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Making a Printer from Scratch

Discussion in 'Off Topic' started by BenMac, Jan 19, 2017.

  1. BenMac

    BenMac Member

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    Hey guys, I have been thinking of either building a printer kit, or making a printer from scratch. While my Robo is a good machine, I want to try my hand at putting a printer together. I have looked at a few of the kits, but they are typically pretty cheaply made. The ANet A8 stood out, but it had some issues.

    So, I have been looking at a few of the Thingiverse designs, some of which have stood out to me. Like the Hypercube and the Vulcanus. I have generally been quite interested in Core XY printers for a while, but most of them are a bit out of my price range. Since sourcing my own parts could bring the price down, these Thingiverse designs seem attractive.

    In short, I am curious to hear your thoughts. For instance, if this is something that is reasonable to attempt, or if there are other designs that you think would be better.

    I found a control board that peaks my interest. Amazon has an MKS GEN V1.3 board for $30, which sounds pretty good. Would this, or the standard separate Arduino/Ramps boards be the better choice? I can think of a few reasons to go either way, but I would welcome your input. :)

    Oh, I should also mention that I am aiming to keep the printer below $500. The lower the better, unless it would include sub-par components.
     
    #1 BenMac, Jan 19, 2017
  2. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    For a cartesian printer you need only to source a control board (sound like you have that done) and steppers and then a frame, base and build plate. If you want a heated bed that is optional (bed heater).

    This is essentially what the cheap Chinese kits are. Commodity parts in a box. You can do that yourself.

    Pick a design you are comfortable with. There are a lot of various control board/electronics combos out there. The nice thing about the RAMPS/Arduino is that all of the bits are cheap... Our delta uses a Rambo and ... not cheap :) also it is a single integrated board so if something on it dies you lose everything. We have experimented with those types before (FastBot BBP for example) and there is nothing wrong with that approach, just realize your limitations on repairs. Many of the single-board units offer more horsepower with faster CPUS and more memory which can be a plus.
     
    #2 mark tomlinson, Jan 20, 2017

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