Admittedly this is a little premature, but I'm keen to detach my printer from the host computer as soon as possible. Wired Ethernet is my preferred option - it can be accessed from all of my devices (desktops, laptops, iPad, iPhone, etc), is fast, reliable and fairly cheap compared with wireless options.
Reading this tutorial Arduino Ethernet + SD makes it sound doable and there's a chance I can borrow an Ethernet shield to have a play.
I envisage an Aduino/Ethernet combo acting as the host and talking serial to the printer's Arduino Mega/RAMPS controller. The host would support uploading a G-code file to the SD card, queuing prints, control power to the printer (toggle ATX power) and also act as a watchdog by monitoring printer enclosure temperature/dead comms link. Cost of the Ethernet module would be somewhat offset by avoiding the need for a display/controls on the host/printer as these can be provided via the web interface and accessed from a existing device.
It might also be practical for the host to operate multiple printers - something I'm keen to try.
Wednesday, 20 July 2011
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
Gen7 Enstops
Ordered these a while back, but today they arrived... 6x Gen7 EndStops, courtesy of Traumflug
Will try and find some time to assemble them later this week. I did manage to find a few minutes this evening to rig up an ATX supply to the RAMPS board and test everything powered on ok - looking good so far. Can't wait to get the motors connected and test the axes!
Will try and find some time to assemble them later this week. I did manage to find a few minutes this evening to rig up an ATX supply to the RAMPS board and test everything powered on ok - looking good so far. Can't wait to get the motors connected and test the axes!
Heated Bed
Having explored various options (alu tooling plate with resistors, silicon heating mat) I've taken the easy way out and ordered a PCB Heatbed Mk1 (by Prusa) from reprapsource:
http://reprapsource.com/en/show/6403
Original post on thingiverse: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3919
Pity about the shipping charge, but seemed to be simplest option overall and good value compared to the alternatives (~£42 inc shipping).
I also finished the RAMPS electronics last week - will get round to posting a picture soon. Next up is ordering a J Head Hotend and some parts for the Wade's Extruder from thingfarm.org.
http://reprapsource.com/en/show/6403
Original post on thingiverse: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3919
Pity about the shipping charge, but seemed to be simplest option overall and good value compared to the alternatives (~£42 inc shipping).
I also finished the RAMPS electronics last week - will get round to posting a picture soon. Next up is ordering a J Head Hotend and some parts for the Wade's Extruder from thingfarm.org.
Saturday, 9 July 2011
RAMPS Assembly
Started assembling the RAMPS v1.2 board - just over an hour and I've progressed as far as I can without the Arduino Mega board. Will finish up next week...
Friday, 8 July 2011
Loctite, Castrol, spacers, nut-Y-less, RAMPS and a Mega issue
Managed to squeeze in a little progress this week...
Loctite
Some of the nuts on the frame were already working loose (as of last weekend), so after skimming the forums for suggestions - I ordered 10ml of Loctite 243 ThreadLocker. As of yesterday, I've now put a dab of loctite under each nut on each vertex, plus those around the Z-motor mounts. This also gave me the chance to fine tune the distances between each vertex.
Lithium Grease
The smooth rods were fairly grubby and there was far more friction on the X/Y axes than I'd like. So.... a few minutes of judicious scrubbing with some wet wipes cleaned the rods, followed by a light application of lithium grease (Castrol LM Grease) has made a big improvement.
Spacers
After my initial assembly, the Y-axis belt met the bottom plate at quite an angle - especially when at a min/max extreme. After a bit of research, this seems to be because the design is intended for a 10mm thick bottom plate - whereas mine is only 6mm. The solution was a couple of ply offcuts to raise the height of the belt mounting point.
Nut-Y-less
The standard Prusa places a nut between the Y motor bracket and the belt pulley - this seems unnecessary and causes additional strain/flex on both the motor shaft and the Y motor bracket. Removing this nut didn't take long and has not only reduced the moment on the motor/bracket, but has also given enough clearance to properly centre the Y-belt against the bottom plate.
RAMPS in the house
The RAMPS kit I ordered from xyz printers arrived yesterday - will get started on soldering that this evening...
A Mega issue
The arrival of the RAMPS kit prompted me to check that it would fit properly on the Seeeduino Mega, only to realise that I've been a complete idiot and somehow missed the fact that the Seeeduino Mega is not pin compatible with the Arduino Mega! and therefore not compatible with the RAMPS shield! :(
I did consider creating a frankenstein mating of Seeeduino and RAMPS, but then thought better of it and ordered an Arduino Mega 2560 off eBay for ~£24. It dispatched this morning, so hopefully will be here on Monday.
I'll keep hold of the Seeeduino Mega for now, as I have an upcoming project planned that will make use of the hardware...
Loctite
Some of the nuts on the frame were already working loose (as of last weekend), so after skimming the forums for suggestions - I ordered 10ml of Loctite 243 ThreadLocker. As of yesterday, I've now put a dab of loctite under each nut on each vertex, plus those around the Z-motor mounts. This also gave me the chance to fine tune the distances between each vertex.
Lithium Grease
The smooth rods were fairly grubby and there was far more friction on the X/Y axes than I'd like. So.... a few minutes of judicious scrubbing with some wet wipes cleaned the rods, followed by a light application of lithium grease (Castrol LM Grease) has made a big improvement.
Spacers
After my initial assembly, the Y-axis belt met the bottom plate at quite an angle - especially when at a min/max extreme. After a bit of research, this seems to be because the design is intended for a 10mm thick bottom plate - whereas mine is only 6mm. The solution was a couple of ply offcuts to raise the height of the belt mounting point.
Nut-Y-less
The standard Prusa places a nut between the Y motor bracket and the belt pulley - this seems unnecessary and causes additional strain/flex on both the motor shaft and the Y motor bracket. Removing this nut didn't take long and has not only reduced the moment on the motor/bracket, but has also given enough clearance to properly centre the Y-belt against the bottom plate.
RAMPS in the house
The RAMPS kit I ordered from xyz printers arrived yesterday - will get started on soldering that this evening...
A Mega issue
The arrival of the RAMPS kit prompted me to check that it would fit properly on the Seeeduino Mega, only to realise that I've been a complete idiot and somehow missed the fact that the Seeeduino Mega is not pin compatible with the Arduino Mega! and therefore not compatible with the RAMPS shield! :(
I did consider creating a frankenstein mating of Seeeduino and RAMPS, but then thought better of it and ordered an Arduino Mega 2560 off eBay for ~£24. It dispatched this morning, so hopefully will be here on Monday.
I'll keep hold of the Seeeduino Mega for now, as I have an upcoming project planned that will make use of the hardware...
Tuesday, 5 July 2011
RAMPS
Having started out with the intention of building Pololu-style electronics on strip-board, Maplin let me down on stock, Farnell have an annoyingly high minimum order quantity and I lost patience with assembling shopping carts of PCB connectors to try RS. Net result, I ordered a RAMPS kit from xyz Printers: http://xyzprinters.com/electronics/107-ramps-complete-kit.html :)
Friday, 1 July 2011
Frame complete
Two more evenings and the frame is complete... with the exception of the print plate (forgot to swipe some springs)
Day 2 timelapse
Day 3 timelapse
Next up - electronics! :)
Day 2 timelapse
Day 3 timelapse
Next up - electronics! :)
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