Hump day...

Or its just Wednesday, which ever way you look at it. So i have ordered my electronics and heated bed from reprapdiscount. Got a good price on it and hope it will be here by the weekend. I ordered the power supply and hope that gets shipped this week as well. I am still waiting for my Z couplers and that guy isn't getting any props for not telling the truth on shipping. When you say sorry I was away for the holiday, that's fine and you included it shipped Friday. Great! And the then the email shows up Sunday evening that you just printed the label, hmmm. Then you check the tracking number you got Friday and now it shows it was accepted at the facility on the Tuesday 27th? Sorry for the ramble but I sell on ebay too and make sure when you pay, you get your shit shipped without hangups. If there is a problem, hey you will get an email stating such.

Ok back to fun... ! :)   I am waiting for my extra hardware to show up and am about to start putting together my BOM and have it posted. It will include the exact places I purchased from and that way it will be as current as possible.

The waiting game.....

So the real set back is waiting for parts. I shorted myself some m3 bolts and nuts so I had to order those. I'm still waiting on my Z axis couplers and those should be here on Monday. It gave me a chance to go back over the frame and change a couple things and get it squared up. I have my 10mm rods plumbed up on the motors so the x carriages ride up and down smoothly. So looks like I need to get my heat bed/glass, hot end, power supply, Arduino/Ramps or comparible and finally get some filament ordered to have it ready to go!

Ahhh the Dremmel, it's a fine tool to have on hand in case you need to cut down a bolt. If you do use one, always wear your safety glasses because that little chunk that's about to go flying will find an eye sooner or later. I have some experience there and not fun. Once you cut it down, use a small file to de-burr the end so a nut screws on. Sometime you can run the nut up first before you cut and then after the cut, unscrew the nut and it will basically de-burr the end as well. 

So I had some time before the Holiday craziness!

Well I was able to construct my y axis table today. Pretty happy about it and was actually impressed with how fast it went. I saved $50 building it as I had the piece of aluminum. I made a cardboard template with my bearing clip locations and when I was ready, taped it to the 1st place and just drilled to mark the metal. I then proceeded to drill all the way through. Here's a tip, 1/8" drill bit works for the 3mm screws to attach the clips.
Yes I know there is a new rail system and would have liked to use that but down the line I will come up with something similar and less costly. Some may say hey your going backwards with your build. It's fine with me so I can learn and progress at my own pace and maybe come up with something different I can put my name to... Ok enough rambling, Have a safe Holiday today! Happy Thanksgiving! Here's a few pics..

Now this is a sexy beast right here!

More Parts....

Turns out today really was a good day! I had anticipated my stuff arriving Friday and was surprised to see my motors show up. Having the printer sit here a few days really pushes the anxiety to get that thang built! I'm hoping that my Lead screws and Z Couplers show up and that way I can really make some progress. That will fall into play once I get the outside of the house decorated for Christmas. Oh wait, we haven't hit Thanksgiving yet ! Well that's tomorrow and I plan to fill my belly with some good eats that's for sure. I have to figure a way to post my supply list with prices and should have that up soon as well. I really didn't realize how tiny the motors were until today. I was so impressed that I bought them Monday morning and they arrived today via Priority Mail from the west coast to Chicago. Actually they were here around 11:00 am this morning, bonus!

The motors came with vibration rings? And also short connection wires. I was kinda bummed about that because I wanted to make it cleaner looking but I will manage. 

The Shopping List

When I was reading and reading every online post/ article about the Mendelmax, I got me thinking how I should approach this build. Some Internet companies offer DIY kits, some offer fully assembled kits, and then there are the piece by piece people, that's where I wanted to be. I have always sought out ways to build things, how they work, etc. Once I have this printer completed and have some experience under my belt(its a big belt), I hope to maybe build and sell the printers and or maybe even pieces and parts but that's going to be in the future. I just want to have to fun with this thing! Hopefully will have my parts tomorrow to install the shafts and motors. I will post my parts list and keep adding to it with updated prices as I have purchased.

The Plastic and Extrusions - 3Dfactory

Bearings and Lead Screws - 3Dfactory

8mm / 10mm rod - Mcmaster.com

Belts/Gears/ Hobbed bolt - Lulzbot.com

Hardware- (nuts & bolts) - Mr.Metric.com

Z-Shaft Couplers - Botfarm

5 Nema 17 Motors - YVS

Sometimes this time of year, I find myself looking for new projects. Maybe it's because the season is changing to winter and most of us find ourselves cooped up for a few months. It didn't take much time to realize that I wanted to build a 3D printer! I had been scanning the globe(Internet) in search of the perfect project. Behold!!! The MendelMax! Sure there are others but this printer had a bold appearance compared to others and I wanted something rigid. Not that the other offerings wouldn't do the job but I feel that the use of threaded rod and plastic would not hold up as well. I want to share my experience with it and even though this is the 1.5 version, I will take it to the end of the build and document everything including the electronics. I haven't seen anyone complete a tutorial on this machine and wanted to fulfill that. I won't have the updated Y carriage but who knows as I'm sure this won't be the only printer I build, it's just the beginning!

On with the show. I have basic pictures of parts. I put together my parts list from a few different offering around the web and I'm sure it's not the most up-to-date. Personally I have to complete my build slowly as I don't want to spook the wife just yet and hopefully will be able to justify some of the future expense once printing has begun.  It's not cheap to build but if you look around and do some research you will find that parts are available closer than you think. The cost of shipping is a concern to many as with me so I look for the best deals that way. Sometimes no-one has what you need and you need to pull the trigger and do it!

Ok so we all have seen these type of pictures before so I'll keep them to a minimum. The frame building seems to be pretty straight forward. I cut it close on the 5mm flat washers and need to get more of those. I bought 100 and just ran out and will pick some more up locally. The only tools I had to buy was a set of Metric Allen wrenches. Being a carpenter by trade I have most everything else.  Picked up a cheap plastic case to store all the screws and what not, you should do the same. 

The upper angles

I have bypassed setting in the base plate as I do not have it as of this post. I am currently deciding if I am making it myself or buying one. I'm leaning towards making it as I have the material and will just be some easy labor, that's what we love about DIY right? 

I found this nifty tool in my stash and really never used it until now. The blind torx head screw! 

I now am waiting for replacement parts because I was sent the wrong x ends. I have my motors, lead screws, and some other parts showing up in the next couple days and hope they get here before Thanksgiving! I have a long weekend off and would like to finish up the frame.