This is a project that I started in 2016 but had to put on hold. So I have done some work on the printer including modeling, and putting the frame together. The original goals of the project was to have a 24in printing service that I could potentially use for larger prints. Printers of this size were going for well over $2,500 and I figured I could do it for cheaper.
I chose to construct the frame from 80/20 Extruded Aluminum. It is a standard material for constructing machine enclosures and most light to medium duty CNC machines. CAD Model for 80/20 can be downloaded from their website. It is made up of T-Slots which makes it easy to attach a wide array of components. The downside is that it’s expensive, and much of the bolts, nuts, and hardware is proprietary.
There are several other aluminum extrusions that are sold and will provide the same exact function, but I couldn’t find a dealer in my area and shipping charges would have made it prohibitively expensive.
The first thing I did was make the corner pieces. For this I used birch plywood, printed out a template and glued it to the blank. The stepper motors I plan to use for raising and lowering the Z Axis are NEMA 17.
The Assembly of the frame was pretty straight forward. The 80/20 nuts and bolts made it easy. The hole in the center of the 1x1in 80/20 extrusion was the perfect size to tap 1/4-20.
With exception of putting together the bottom board, that is more or less where I left off on the project about 3 years ago. At the time I was newly married, expecting our first child, and money was tight. The frame sat in a storage unit for several years before I pulled out it.
As with all my projects, the prints and drawings will be posted as part of the build. It is important to note that the prints may go through several revisions before being finalized. For this project there will be a complete set of prints that will be released at the end of the project. I will still release prints during the build, and will endeavor to make sure those prints are updated with proper revision notations.
As with any project I design and then set aside for awhile, I usually do a complete design review to make sure that what I was thinking back in 2016 still makes sense in 2019. I’ll be doing this over the next few weeks and will update the model as I make changes. If you interested in 3D Printers, or just the design and fabrication process, hopefully these write ups will be helpful and interesting to you.