray and one of the back braces. I came up short about 17"on aluminum.

    Below you can see the assembled frame short one back brace. Three frame pieces fit together nicely. It should be a solid foundation.

    The rod kit I purchased, was not intended for the upgraded frame. I need some 8mm thread rod that is longer so that I can tie the back braces to the Y axis in the rear.

    Need to decide on an electronics kit. The LCD controller seems to be a logical choice. I don't need a power supply as I have a good one. Any suggestions on a kit?


    I use Ramps1.4 on both of my printers, no problems at all with it. Ramps1.4 supports 5 axis(X,Y,Z,E0,E1), you can run 2 Z motors off the Z driver. It has 3 mosfet outputs and every firmware has it set so you can do about whatever you want like Extruder-Fan-Bed, Extruder-Extruder-Bed, etc... It also has all the normal stuff like thermistor inputs, homing/limit inputs. It uses the A4988 or DRV8825 drivers which is the main reason I use Ramps over a Rambo, if I screw up a driver its a simple ~$8 fix.

    With that said, I have heard a lot of good about Rambo, but all the drivers are integrated so once you toast one you pretty much have to get a new board from what I understand. Its also around $60 more than a full Ramps setup, last price I seen was $199 for Rambo and I can get a Ramps1.4 and Taurino(12-35v Mega clone) for roughly $140 including drivers.

    There is an LCD available for Ramps that has SD card and everything built into it, its called the RepRapDiscount Smart LCD I believe. If you searched RepRapDiscount Ramps LCD you will find it easily.

    Will those bearings at the top be a tight fit on the Z screws? They look like 608 and my i3 is using 5mm Z screws so I don't think so but if they are tight you may be introducing Z wobble into the X assembly using those bearings. If you are using a 5mm screw, the bearings are just a waste. My old i2 kit had bearings to surround the Z screws and they never touched so it's just a wasted vitamin.



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    I went with the ramps. $140 for kit including fan, limit switchs, LCD, sd, and some wiring. Everything is assembled and booted up. Now need to learn how to setup Marlin.

    Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk



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    I am stumbling on how to assemble the z axis nut. Seems it needs to be pressed into the plastic pocket. Should I heat the nut or just physically press it in? How do they stay put?



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    The nut capture should be upside down and should be a slip fit. So the nut can continue down if the z axis is coming down and the head hits something.



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    So the negative move on the z axis is driven by gravity? Seems a captured nut would be a better option for accuracy. If it collided with something, the steppers will just skip steps.

    Today I managed to spin some steppers. The Y axis spins well. The others need some tuning. Not sure how to do it yet. Some research is in order, unless someone can tell me a simple method. Trial and error seems to be the recommendation.



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    Printer is working. Now I am learning how to adjust the settings to get the best prints. Last night I printed ramps fan mounts out of pla. They turned out nearly perfect.



    Not sure why it did not fill in the vertical walls. Any ideas?



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    Quote Originally Posted by rcazwillis View Post
    Printer is working. Now I am learning how to adjust the settings to get the best prints. Last night I printed ramps fan mounts out of pla. They turned out nearly perfect.



    Not sure why it did not fill in the vertical walls. Any ideas?
    First, the steppers have enough to destroy something if the nut was captured. I've hit my hotend plent of times because my z-endstop mount is bad and I accidentally bump it out of the way somtimes and the nuts pulling out of the pieces save me.

    Second, you can fudge the extrusion width on your slicer to get it to fill the walls. I recommend visualizing the path with Repetier Host; Kisslicer and Cura can also show extruder path so you can figure out if its what you want before you waste time printing.



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    I learned to use kisslicer to see paths. Wider was not always the answer. Reducing the width allowed the program to use an additional pass that filled the gaps. I also learned to modify the width of the part to work with the nozzle diameter. This is not always possible, but can help if the design allows.

    Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk



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    My printer is doing an odd thing. I have posted this on the reprap forum in the RAMPS section, but have received zero feedback. Thinking maybe someone here can help. It will occasionally move towards the home position in X or Y or reverse the extruder. Video shows X & E moves. Never seems to lose its place when it does this. Any ideas?



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    Quote Originally Posted by rcazwillis View Post


    My printer is doing an odd thing. I have posted this on the reprap forum in the RAMPS section, but have received zero feedback. Thinking maybe someone here can help. It will occasionally move towards the home position in X or Y or reverse the extruder. Video shows X & E moves. Never seems to lose its place when it does this. Any ideas?
    Do you have "Retract at temp" set? Maybe it is dropping below temp and coming back up and doing the retract?



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    I am not sure about that setting. I am using Marlin as a firmware. Would it be in the firmware? Notice the X axis move towards the home position. That is NOT in the g-code either. It will also do the Y axis. Maybe there is something aroudn teh retract at temp you referenced, impacting the X & Y moves.



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    Quote Originally Posted by rcazwillis View Post
    I am not sure about that setting. I am using Marlin as a firmware. Would it be in the firmware? Notice the X axis move towards the home position. That is NOT in the g-code either. It will also do the Y axis. Maybe there is something aroudn teh retract at temp you referenced, impacting the X & Y moves.
    If you upload the Configuration.h to Pastebin.com - #1 paste tool since 2002! and put the link here I can check it out, otherwise you may just have a bad firmware upload...maybe try a new download?



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Prusa I3 with aluminum Upgrades

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