Getting the code right

I finally am at the point of wiring everything together and start printing. I knew from

the beginning this would be one of the most difficult parts of this build, as well as one

I could learn from the most. I started out by wiring everything up and plugging it into

the computer. I uploaded the MARLIN code with its stock settings (not set up for my

printer, more on this later), and opened the host software (that I haven't used before).

It easily recognized the printer, and the small Led began blinking on the control

board. I clicked the up button and hoped for the best. Instead of the smooth and quick

motion I heard a knocking in the motors. Quickly I unplugged the power and tried

again. I tried moving a different axis by clicking the home icon. Quickly the Y axis

zipped across its rails and hit the back of the printer. The motor kept trying to spin but

was cut short by me turning of the power. We packed everything away for the night.

During my down time at school, and a little while over the afternoon scouring

the internet for sources. I found out 3 rules you are supposed to follow.

1) Don't plug in anything while the power is on

2) Adjust the drivers to change the voltage needed for the motor

3) Only plug in one motor at once

All of these sources warned of burning out motors, drivers, and other electronics, all

of which I hoped I hadn't done, as I didn't follow any of these rules the night before.

To my glee, nothing was burnt out and broken, perhaps luck was on my side.

Anyway, I am planning on going through the code this weekend to accommodate my

printers settings.  I am really hoping to get things figured out so I can get going on

printing things, after all the deadline is closing in.

I also have finished the extruder with the exception of the hotend destined to arrive on

Monday.

On the road again...

Once again I didn't quite make my deliverable (A completed 3-D printer). However I am closing in on that goal. Right now I am about 75

Printer so far, notice the motors.

% done with the mechanical construction of the frame. I have added the motors and the end-stops, as well as all the X,Y, and Z axis.

I still have to put the belt on the pulleys attached to the motors, make sure everything is properly aligned, a herculean task in itself, assemble the extruder, wire everything together, upload some code and get printing! That may seem like a lot, which it is, but most of it is what you may call "busy work", it just takes time. I have already set apart Sunday as a build day to hopefully finish things up.

That leads me to the past weeks progress. I received my electronics package on Tuesday with the parts to get me going again. This package contained the end-stops, heated bed, Arduino, Ramps 1.4, and belts as well as a few other wires and things. I immediately ran into a problem. The endstops I received had the mounting

The whit part in the picture was the issue.

holes under the wiring harness. Turns out it is impossible to plug something in when there is two giant bolts sticking out of the top. Luckily after some internet searching I found a solution. I had to precariously bend the contacts enough to get the bolt through the opposite way, without breaking anything. (See Picture). This proved to be taxing as I didn't want to break anything and have to buy more parts.

My next issue was with the bearings. They were supposed to fit nicely in the holder and slide freely. They instead decided to bind against the steel so much that you couldn't pull on them without the whole printer moving (at least 15 Lbs). I shaved some of the plastic and the problem was solved.

Final note: I bought my hot hot end end today, the last needed part!

The LCD controller

At a Standstill

Parts

Over the past week I received a few more parts for the printer namely the:

Raspberry Pi

• Printed Parts
• Mounting Plate
• Couplings
• Motors 
• Raspberry Pi (A small computer for Wi-Fi 3-D printing, also a regular computer unto which I am typing this post right now)

I am still waiting on the electronics which has led me to a halt in assembly

Progress

Completed X-Axis

Since I finally got all of the parts I needed to begin my assembly I got started tuesday night. The first step was the x-axis which depending on your perspective is the "to and fro" of the motion. I had to start with zip tying bearings (metal slides) onto the heated bed mount (holds the part being printed). After that I started the process of using the metal rods. This was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Most of it was taking the rods, pushing them through plastic pieces

Heated Bed Assembly

, and adding a washer and nut. Some of the plastic pieces had small string of plastic hanging in there gaps that had to be removed. The leftover strings gave me a idea of how small of detail I can have. According to my calipers these parts were printed with a .35 mm diameter, pretty small if you ask me. Then came adding the smooth rods. It appeared to be a easy process, just snap them into place. This was easier  said then done. Apparently you can't fit a 8 mm rod into a 7 mm hole. At the website suggestion I got a hair dryer and heated up the plastic parts. These resulted in the parts shrinking giving just enough room to slide the rods in. I slid the heated bed assembly on and the x-axis was done. I took some time to snap together the frame to see how big the footprint would be of the completed printer, it is comparable able to a milk crate. I then started putting together the Y axis. Again I inserted bearings into there holders, and had to use heat to get them in. I added the nuts used to help the carriage move up and down. This leads me to where I am now. I am waiting to get my electronics, which contains the en end-stops. My directions say to go ahead and add them in. I didn't want to be in  difficult place later, so I am delaying until I get them. According to there tracking they are between New Hampshire and here.

Assembly table 

I had originally planned to build a whole desk out of pallet wood, but the wood  kept breaking no matter how gently I pulled them apart. Instead I am using a card table, and a tool holder/riser to hold my TV with build instructions on my Raspberry Pi as well as tool holder. Side note: Broken pallet boards are great for for or bonfires.

Assembly Table

First Parts!

Although this is severely late I finally received my first parts! On Saturday I received my frame kit from Nevada. This contained the frame, rods, nuts and bolts, and other parts for mechanical Assembly. This day had been much anticipated. When it got here I learned two things.

Nuts and bolts

1) This is a lot smaller than I thought it was going to be. Pictures you see on the internet often dont have indicators of size to reference, just a number. This small size may lead to tighter working area and tighter tolerances in the parts. We'll see if that has a impact later.


2) Its going to be heavy when it's done. The frame and hardware weighs 12 pounds alone. 5 pounds for the motors, 5 for the electronics, 3 for the power supply... This weight combined with its bulk, although still manageable, will make the printer a little harder to move around.

Ruler for Frame Scale

The other part I received was the power supply. It was most economical to get it off of Amazon. I wanted to get a quality product to prevent power issues later, as well as wanting something that plugs into my wall to be safe.

I went ahead and ordered the rest of the parts I needed for my 3-D printer except for the hotend. I want to see my pasrts before I ordered it to make sure it will fit, as there are many types of these in many different sizes. The rest of my orders current states are as follows:

Electronics-Not yet shipped, have tracking number, estimated delivery date 2/12-2/16

Couplings & Hot End mounting plate- Not yet shipped, have tracking number

Printed Parts- Departed Santa Clarita, CA a day ago. Estimated delivery 2/5-2/10

Motors- Departed Elk Grove Village, IL today.

Most of my orders are coming from USPS with the exception of my cooling fan which is somewhere between here and China.

A note on motors

When I was researching which motors to buy I came across a interesting prospect. A set of 5 motors are available on both Amazon and Ebay, with the same picture and specifications. I did a little digging and found that they are the same seller using two different mediums. I ended up purchasing off of Ebay because of the significance of the cost difference. I wan't planning on buying my motors on Ebay but the reviews on amazon for this product were all positive. Hopefully I get the same quality product as described.

Power Supply

Rods for the printer