Show Quality ROBO?

Hi,

I really enjoy my ROBO despite it's flaws and I'd like to deck one out really nice. Think of custom car techniques as applied to a 3D printer. I figure a ROBO would look bad-ass with Candy Apple Red automotive paint and white racing stripes!

I also want to upgrade the ROBO under the hood, replacing the power supply with a custom built adjustable linear supply to improve print quality by reducing the supply noise, and also for appearance. The wiring harness really needs to be completely replaced and also there needs to be a decent cooling solution as the Arduino and RAMPS boards appear to be overheating causing print jobs to just stop when they are nearly done.

I have an IP Cam with audio link and pan/tilt to put on it and I'd like to enclose the unit fully, plus of course add tons of lights and make a decent light show by programming a separate Arduino or something like that. Plus I want to add the Boden dual extruder upgrade.

Does anyone have other ideas for this show quality ROBO? Also does anyone have a non-working ROBO I can purchase for about $200 plus shipping?

Les

 

Don't really have anything to add. Always been a fan of chrome though, so depending on your feelings there, I think a chrome extruder cover could look pretty slick. If you do end up doing this, be sure to come back with pictures.

 

I am debating on getting another printer though, as my ROBO has many issues. Still, even if i get another printer for printing's sake, I'd like to deck out the ROBO. Chrome is a great idea!

Les

 

A really nice feature would be a light directly pointing at the print from the extruder. It prevents shadows.

If you do get it all replaced, it would be great if you could include the BOM so that others can enjoy the upgrade!

 

Les, I like where you're heading with this. A BOM and guide would be fantastic.

 

Yes good call Peter, definitely a light at the extruder head and plenty of others, all synchronized in a light show. I'll use an arduino to control the show! I'll document things on a new web page that I am designing starting tonight.

Les

 

I didn't even think about adding a "spotlight" to the extruder. That's an awesome idea that I'm considering giving a go now.

 

I bought a 60mm halo led light from eBay that I'm yet to install. The plan is to design a bracket so it sits around the hotend for perfect illumination.

 

Bright idea, Galaxies (Oofo, could not resist). I'm blogging my adventures in Hot-Rodding my ROBO here: http://lesterchall.wordpress.com and I've decided to completely revamp the control system, turning it into an audio driven machine (see the blog for details).

Les

 

You also need to have it enclosed.

And portable.meaning you'll need to have a USB reader and a handle for easy carrying!

And it runs off electrical outlet or a battery! 12v like your car!

A separate chamber for the filament to keep it dry and in top condition as you're printing on your boat near paradise island.

 

Interesting concept about driving the motors from an mp3. Eager to see how that turns out.

 

Cool idea. I'm interested in what evidence you have that switching power supply noise is affecting print quality? I certainly understand that the 12V power supply voltage limits the heated bed's max sustainable temperature but have never seen any problem with noise. A linear supply may be nice for an audiophile amplifier but not necessary for this application. My Robo is a kickstarter version with no noise issues. Perhaps there are noise problems with newer ones? I just want to clarify this so others don't start swapping their power supplies out for the wrong reason.

I would add an auto-shutdown relay to your hopped-up feature list.

 

SteveC, certainly the extra noise on the power supply has SOME effect on print quality, however that effect may be negligible. Of far greater impact must be the poor mechanicals of the ROBO with it's unsupported Z rods jerking around with every motion of the print head. I just want to trick this printer out so I imagined a toroidal transformer with a hand wired rectifier and linear regulator for both the +5 Volt and +12 Volt supplies.

After having gutted my ROBO down to the wires, base, rods, and motors plus bed still intact, I have experimented with the audio driven stepper motor controller design with satisfactory results. My next move is to put the top back on the unit and bring the wires up to the outside front top surface where I will attach breadboards to hold the circuitry. Though I imagine bouncing lasers off mirrors to replace the limit switches, I do plan to use the existing limit switches on this build. And of course it's vital to get it working again so I can print some Z-rod stabilizers (should have done that months ago). I need to buy some connectors and wires and breadboards and parts from a company such as Jameco, plus a linear power supply with the appropriate outputs. To keep costs down I may go with a manufactured power supply at first and replace it with a custom one later. Anyway, I'm blogging it all here: http://www.lesterchall.wordpress.com.

