Determination: Required Trait for 3D Printer Owners

After my meltdown earlier in the week, I borrowed ANOTHER hot end, and this time, did some printing!



Of course, RepSnapper died about 20% through the print, so I didn't get a complete cube, but this is major progress.

I'm also now able to detect some of the finer issues - still having slippage on the X-Axis pulley, and the Z endstop was set too high. I'll keep at it - Determination is a required trait for 3D printer owners!

Living on "The Melting Edge"

Notice anything wrong with these pictures??

So far my RepRap experience is - receive parts, assemble parts, break parts, order more parts, repeat...

Tonight, from the time I opened the box with the new heat core until I was ordering more parts - 33 minutes.

Installed the heat core, built the hot end, let it hit temperature, then did a test print. Something was off, so I stopped it. about 20 seconds later, white smoke comes out of the nozzle. By the time I pulled the plug, this was the damage. The insulator is melted to the barrel and the heat core. The heat core was cracked, and didn't survive my attempts to free it.

I know 6 people with 3D printers - both MakerBots and RepRaps - at the moment, none of them are working - I think I'll call this being on the "melting edge" instead of "bleeding edge".

I knew this would be an adventure, just need to rebuild the enthusiasm a bit. Luckily the folks at MakerGear are awesome AND fast.

April 10th: MakerGear Prusa Mendel Kit - Build Day #3

I bounced around today, working on things as I figured out what parts went where. I'm sure it took much more time than it needed to, but it was fun anyway.

Today's work was on 4 major subsystems:

1) RAMPS electronics

2) MakerGear Stepper Plastruder

3) EndStops

4) Heated Build Platform

Remaining work:
1) Servo wiring
2) Hot End build & wiring
3) Heated Print bed thermistor install
4) RAMPS mounting
5) Power supply setup & connections
6) Use the green high-temp wiring for the heated build platform. Oops.
7) Pull the $#*$ X-idler and put in the rear fine adjustment screw I missed.

Tons of pics below, with brain-dumps in the comments for now. I need to help improve the community documentation soon, these brain-dumps will help.

RAMPS - I started the RAMPS build a few weeks ago. Someone else was taking pics, so I don't have the beginning shots...

This is where I'd stopped a few weeks ago...

Soldering the Pololu drivers - no, I wasn't following the instructions here, I had other things to finish on the RAMPS board, but I figured this was some easy soldering to get out of the way...

Another Pololu...

Look

Added the caps...

Adding the MOSFETs

Adding the fuse. I DID NOT install the optional diode.

Add caption

I pulled the jumpers & did lots of continuity testing looking for bad soldering...

Installed on the MEGA...

The MakerGear RAMPS kit (the 3 1k resistors are for the endstops, oops)

Fully populated RAMPS and a bare RAMPS board...

Adding the heatsinks provided by MakerGear

Yes, I did debate heatsink orientation with myself for a minute or two...

All heatsinks installed...

MakerGear Stepper Plastruder

My stepper extruder motor was backordered, thats why it isn't shown here. Luckily someone VERY COOL loaned me one until mine gets here... 

Example of the print quality for some of the RP parts. Not great, but should be functional. Gives me something to print later...

I guessed on this part...

Hope this is right :)

Once I built it to this part, I had a MUCH better understanding of how it worked. I was so used to seeing WADE'S extruders, I couldn't quite figure out what was happening in the pics...

Endstops - this was a bit of a puzzle figuring out what went where...by using the pics and pestering MG|Rick, I think i've got it...yesterday's build pics show the locations of the RP parts on the printer, these are mostly closeups of the mounting / wiring...

I cutoff about 4" from the endstop wires. Cutting off nicely crimped connectors pains me, but this seemed like the right thing to do. I then tinned & soldered the bare wire directly to the microswitches. I found the wiring notes here: 

http://groups.google.com/group/makergear/browse_thread/thread/d8c926dc96f6b98d?pli=1

I used shrink-tubing and the heat gun to clean up the connections...

I will use approx 2.3 million wireties before this thing is done. I tend to be obsessive with wire routing - too much time running wire with my buddy Lou who likes the wires nice & tidy :)

Heated Build Platform - this took some time. I REALLY should have traced the holes for the platform before I built the Y-Carriage. Oh well.

MG|Rick - "socket -> board -> spring -> nut -> space -> nut -> carriage -> nut"
My version - "socket -> board -> washer -> spring -> washer -> nut -> space -> nut -> carriage -> nut
Later, when I asked, the nice locking nylon nuts are in the kit for the build platform.

I'll switch to the nylon locking nuts later...

Always good to make polarity OBVIOUS

Remove the tape covering over the solder pads

My FIRST surface-mount soldering!

Those LEDs were NOT easy to hold in place while soldering!

I went with the suggested plan of an LED that lights with either polarity. I think I'll swap out the reverse polarity LED later with a RED one, but its good for now...

[Replace image once the high-temp green wire is used]

[Replace image once the high-temp green wire is used]

[Replace image once the high-temp green wire is used]

Shrink tubing is good. A little red electrical tape indicating the positive wire can't hurt either :)
[Replace image once the high-temp green wire is used]

I used two sizes of shrink tubing to make a nice jacket for the connector.
[Replace image once the high-temp green wire is used]

[Replace image once the high-temp green wire is used]

A quick bench test - the heated print bed pulling approx 10A at 12v. It warmed up quickly. I didn't get out the temp probe, I just let it get too hot to touch and unplugged it...