I love the general design, but wouldn't that make the x-carriage much heavier?

 

Sorry for not clarifying. Heavier compared to the Prusa's rail mounting system (File:Prusai3-metalframe.jpg - RepRapWiki). Also a single Z motor instead of two.

 

I have a Wilson TS that is using "substandard" motors (12V, 0.4A, ~30 oz-in), and I was noticing the frame was a little bit wobbly. This looks like something that is a little better direction.

 

This build has basically turned into a remix of the Voxel OX
Voxel OX 3D Printer | Page 3 | OpenBuilds

 

Like it
Would suggest rearranging the stationary extrusion to allow for less exact cut lengths

 

I recently made a voxel ox similarly to this, and it's a great machine however I have some criticisms which you may be interested in.

Firstly, the build area is fairly small compared to the actual size of the printer, this is partly to do with using large openbuild plates for the X gantry, as well as having the idlers and motor mounts within the frame. There is not much that can be done about this unfortunately due to the design, but it is quite a shame to give up 200mm or so of space (100mm each side). Could possibly use the belt and pinion style and have the motor directly attached to the x gantry?

Secondly, Marshall Peck designed a nice y-idler for the Voxel Ox that allows you to tension the belts, but there is nothing to tension the x-axis belt. These really need to be piano string tight to get good results. I designed one that places two idlers on the inside which allows one to be used as a tensioner by pulling the belt down.

Thirdly, the prusa style moving bed limits your max speed as you really don't want to be flinging around a heavy piece of aluminium. Bed adhesion becomes even more important.

Fourthly, motors on the top. This is a minor complaint, and using C-beam and only 1 motor will certainly help. Basicly, it makes sense to not have weight on the top of the frame as it makes the machine less stable.

My main point is, what are you using this machine for? Is it just 3d printing? If so, the c-beam is overkill and you'll get just as good results using 20x80 v slot with the corner brackets. Saying that though, I have been tempted to upgrade to C-beam just for the neatness it adds to the design. Despite these though, its still a great machine and Its produced some great looking prints

 

Is it just me, or does it appear that the new TEVO Black Widow printer is a direct implementation of this design?

I liked what I saw of that printer, but once I saw that it was c-beams and v-slot extrusions, wanted to buy parts directly from openbuilds. I found this project while looking to see if anyone had any dimensions for the TEVO printer.

All that said, apparently they really liked your design idea, even if their way of showing it leaves something to be desired.

 

I just received one of these kits to build with a young man. His parents thought he might do it on his own if they had a kit with instructions and such. It doesn't and he couldn't. So I get build it with him.

The main reason I'm jumping in here is to point out that on the Tevo box, instruction sheets, and a few other places display an Openbuilds stamp. I was just a bit surprised by this since I'd not heard about this before, or is it a scam Tevo's running?

Larry

 

Well Openbuilds is opensource hardware. as far as I am aware anyone can take the hardware and sell it as kits or even manufacture the parts.

 

I would say that the TEVO kit is more "openbuilds compatible" rather than fully compliant.

The wheels in the kit that I received appear to be cast polyurethane or something along those lines, and if left stationary will develop flat deformation where they were touching the extrusions.
The bearings were nothing to write home about either.

I ended up ordering a complete replacement set directly from Openbuilds, and have had no issues in the same positions in the printer.

There are two other concerns about the kit, one safety and the other structural.

Safety relates to the power switch supplied currently, which is a 12V (not 120v) toggle switch being used to switch mains voltage to the power supply, and no fuse associated with it.

Structural is that the print bed is 3mm thick, over a 370mm X axis width. It sags, varying amounts for the different owners.
Mine was about 2mm low in the middle, so I ended up with a plate of 6mm glass clipped on top.

 

Hi Allen. Yeah, I saw the wheels were pretty substandard. I'll definitely not use those. I've got a pretty large stock of the larger wheels on hand right now. I think I'll need to order a few of the small wheels. I'll do that tonight after do a full inventory.

Thanks for the input.

 

Hi Rick. That's pretty much what I thought. Man, do I hate that stuff going on and the worse part is that if you try to stop it, the costs can wreck your company. I have a ceramic artist friend who discovered $19 copies of one of his original artworks in Walmart a couple years ago. Copied in China, wholesaling for $5. He spent several thousand dollars chasing the thieves but never got anywhere trying to stop the flow into Walmart. It's tough enough trying to make a decent living as a full time Artist without competing against yourself and WallyWorld too.

 

Yep no similarities at all