[5artist5]

I know people have done it, but people do all sorts of uphill battle type things.
My question is, "Is it worth it to try to add a 3d print head to my Taig, or is it better to build a dedicated 3D printer?

More specifically, what are the downsides of using a taig with a g540 rather than a dedicated 3d printer?

And maybe most importantly should I be talked out of this?

[awerby]

The Taig should work for this. It might not be as fast as a machine built for that purpose, with coarser screws, but it should get the job done eventually if the parts you want to build fit in its work envelope. Either make a mount for the "hot end" extruder head that fits the dovetail that the spindle mounts to, or use the little T-slots on the headstock to mount it outboard. There's already a thread here about using Mach3 to drive filament printers, so that's been done. Write back if you do this - I'd like to hear how it worked out...

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

[dick cnc]

Contrary to belief you can get good results with heavier mass the thing is you're going to need ballscrews that have at least .600 per revolution to get good speed and acceleration and you going to have to increase motor size my ballscrews 5/8 per revolution but changing screws and motors and possibly drivers seems easier than building a whole new machine I built a new machine because I needed larger build area