Steves new build project. Sept 2015

[Stevolution]

Well I thought that.... but it wouldn't do it.

[geneb]

Then you're doing it wrong. It works very well. Even a pair of dinosaurs from Alaska figured it out. (then again, they built a printer too, so they might be pretty damn smart dinos)

g.

[Stevolution]

Yea... doesn't bode well for a self build 3d printer.. if I can't post pictures in a forum

[geneb]

What I wanna know is where I can find the minifig in your avatar.

g.

[barry99705]

What I wanna know is where I can find the minifig in your avatar.

g.

Wal-Mart most likely.

[geneb]

Ugh.

Adding images to posts is pretty easy. Make sure you're using the "full" editor. Right below the edit window are two tabs - click on the "Upload attachment" tab. You can upload images and insert them into posts using that mechanism. It won't automagically do it for you - you have to tell it to insert the image into the post. This is how I did the multi-image posts about the build workshops I did over the summer.

g.

[Stevolution]

It was simply not doing anything.... blank white page. I will have another go later on.

TrickLaser parts are apparently at the Post office...... £29.35 IMPORT TAX!!! Robbery on a grand scale.
Makes those parts ridiculously expensive for what they are.

[Stevolution]

Right then..... all the parts are here.

Edges are all painted (I am sure I have painted a whole load that didn't need doing... but that doesn't matter).
They are a nice metallic blue.

Looked at the E3d v6 hotend. Looks a lot easier to assemble than the stock RoStock one. I think I will assemble the stock one anyway - as a backup.

Let the building commence

[Stevolution]

....and here we go

[Stevolution]

Well finally started building.

Goodbye dining table for the foreseeable future

Glad I got a better PSU. Much tidier install I think. I have run a 12v supply to the switch as well, so I can have an illuminated on/off button at a later date.
I have also left fitting the main Rambo connector until I actually install the board. Then I can tidy the wiring and judge the length correctly.

Things I would change so far? You don't need to cough for posh laser cut TrickLaser stepper motor dampeners.... you could quite easily make your own from a cork tile + a sharp scalpel.

Is this thing see through? I know it had plastic panels, but I have not peeled the protective over off them yet.
I might add leds inside the main base unit.

[teoman]

You sure do like breadboards don't you?

[Stevolution]

Ha... yea.. got an obsession with them.

One is my Picaxe dev board, and there is an Arduino Uno, Arduino Mega 2560 and a Raspberry Pi.
A few LCD displays, an amplifier and a few other goodies.

Its basically my development/design board.

[teoman]

Let us/me know if oyu have any cool projects with them.

[Stevolution]

Well I am writing some software for a small 2.2" LCD screen (bottom of photo). Basically.... digital gauges for my pickup truck.
They take all their information from the ODB2 port under the dash and give me up to 24 different possible gauges (depending on the information available from the port).

I am making them so I can daisy chain them together and simply select what to display on each one (Stores your selections + setup info in EEprom). You can have graphs, different layouts, colours etc.
Got hold of a couple of second hand 'A' pillar trims (each side of the windscreen).... Going to custom mould them with 4x gauges on the drivers side and 2x on the passenger side.

Further up the top of the picture is a larger touchscreen module. I am going to use that as a menu system for my 3d printer chamber heating system and lighting control.

Keeps my brain ticking over.

[teoman]

I am working on a similar project at the moment. I will hack in to the CANBUS of my motorbike, and use the CANBUS signals from the various switches on the instrumentation cluster to trigger auxiliary lights and a heated vest

[Stevolution]

Well progress has been made - slowly (due to shopping and general stop/starting!)

Frustratingly... stuck now as the required 40mm No4 screws for the hotbed fixing have been supplied only 30mm long.... so they don't reach.
And out of my entire workshop.... I cannot find any 40mm machine screws that are countersunk and will fit

Took a bit of time adding a side mounted USB port (I have a short 300mm USB lead for inside) and also a 25 way 'D' socket.

This socket supplies 12v and 5v from the PSU to drive some external control equipment I plan to add at a later date. Also gives me a remote input for my RGB leds.

So, do I Ebay some 40mm machine screws, go looking for some tomorrow or complain to SeeMeCNC? For £900... the last one I think!

[IMBoring25]

I don't remember the lengths involved, but I initially thought mine didn't reach either. I installed the screws in the spacers without the bed on them, which drew the T-nuts up enough that the screws would reach with the bed on. There's enough wiring going on down there I don't think you really want them too long.

[Stevolution]

They certainly don't reach. I have already pulled the captive nuts up using a spare bolt I found.
It does say 40mm in the instructions, and only 30mm have been sent. 40mm would not protrude below the base top panel.

The cables that feed the hotbed - surprised they are not heatproof cable? The feed cable to the hotbed certainly looks 'minimum' sized.
I had some nicer and slightly larger gauge cable here, so I have used that instead.

Doesn't the base of the hotbed get hot enough to melt the insulation then?

[geneb]

1. No screw length is specified in mm.
2. They DO reach.

g.

[Stevolution]

It does specify a length..... #4 bolt, 40mm long.
I found some 40mm bolts in my workshop and used those. I can JUST get the supplied bolts to bite - pulled the nuts right up with a washer on top and winding them tight (without the hotbed) , but its about half a thread and not enough in my book.
I never understand making things like that so close.

Anyway... who cares. Its done.

[IMBoring25]

#4-40 means #4 diameter and 40 threads per inch (pitch). That excerpt doesn't specify a length.

[Stevolution]

OK. My mistake
Never seen bolt lengths written like that before. I am used to the second number being the length in mm.
Anyway... like I said... past that issue

[geneb]

The fasteners are Imperial, not metric. If it was metric, I would've written it as "MZxNN" where "Z" is the diameter and "nn" is the length. SI fasteners are _never_ specified as "#x-xx". Ever.

g.

[Stevolution]

I am getting my towers vertical.... the hotbed is high in the middle? By a good few millimetres.
Any suggestions? (Its not the cables or overtightened)

[Stevolution]

Mmm. Certainly got a good curve on my hotbed.
Released it and checked it when loose - its high in the middle
I clamped the glass disc to the hotbed to try and get the towers vertical, but the curve of the hotbed even slightly bent the glass.
Is this going to give me issues? I thought the hotbed had to be billard table flat?

Can I 'shim' the fixing screws with foil or Kapton tape? That might help the issue.