Difference between revisions of "Project:25-hpamakers-reprap"

Revision as of 15:22, 11 May 2011

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Aim

Get a working 3d printer. Make shit. Be awesome.

How?

Current Development Milestones

1-Firmware

(Sam)RepRap Motherboard v1.2 firmware installation.

Notes:

2-Testing

(Sam) Check Wiring + Firmware: Desktop-based test of all stepper motors and electronics.

Notes: I am going to be flashing the firmware using an FTDI cable and then I will check our USB to serial cable.

(Kal) Check Mechanical Construction against instructions + Begin Calibrating

Notes: Hey Kal, Sam here, in order to mechanically calibrate the frame I would recommend going through part 5 (page 32) of this visual guide:
http://garyhodgson.com/reprap/prusa-mendel-visual-instructions/
We might need to cut some more steel stock if any of the lengths are too short.

3-Commissioning

Begin printing Make first model Make first part Make first set of parts

Who?

What?

Delicious Links

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3D Printer

Prusa Mendel

I am also using a great guide that I found here: Prusa Visual Instructions

Mendel Specifications

The table below outlines the specifications of the machine.

	Metric
Model	Reprap II: Mendel "Mendel"
Technology	FFF (Fused Filament Fabrication)/Thermoplastic extrusion
Price of all materials	€350
Annual Service Cost	Occasional oiling = €5. It can print its own replacement printed parts at material cost.
Size	500 mm (W) x 400 mm (D) x 360 mm (H)
Weight	7.0 kg.
Build Envelope	200 mm (W) x 200 mm (D) x 140 mm (H).
Materials	PLA, HDPE, ABS & more. Uses ø 3 mm filament.
Material Cost	PLA: €22/kg, HDPE: €11/kg, ABS: €17/kg.
Speed	15.0 cm³ per hour solid (test done for PLA, similar for others).
Accuracy	Diameter of nozzle 0.5 mm, 2 mm min. feature size, 0.1 mm positioning accuracy, layer thickness 0.3 mm
Finish	Fair
Volume of printed parts to replicate	1110 cm³

(With the standard infill settings the 15.0 cm³ per hour solid extrusion rate is equivalent to a built volume rate of 19.0 cm³ per hour.)

Consumables

Blue Decorator's Tape

PLA, HDPE, ABS Filament

Computing

Netbook with Solidworks and Reprap Host Software.

Power

Converted 300W ATX Power Supply. +12V and GND. 5A current.

Electronics

USB to TTL Adapter

Based on the FTDI FT232R.

Fig. 1

Currently the connector is wired such:

GND DCD# VCC TXD RXD RTS#

While the Sanguino (at least v1.0) expects:

GND GND [USB_5V (VCC)] RXD TXD RTS#

Fig. 2

From the datasheet:

Fig. 3

It can be inferred that the correct terminals on the cable in Fig. 1 should be:

GND GND VCC TXD RXD CTS#

All said, the extruder and main motherboard (gen 3 reprap electronics) have been successfully flashed using this controller so perhaps the critical lines are in, one GND, VCC and TXD plus RXD which afaik handle the data transmission.