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mhackney's 3D Printers
I'm back from my ski trip and ready to get building my SeeMeCNC H-1 3D Printer kit. I ordered the complete kit and it arrived a week ago Saturday. I had just enough time to peek in the box. It was well packed and shipped - stuffed with peanuts.
In addition to the printer - which comes with a parallel board and cable to run from Mach3 and a PC - I wanted to learn about the Arduino platform so I ordered a Generation 6 board (from MakerFarm). In addition to supporting open source software to control the printer, it also supports Windows, Linux and Mac OSX. I plan to run from OSX in my office since my shop is all PCs running Mach but I can do that too with the included hardware. Once I have things going, I can decided what direction is best for me.
In addition to the information SeeMeCNC makes available on their web site, they have a lot of other info, STL files, etc on their alternative site SeeMeCNC.org and a related Yahoo group and there will probably be a few of us here building these as well (I know Hoss has a kit too). I talked to Steve and John at SeeMeCNC several times and they are very enthusiastic and helpful. I offered to help write their Assembly Manual for the H-1 so I'll be working on that in parallel to my build.
Here's what came in the box (everything except an ATX power supply is shown, I had the power supply connected to my Gen6 board and didn't want to take it apart to photograph):
http://mhackney.zenfolio.com/img/s11...81813092-3.jpg
and a closeup of the contents of the hardware package:
http://mhackney.zenfolio.com/img/s10...98380512-3.jpg
and some of the injection molded parts:
http://mhackney.zenfolio.com/img/s3/...61336215-3.jpg
You can see that I've started some assembly in the photograph. More later...
cheers,
Michael
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this one is smaller than the prusa right?
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That is correct. It's a puppy but a decent size to start.
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you're going to enjoy it, I built my makerbot and had a good time.
once you get assembled the real work begins :drowning:
getting everything tuned and working smooth takes a bit of effort but once it's there you can print about anything you can imagine, lots of fun.
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I'm looking forward to it. I had been following RepRap for a few years but never got motivated to build one. I used a high end 3D printer back in the day (1990s) to prototype turbine rotors for automotive turbine engines. It was very cool but cost about a million bucks! I bet this little guy could produce a very close proximity to what we were able to get from that machine - at least for the smaller parts.
cheers,
Michael
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Front and Rear Base Frame sub-assemblies complete.
http://mhackney.zenfolio.com/img/s3/...40659285-3.jpg
The next step is the Z axis base sub-assembly and then these all go together to make the completed base. Things move along pretty quickly but you need to keep the parts organized! I'm using those black plastic microwave dinner trays with 2 to 4 compartments to keep screws, etc in. It's helping a lot. As I write the assembly manual, I am making a master parts list to include in the document. I'm very happy with the quality of the moldings and other parts, this is a nice kit.
cheers,
Michael
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Cool, I'll just wait for your instructions, looked like a lot more pieces in the box than the prusa.
Hoss
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There are a LOT of parts! Many of them are identical. Pretty clever how they design these so that a single part is used in multiple ways. That way, if you are printing a machine, you only need to optimize a few parts and then make a lot of them.
cheers,
Michael
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Thank you in advance. My kit just got here and I'm sure I will be making use of the information I can gather from your progress.
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and here is the Z Axis Base Sub-assembly:
http://mhackney.zenfolio.com/img/s3/...94985774-3.jpg
Next step is to put these 3 sub-assemblies together and adjust them. The threaded rod uprights with the bends on each end (4 of them) came pre-bent in my kit. I talked to John and that is how all kits are shipping. So, that eliminates a troublesome operation for some. They may need a little tweaking but the bends look good.
cheers,
Michael
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I've just got to mount the timing belts to complete the mechanical portion of the build.
The one thing that caught me out was during the extruder assembly, you MUST seat the bearings as deep as possible in the pockets of the plastic gears.
If you don't the gears ride on each others faces, and either you can't turn the mechanism or the pinch roller doesn't turn.
