MDF cut like butter. What bit and travel settings would be used if cutting this frame out of HDPE? I am thinking about purchasing some 1/4" HDPE and cutting the frame fro it. I know Ryan had good luck with it. I am just wondering what bit works best and what estlcam settings so I am not melting the material?
Neil
Looks good, any constructive criticism? I know the y axis rod holders are a bit odd but most rods donāt seem to be cut well enough to fully enclose them.
Now that this āminimalā printer is working well for me I want to make one that looks cool even if it costs a little more in parts or time. Tons of printers out there, going to be a challenge to come up with something a little different that functions well. Iām a nerd like that though.
All I know is Iām a vicious fan boy and if you design it Iām building it lol. The Mpcnc works so damn well. Iām buying the hdpe at lunch today.
Neil
Oh sorry you asked about my setting for cutting that. Honestly I donāt remember, I desperately need to make another and have the material I will make a video. I did a ton of test cuts with all my bits, they all worked but I think the single flute up cut was best if I remember right.
What size of sheet is required at a minimum to cut all the parts from?
2ft by 4ft is more than enough. You might be able to squeeze it into 2x2, but at my local store its $6 for the big one and $4 for the small, soā¦
Iāll probably have spare hdpe if anyone wants to build a printer yet no access to a cnc.
Neil
Hi Neil, What bit are you using for MDF? The normal 2 flute up cut?
Drew
Thatās the only bits I have it worked beautifully. Iāll see how they do on hdpe
Neil
Hi Drew,
I used a 2 flute up cut on the MDF.
Then I used a aerosol acrylic spray to coat the pieces and make them hopefully last longer.
Ryan,
I had to do a bit of extra work to align the rods holding the bed. You might look at having two screws in the part so that itās fixed in place instead of it being able to rotate around the one screw.
the single steppers get pretty warm currently, so you may need to adjust the settings on your default drivers to be different. the z steppers are cool.
Maybe a couple extra holes near the bottom and on the gantry to hold cable ties for wire routing. Iād have liked another hole down by the ramps board and one on the gantry.
Iād add a power switch and maybe slide the power supply out just a hair to facilitate routing that power switch wire up to the top. alternately, look at putting the power supply an inch higher and the switch at the bottom.
one of the holes for the brass nuts was slightly too large for the screw to get a real bite in it. (maybe just a printing defect). so I had to put a bit of glue in the hole. I believe it was on the motor side piece.
raise the ramps board a half inch. some of the wires are tough to get in where itās at. granted I mounted the ramps board and then wired it which is not quite optimal.
the aluminum bed has tiny holes (#4) and that makes the nuts tiny as well. with that, the pre-drilled corners in the mdf bed are large enough that you have to use a washer. maybe just make them 1/8" instead of whatever size they are. iām pretty sure I marked them right in estlcamā¦
instead of two holes in the center piece for the bed, use 3. I put it on and took it off 3 times because I had it upside down and backwards and ā¦ 3 offset holes would make it truly āone wayā. now that I have it put together, itās clear which way is correct, but it just wasnāt intuitive the first time through.
include instructions for putting the thermistor in the aluminum bed. that took me a while to find.
also, please describe (if you know) how to get PLA to stick to the aluminum bed. it doesnāt stick on the raw bed for me. But, if I put blue tape on it and heat to 50c it works like a charm. butā¦ I have no idea how to get it to stick to the aluminumā¦ it just kind of slid around. Iāll try more once Iāve gotten the display case printed out and something to hold the filament spoolā¦
Publish the āorder of assemblyā. I did get a few things in the wrong order. Just use the one I posted above if you like. itās probably good enough to get people going. publish the bottom picture and the other chain hookup pic. my guess is overly complicated.
it was pretty easy to get together in a bit more than an eveningā¦ Itās mostly intuitive (although I may not be a great test case for the general population).
I like it and have recommended it to othersā¦
Wow Thanks!
I will have a run through next time I build one.
The aluminum beds must have different holes than the PCB ones I have on mine. I didnāt bother to check, it shouldāve been standardā¦my bad for assuming.
The extra holes I just pop through by hand they are needed in different places on both my printers, but maybe I can make it a little different.
I did raise the ramps up as far as I could go to use the same holes for the ramps and power supply. I could make these different parts I guess.
What size steppers are you running, mine are barely warm (the ones from the cnc kit)?
I should mark the bed holes for sure, I have screwed that up myself.
Iām using the CNc steppers. If you set the drivers for running a pair, then current will be high for just one stepper right? In any case itās more than pretty warm and less than hotā¦
Something to play with and reset to a lower valueā¦
Where do you get the hpde?
Good ol menards. $60 for a sheet.
I can get quite a few frames out of it. 4 for sure. Like I said Iāll have plenty of frames by the end of the weekend lol. Iām just cutting to get a feel for the machine. So far so good (once I remembered to set the clearance on the z-axis to 3mm, I tried .20mm and scratched the surface as the bit moved from hole to hole). Oh well live and learn.
Neil
Make sure you set the axis nice and square before you start each cut or you will get ugly seems and a not perfect printer.
The hdpe is pretty sweet, I bought a half sheet. I want to find the dual color stuff locally. The surface is one color and the inside is another, makes nice looking parts. I found some online but the price is crazy.
I was thinking some of that garolite g10 or whatever I used for quad copter frames was the same way. Black skin orange inside the stuff was amazing.
You talking square the z-axis? Yeah that photo makes it look warped. I think itās an illusion as the cut is square. Itās from me getting anxious and trying to pull the remaining lip of Hdpe away from the cut piece.
Neil
Beauty!
I am hoping to modify the design to carry a 300x200 bedā¦ 300mm on the X axis so the Y does not have to move further as it is heavier.
