Any good frame ideas?

Discussion in 'Guides, Mods, and Upgrades' started by Miasmictruth, Jan 26, 2017.

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  1. Miasmictruth

    Miasmictruth Well-Known Member

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    So far the only idea for expanding the frame I have seen is from Richard Barbosa which doesn't seem to be getting much attention.

    https://forum.e3d-online.com/index.php?threads/bigbox-frame-remix.2395/

    I was thinking maybe going this direction but in the US 5mm plywood may be difficult at best to acquire and I don't think I personally want to spend the money on acrylic and have no way to cut acrylic.

    So firstly how automatic is it to adjust the thickness of the frame files, can it be done easily?


    My second thought is to go somewhat down the MPCNC route

    [​IMG]

    Making the frame from printed parts and conduit would be cheap and easy, I also think it would fairly ridged. I can see how to attach the X and Y to a frame like this but I am drawing a blank for the Z axis. As I don't think any of us would want to use the MPCNC's motion system just the frame.

    later non structural thin plywood facade could be added to give it a finished look and maybe even create a heated enclosure.


    Anyone have any better thoughts or additions?
     
  2. Kanedias

    Kanedias Well-Known Member

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    I was thinking the hypercube using 2020 extrusion looked like a solid design. It has a cantilevered bed but it wouldn't take too much to use dual threaded rods and steppers.

    http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1752766
     
  3. Miasmictruth

    Miasmictruth Well-Known Member

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    Aluminum extrusion is of coarse a superior solution I would love to make a frame out of that, but one big enough for the bigbox, I'm afraid how much it might cost. Thats the biggest reason I was thinking about going the conduit route.

    However that is very similar to how I Imagined the X and Y set up, and Z would work just as well with the conduit also, so could be a viable solution.

    I have always thought supporting the bed just from the back was kind of sketchy though, however I know there are some great printers out there in this configuration. I just need to be convinced that the bed can be firmly supported on just two rods. Would defiantly need something larger then those little 6mm rods for a bed our size :)

    My end goal is to have something rock solid and be able to hit 100% of the bed and with both extruders in an IDEX configuration. Ideally I would like some buffer room for testing out future configurations.

    What ever direction it goes I hope we can get a fair part of the community to embrace a new frame, as our cooperative development always seems to bring the best of each new upgrade.
     
  4. Kanedias

    Kanedias Well-Known Member

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    £20 for enough to make the hypercube as designed and its dimensions are similar to the bigbox.

    http://www.aluminium-profile.co.uk/acatalog/Aluminium_Profile_with_6mm_Slot.html
     
  5. Miasmictruth

    Miasmictruth Well-Known Member

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    Interesting, seems much cheaper then some of the stuff I have found. Do you think 20mmx20mm will be strong enough when you scale up the X and Z? X and Z will almost have to double the hypercube to hit the full build volume of the big box in IDEX.
     
  6. Miasmictruth

    Miasmictruth Well-Known Member

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    I think this printer is a derivative of the one you sent or vise versa, but I like this Z axis a better. It is still using the 2020 like your suggesting.

    https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1233159

    The price per meter for the 20x40 only goes up £2, depending on on the total length we need, it might be best to use some of the for the long stretches, what do you think?
     
  7. Miasmictruth

    Miasmictruth Well-Known Member

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    I have not been able to find a US source that is anywhere close to the price to your source and they don't appear to ship to the US :/
     
  8. Kanedias

    Kanedias Well-Known Member

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  9. Miasmictruth

    Miasmictruth Well-Known Member

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    $18.12 after shipping for 1.2m, you have £4 for 1 meter not sure the shipping quite a large gap still :/ at that price would be in around 200 probably

    I priced out the frame pieces listed for the larger printer and was only £50 cut to length too! on your site even after VAT just no shipping info.
     
  10. R Design

    R Design Well-Known Member

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    www.motedis.de is the best place for extrusions in Europe

    they also have a UK site but if you're price conscious then do the maths on the German-euro one (including postage of course)
     
  11. Kanedias

    Kanedias Well-Known Member

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    Thanks for that. Those are great prices. Have you tried their linear rods? (precision steel shafts)
     
  12. Syko_Symatic

    Syko_Symatic Well-Known Member

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    Cost me £34 including postage for 2020 extrusions for a UM2 Extended frame from Misumi.
     
  13. W1EBR.Gene

    W1EBR.Gene Well-Known Member

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    fwiw: Conduit is a very soft pipe that you would have trouble keeping straight. When you think about needing to maintain tolerances of less than 0.1mm even 8mm stainless steel rod is problematic over distances longer than a couple of hundred millimeters.
     
  14. W1EBR.Gene

    W1EBR.Gene Well-Known Member

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    And you can sign up as a "pseudo small business" with Misumi and get a great discount on parts for the first 30 days after you open the account!
     
  15. R Design

    R Design Well-Known Member

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    No I didn't try any of their motion components.

    If making a dream machine would tend to try to get the best of those independently. Somewhere on the site they are actually offering complete eg Z axis solutions.

    I bought a ton of 40*40 I profile with associated brackets and plates for making welding jigs. It's great stuff and, apart from easy and ongoing adjustability of your build, it's true that you save a load of time on construction and finishing.

    Notice also that when ordering profiles you have pay a euro or so more to have them machined to spec so that the lengths are exact and the faces perpendicular. That means that you can build a printer that assembles into a precise cube through a series of butt joints.
     
  16. Miasmictruth

    Miasmictruth Well-Known Member

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    I was playing with some this weekend, it may not be as ridged as an extrusion but still seemed more then strong enough over the distances we would need it for. I dare say it would be much more ridged if properly designed then our Acrylic frame. That being side we may be thinking of different types of conduit.

    Based on how cheap it is, I bought some and plan on making at least the outer frame for testing. At worse I lose 6 bucks and some printed parts. I still have yet to find a US supply that is anywhere near as good of a value for extrusion, that being said maybe 200+ for a good frame will be worth saving for.
     
  17. Kanedias

    Kanedias Well-Known Member

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    Google search: aluminium extrusion 3d printer

    First Result:
    US supplier for extruded profiles at $1.90 for 3m lengths
    https://us.misumi-ec.com/vona2/deta.../0.5]&SeriesSpec=D001::334&PNSearch=HFS5-2020

    Second Result:
    Another full printer design, based on the ultimaker with a full BOM where he works out the cost of frame as $42, including nuts and bolts for assembly
    http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:811271
     
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  18. Miasmictruth

    Miasmictruth Well-Known Member

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    Guess I have just been searching aluminum extrusion and not printers with it good point. I had skipped Misumi for they only sell to businesses but I may have a way around that.

    That price is crazy low, I played around with their price calculator and it seems true! I thought maybe it was a typo lol. Crazy low price for the nuts too, lowest I had for was 50 cents a nut! Thanks!

    Now what am I suppose to do with the conduit :p lol
     
    #18 Miasmictruth, Jan 30, 2017
    Last edited: Jan 30, 2017
  19. Miasmictruth

    Miasmictruth Well-Known Member

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    I actually found a local source for 5mm plywood :) So the dream is not dead for cutting a remixed frame.

    Is anyone here actually interested in switching to an extruded frame?
     

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