3D Printer

Printed parts by our Printer

Extruder

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What is 3D Printing?

3D printing or additive manufacturing is a process of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital file.

The creation of a 3D printed object is achieved using additive processes. In an additive process an object is created by laying down successive layers of material until the object is created. Each of these layers can be seen as a thinly sliced horizontal cross-section of the eventual object.

3D printing is the opposite of subtractive manufacturing which is cutting out / hollowing out a piece of metal or plastic with for instance a milling machine.

3D printing enables you to produce complex shapes using less material than traditional manufacturing methods.

How Does 3D Printing Work?

It all starts with a 3D model. You create one yourself or download it from a 3D repository. When creating it yourself you can choose to use a 3D scanner, app, haptic device, code or 3D modeling software.

3D Modeling Software

There are many different 3D modeling software tools available. Industrial grade software can easily cost thousands a year per license, but there’s also open source software you can get for free.

We often recommend beginners to start with Cura. Cura is free and works in your browser, you don’t have to install it on your computer. Cura offers beginner lessons and has a built-in feature to get your 3D model printed via a 3D print service.

Now that you have a 3D model, the next step is to prepare the file for your 3D printer. This is called slicing.

Let's Make Our Own 3D Printer!

The things we used in our 3D printer are following :-

Electronics

- Arduino Mega 2560.

- Ramps 1.4.

- 5x A4988 Stepper Driver.

- Heated bed.

- HotEnd (Budaschnozzle).

- Smart Controller LCD.

- Mechanical endstops

- Cooler fans

- 100k ohm NTC thermistors

Mechanical

- T5-12 Tooth Pulleys and timing beld

- 2x 5mm to 8mm Shaft Coupler.

- 12x LM8UU Linear bearings.

- 10x 608zz Radial bearings.

- Greg’s Hinged extruder KIT.

- 5x Nema17 Steppers (1.7A, 40mm)

- 4m Steel m8 thread.

- 6 pre-cut bar steel rods.

- 20mmx20mm Ikea mirror.

- Lots of m3 nuts and bolts.

- Zip Ties

-(yet to be added more)

CAD DESIGN

2 Stepper motors for z axis and one for X & Y axis
...
...

Connection DIagram

Connection diagram of all the parts

A 3D printer will use stepper motors for the following functions:

X motion (left/right)
Y motion (front/back)
Z motion (up/down) (common to have two stepper motors)
Extruder 1
Extruder 2 (If you want)

Stepper motors come in many varieties and with different power specifications. The printer built we built uses Nema 17 0.4 Amp Stepper motors.

Generally the Nema 17 Stepper motors and associated cables are configured correctly, so when you plug them in, they'll run at first try. If your stepper motor is making funky jumps or just shakes, it generally means the wires from the motor don't line up with the 2B 2A 1A 1B pins on the board.

If that happens you'll need to closely look at the data sheet that generally is shown when you purchase the steppers (or it will say something like Black(A+), Green(A-), Red(B+), Blue(B-)). Granted when the wires don't line up it can be a bit of a puzzle trying to figure out the proper combination.

Electronics Parts

The RAMPS 1.4 kit comes with the following components:
Arduino Board Mega 2560 (generally a cheap knockoff) which is the blue board
RAMPS 1.4 Shield which will sit on top of the Arduino which is the red board
Jumpers
A4988 Stepper Drivers with heat sinks
an LCD with cables, which nowadays tends to be the bigger 12864 Graphic Smart Display Controller
a USB cable, that is never long enough to reach your computer (be prepared)

Attach the Ramp Shield with Arduino

The Shield should fit right on top of the Arduino board.
The USB port on the Arduino should be on the same side as the Green power connector on the Shield.
Make sure that all the pins from the bottom of the shield line up with the connectors on the Arduino. Push both boards together

Micro Stepping Config

Before adding the Stepper Drivers you need to decide what type of micro stepping is needed by the 3D Printer.
in general, when you buy a 1.8 deg. step angle (200 steps/revolution), the micro stepping becomes a multiplier.
What's important is that for the RAMPS 1.4 most precise stepping is 1/16th micro stepping (16 x 200 = 3200 steps/rotation).

In order to instruct the hardware to use 1/16th micro stepping, jumpers are added between the banks in which the stepper drivers will fit. For 1/16th stepping you need to add three jumpers under each driver. Make sure they are on straight, it's easy to plunge one of these past the actual pin.

At this point you can insert the Stepper drivers (assume adding all 5 X, Y, Z Extruder 1)

VERY IMPORTANT!! Note how the drivers A4988 Stepper drivers above have a little potentiometer on top (this little phillips screw). When inserting your stepper Driver MAKE SURE THE POTENTIOMETER POINTS AWAY FROM THE BOARDS POWER END (GREEN CONNECTOR).

Setting up Drivers

... Yet to be added (YTA)

Setting up lcd display

...(YTA)

ENDstops

(YTA)

Getting Started with software

Connect the Printer to Laptop

USB 2.0 Cable Type A/B
Connection from Arduino Mega to Laptop

Launch Pronterface

Pronterface is used to control your 3D printer
Pronterface is a graphical interface

Pronterface Pre Configuration

Select com port
set BaudRate 250000
click connect
now connected to printer

Convert your CAD file to GCODE

Download CURA software
Generate Your GCODE file
here a guide : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUNTlb5pEWA

Upload GCODE to pronterface

Drag file into the software’s environment or press Load File > (Select the file) > Open.

Start the Print

Click on Print Button

Print Started

Should see rise in extruder temperature.
Should see the print status (%) and time remaining.

Real-Time Print Status

Print Time
Print Percentage
Number of lines remaining
following information can be seen on the Pronterface Interface

Additional Settings to be taken care of in CURA

Defining the printing parameters

Printing parameters defines speed, quality, temperature and strength of the model to be printed.

Temperature of extrusion

Different filaments require different working temperatures. Many suppliers provide recommendations for their specific plastics.

Resolution (layer height)

As you increase the resolution, you also increase the time it takes to print the model. Plan accordingly.

Infill (percentage of material inside the model)

The more infill the model has, the stronger the final object will be. Use 10% infill if strength is not relevant.

Printing speed

For special filaments like flexible plastic, it is necessary to print at lower speed to ensure quality. At lower printing speeds, quality increases.

More parameters

There are much more parameters that can be defined. If you want more information, click “Advanced Features”

Supports

Supports are detachable pieces of plastic that make sure that parts of the model which hang are printed correctly. If you are not sure if your model needs supports, check the supports option.

Rafts

If your model has a small base, using a raft can help your model stay in place during the printing job. Rafts are foundations of plastic that sit between your model and the 3D printer’s platform.