Les

 

Hi Les,
I just want to make sure this is correctly stated and clear for others reading this thread. The effect is negligible. Any noise from these switching supplies will have no effect on print quality. (Of course that is unless the supply is failing.) The noise/regulation of a linear supply will have zero effect of the digital logic in the printer and given the way the stepper drivers/motors work the effect will be negligible. A tricked out power supply is fine but it is not good to make an inaccurate performance claim.

I will follow your modification blog with interest.

Thanks,
Steve

 

SteveC, I must agree with you. Let's imagine that we can increase the supply noise from zero to some huge value that is comparable to the supply voltage itself. At some point the noise will get large enough that it will yank the steppers around and this will show up in the print quality. However, that value would be so large as to only be present in a failed power supply. I hope my explanation is clear and that ROBO owners and potential owners are not confused by me into thinking that power supply noise has a significant effect on print quality. ANY noise will have SOME effect, however in this case the effect is minimal.

I would also like to go on to note that there is something called the power supply rejection ratio for chips like opamps and we should specify such a value for a printer. It would then be clear that the effect is negligible because of the huge value of the power supply rejection ratio.

As a third thought I would like to stress that my specialized circuit for "hot-rodding" my ROBO is far more sensitive to power supply noise than a RAMPS board populated with specially designed chips specifically for the purpose of driving steppers is. So in other words, my Hot Rod ROBO will have a poor power supply rejection ratio due to it's custom, discrete, simplified design so I will have to be more concerned about power supply noise than a stock ROBO customer would be (which is that the stock ROBO customer need not be concerned at all).

As I continue to Hot Rod my ROBO, I hope you will correct any other misstatements for the purpose of clarification. Thanks in advance and sorry for any confusion in this matter.

Les

 

I had a really nice idea this morning which should simplify the wiring greatly. If I locate the circuitry for each stepper on the back of the stepper itself, then only three or four wires need go to that assembly: power, ground, and audio control signal. The audio will be on left and right channels, but only one channel goes to each motor. I can then braid the wires for a clean appearance. This is only possible due to the distributed computing nature of the hot rod ROBO design. A centralized design as per the traditional Arduino stack cannot simplify the wiring in this way.

Les

 

Liquid-cooled extruder!

 

http://e3d-online.com/The-Kraken

 

You know, I got some sleep and I woke up feeling kind of wrongs about the bad-mouthing I have dealt to the ROBO 3D R1 design. The fact is it's a pretty good printer for the money, a good value, packed with excellent features, and the negatives can be resolved with time, patience, and a little tinkering. I want to make clear to everyone that even though I may gripe about the Z-rods being free-standing or the overheating and rat's nest of wire-ties underneath the hood, the positives far outweigh these mostly fixable negatives.

I'm glad I chose to buy my ROBO 3D R1 printer and I recommend it to friends. I also recommend the Printerbot simple metal and suggest a comparison between the two designs to friends.

I feel that we have to realize that we are in the wild wild west days of 3D printing and many companies are so inundated with orders and pressures from every direction that employees burn out from the stress and the industry is beginning to show signs of overwork among the people who bring us these fine products. So we need to cut them some slack. I advise everyone to take a chill pill, trust that the ROBO 3D R1 is an evolving and effective design, and be prepared to tinker a bit which is true of ANY PRINTER AVAILABLE TODAY no matter how much you pay.

My choice to hot rod my ROBO 3D R1 model is more one of fun, exploration, fantasy, and joyfulness - not one of frustration with problems. So let's all keep a positive attitude and print us out some chill pills (do not ingest printed filament! ehhehehhehe).

Les