The other thing I'd recommend is the diagram for the Z lead screws shows a locknut above the Base, I'd just go buy 2 1/4-20 nuts and use those instead (this is what's shown on the yahoo group), getting that lock nut in that location is a pain in the ass.
As far as I can tell my Kit was missing one 1/4-20 nut and one 10-32 nyloc nuts.
I think design wise there are a number of clever thing in there, but the part count is certainly daunting when you first start. Luckily it reduces pretty quickly.
I probably won't get the electronics wired this week, and I'm out of town again next week, so I'll probably see yours run before I finish mine. Looking forwards to it.
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Here is the completed and adjusted base assembly:
http://mhackney.zenfolio.com/img/s11...80534361-3.jpg
Next steps are the bearing sub assemblies and stepper motor mounting. I upgraded to the steel bearings and just completed assembling 32 of them on their dowel pin/axels. That was a little tricky but I came up with a workable technique I'm adding to the manual. Basically, use 400 grit and sand a little taper on one end of the plastic dowel pin, add a little machine oil and then slide on a washer, bearing and the other washer. Works pretty well.
cheers,
Michael
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I built the bearing sub assemblies first don't forget to put the bearings on the axis rails before attaching them to things, this caught me out at least once and I hate taking things apart again.
I'm still using the plastic bearings, I wanted to see how the stock machine performed before upgrading. You can feel the out of round in the plastic bearings when you slide the table or the printhead, so I suspect I'll be upgrading fairly soon after I get it running.
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I know what you mean about taking things apart! I've had to do that several times so far. But, that's good for writing the manual, I go back and add the missing steps in as I go.
I just completed the Y Bearing Blocks. The adjustment mechanism is very simple and clever.
http://mhackney.zenfolio.com/img/s1/...46158407-3.jpg
Each of the two screws on the edge engage a captive nut inside the bearing block. As you screw them in, their end pushes against the plastic axel/dowel pin of a bearing assembly, pushing it in. Simple and effective.
cheers,
Michael
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Here are all of the bearing blocks assembled and ready to go:
http://mhackney.zenfolio.com/img/s3/...98859034-3.jpg
That big pile of parts has dwindled away to almost nothing now! The hard part is next, putting this all together.
cheers,
Michael
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The blocks with the 3 and 2 rollers combined, you'll want to reverse the screws on one of them. I know it doesn't state this in the assembly instructions, but the ends of the screws interfere with the hot end when you bolt on the head.
I assembled mine like yours and ended up having to swap two screws around to clear the hot end. Though thinking about it, I guess I could just have reversed one of them on the rails. and had 3/2 on each rail.
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What tools (if any) are you using to do the assembly?
Philips and flat-blade screwdrivers? A wrench or two? A sledgehammer?
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you need a phillips screw driver a 1/4 inch wrench a 3/8 wrench and ideally 2 7/16ths wrenches (though I used one and an adjustable wrench).
You also need a 5/32 drill and a set of imperial allen keys (can't remember the exact sizes used).
having an electric screw driver will save you from a couple of blisters.
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So far,
- 1/4", 3/8", two 7/16" wrenches
- 3/16", 3/32" Allen wrench
- needle nose pliers
- hobby knife
- #2 Phillips screwdriver
- electric drill with 1/8", 5/32", and 1/4" bits
- 15" ruler (need to measure 12-1/8")
I am almost done with the mechanicals so this is pretty much the tool list for that. Electronics will require a soldering iron, wire cutter/stripper.
cheers,
Michael
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Coming along nicely:
http://mhackney.zenfolio.com/img/s11...80397731-3.jpg
Y Table mounted and smooth as silk. X carriage mounted and smooth as silk. Y and Z steppers mounted.
I'm at the stage now where I'm not sure if I should adjust and square what I have before proceeding or get it all together "sloppy" and then adjust and square. I'll ask the guys at SeeMeCNC for recommendations on what's the best approach.
cheers,
Michael