Looking for feedback on my latest design

[orangefurball]

This is the new Thingybot, or well almost. I haven't finished assembling it (still designing the LCD mount and wiring), but I am looking for feedback on the look of it.

Here are a couple of pictures




It is powder coated aluminum with printed parts, once the final design is done it will all be released online for free as well as being available from me for purchase.

If anyone has questions please ask!

Thanks!

[PxT]

I like the look a lot, nice job. Are you planning to make it fully enclosed? The bed shape is a little unusual for a delta printer.

[orangefurball]

[RetireeJay]

Oooh shiny! Truly, if this design works well, it's a triumph of combining form and function

[cacb]

Looks great. Optional plexiglass front door perhaps?

[orangefurball]

[orangefurball]

Work continues.

Here are a couple of pictures showing more of the printer.

b9d730bf5c60bf0a1e2dedc13cec1e58.jpg

First we have the extruder setup. The spool is direct fed and the spool holder actually just clips into the handle on the side. Meaning the position could be adjusted forward or backward to fit different size spools. The extruder is 3D printed, but the metal frame is between the motor and the extruder meaning it acts as a heat sink for the extruder and no longer requires active cooling (unlike the Thingystock!). That means less noise and less mechanical parts that could fail down the line.

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Next up is the power/USB input. It uses a standard power plug (the model number escapes me, but it's the same kind that desktop PCs use.) and a USB B plug for the USB connection (not required thanks to the LCD).

The RAMPS board is mounted on top where all of the electrical components are, so the only wiring going down to the bottom is the 12v for the RAMPS board and the USB extension. On the Thingystock, there were motor wires, power, and the USB extension going from top to bottom. Th new design saves wiring and has less failure points.

63b7940cd904f247dfac772e78453b41.jpg

This is my least favorite part of the design. The LCD mount for this prototype is mounted in a printed frame that is attached to the metal housing. In the final version it will be integrated into the white metal frame. It works though

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And finally my favorite addition... LEDs! Just a simple strip of white LEDs is at the bottom of the frame. Why the bottom? Because it won't be blocked by the effector/arms while printing. You can see how it lights up an example print (not from the Thingybot) in the picture.


I hate to be a pain but I really appreciate feedback for these. I am the only person designing and building it so I don't have a chance to get a group opinion on it. This really helps!

[Mooselake]

That looks nice, Matt!

As we look back on the early RepRap threaded rod and then laser cut plywood days with nostalgia (just take a handful of hardware store parts, get somebody to print up some plastic pieces, and then add the definitely non-reprap electronics, steppers, belts, etc., and join the revolution), the relatively recent trend towards nicely cut and bent metal is showing the industries maturation. Strong, rigid, (kinda) cheap, and never warps in the summer. Harder to go cut some new parts on the tablesaw (well, with the right blade...) for that latest mod, but less of a need to fix design flaws. Just don't forget you can (almost) never have too many LEDs, those of us on the other end of the age spectrum need to cast more illumination on the subject than you young guys.

Hope you can get the price down (while still making money, of course) so I can shake enough pennies out of the piggy bank for one. One of our neighbors has taken pity on my grandchildless state, and offered to loan me some surrogate grandkids. A couple of them are in the intro to 3D printer class at the local high school (a couple rooms over from the Jet metal lathe occupying my Tuesday nights, 5 locally designed and built deltas, most of them working) and have become real interested in the collection of CNC gadgets in the Mooselake Manor. Perhaps it's time to cut back on the other distractions (all 11 cords of the woodpile are cut, only a little bit more to split and stack, initial intensive laser cutter learning period is winding down), finally reflash the PB (yes, I know; sorry I'm taking so long RJ), and get back to some serious 3D printing.

Kirk

[orangefurball]

[orangefurball]

First print!

[orangefurball]

Small update. Work continues on the printer, including solving the issue of auto-calibration and possibly auto leveling.

On the Thingystock 2 I used the metal design of the hot end along with the metal print bed to create an end stop out of two wires for the auto calibration. I remember a few people weren't too happy about this (Tim being one of them) and I do have to agree. Repeatedly hammering the nozzle into the bed, while simple looking and clean, isn't the best option. So I decided to use a regular end stop. It worked, but it's a pain to have to add it and remove it whenever you want to use it.

So I went to the drawing board. I needed a cheap option that is repeatable and can stay on the effector. Turns out the answer was right in front of me the whole time. It is the inductive proximity sensor that Printrbot uses on their printers I'm not a huge fan of the probes, but they do their job well. They sense metal through tape (and now I can paint the bed!) and allow the end user to leave it on with little to no adjustment needed down the line. The wires break very easily though and they are picky about the voltage going to them. I have some more work to do to get it functioning the way I want it to, but this will be close to the final effector design.

In fact, this is the last thing to do before the design is complete. I'm very happy with this printer!!

[orangefurball]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZXiv8h1DyY

There is the Thingybot printing the Laser Cat by bre!

[Mooselake]

Nice!

Stepper motors would have been much sweeter music, though that's probably tough with accelerated video.

Kirk

[orangefurball]

[orangefurball]

Another print!

https://youtu.be/f5mkHl_utBs

Yet Another Vase by Joo!

[orangefurball]

Here we go again, another print!

https://youtu.be/4VDX6AxEgPc

This one is really high quality. I'll post some close up pics of it later. In super impressed by it.

[bbrown64]

I like the total overall design concept. It reminds me of robot manufacturing. When will this be available for purchase? I am contemplating a second printer.

[orangefurball]