Things are really starting to come together. I’ve been hard at work in the workshop the past few days and have finished all delta components apart from the arms.
Because I’m making this 3D printer with a 3 axis CNC router I’ve run into various challenges that I’ve had to work my way around. A big issue was the carriages and platform, particularly the holes that go through middle of the part and little pockets that captures the M3 nuts.
I got around this issue by splitting the parts in half (instead of 8mm plastic I used 4mm plastic) and using a ball end mill to make the holes for the M3 bolts and a small 2mm end mill to make small pockets to capture the M3 nuts that secure the bolts that hold the joints in place.
Speaking of joints I decided that for my build I wanted bearing support all over. The original design used small plastic joints that just “rode” on the threads of M3 screws. This means that eventually the screws will strip out the holes and begin to develop backlash which can be catastrophic for the quality of prints on a 3D printer.
So I modelled a larger joint that could fit 3mm ID bearings. The bearings press fit into the joint and otherwise work the same as the original design. The bearings will mean that the machine has very smooth movement and won’t quickly wear out.
To make the joints I managed to get help from an awesome person local to me who has a 3D printer and was able to print out these little bearing joints for me. We’re still in the process of getting to a final version but I should soon have them all done.
Getting very close now to starting to see this thing really come together. I’m really excited but a lot of work to still go yet.