@jason.fisher
Build log:
What should I do, start a new thread? You'll have to point me in the right direction.
Belt/Conveyor:
I was thinking along the same lines as you. Placing a belt/conveyor under the print head would allow me to run the machine in a production operation. There are examples on YouTube of this already with delta robots.
With a belt/conveyor you can dump the parts into a bin when the printing operation has completed. You can run 24/7 3D printing! It's on my bucket wish list :) I am also interested in open-CAM and 3d printing solutions.
I think a simple cable to move the table between two print heads would work fine. Camera dolly's are a good example of a simple long linear solution. The other day I found 3 inch plastic pulleys for clothes lines at Home Depot for cheap, they would work for the cabling (but they need bearings). Again on YouTube there are examples of cable/trolley robots suspended from cables performing fairly accurate work in free space.
Robot arms:
The power of the block and tackle, stepper motor combination, affords you many material choices to construct the arms from. Nichloas drive gear demo is very impressive, looks to be a lot of execess torque available. Look at truss, and crane boom designs for ideas that are light and ridged.
In addition use a larger stepper motor (more power!), I'm looking at NEMA 23 even for the small one that I'm building. But I'm undecided, I might have to buy two sets of motors NEMA 17, and NEMA 23. Note: there are differences within a motor series. Pay attention to the torque, and amp ratings of the stepper motor. ... and make sure that the microcontroller, and accessories support a NEMA 23 stepper motor (amp, volt).
A2
Build log:
What should I do, start a new thread? You'll have to point me in the right direction.
Belt/Conveyor:
I was thinking along the same lines as you. Placing a belt/conveyor under the print head would allow me to run the machine in a production operation. There are examples on YouTube of this already with delta robots.
With a belt/conveyor you can dump the parts into a bin when the printing operation has completed. You can run 24/7 3D printing! It's on my bucket wish list :) I am also interested in open-CAM and 3d printing solutions.
I think a simple cable to move the table between two print heads would work fine. Camera dolly's are a good example of a simple long linear solution. The other day I found 3 inch plastic pulleys for clothes lines at Home Depot for cheap, they would work for the cabling (but they need bearings). Again on YouTube there are examples of cable/trolley robots suspended from cables performing fairly accurate work in free space.
Robot arms:
The power of the block and tackle, stepper motor combination, affords you many material choices to construct the arms from. Nichloas drive gear demo is very impressive, looks to be a lot of execess torque available. Look at truss, and crane boom designs for ideas that are light and ridged.
In addition use a larger stepper motor (more power!), I'm looking at NEMA 23 even for the small one that I'm building. But I'm undecided, I might have to buy two sets of motors NEMA 17, and NEMA 23. Note: there are differences within a motor series. Pay attention to the torque, and amp ratings of the stepper motor. ... and make sure that the microcontroller, and accessories support a NEMA 23 stepper motor (amp, volt).
A2