Machsupport Forum
Mach Discussion => General Mach Discussion => Topic started by: garyhlucas on March 16, 2014, 09:31:14 PM
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I have just about got the extruder installed and wired, and the heated bed is working, almost. The bed controller melted down due to a cheap under rated connector, and the extruder stepper motor is bad, another motor runs just fine on the drive. I realized the QuBd extruder I bought was a really poor design and had to redesign it before I even mounted it. So I am ready to finish up configuring it, and I have questions about what others have Mach 3 controlling and how that works out. Anybody got a Mach 3 printer running?
Thanks,
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You will notice most things in the 3D printer world will need or you will desire improving on them immediately.
Though I am not active with my printers at the moment. What Mach related questions do you have? I have run it successfully in the past.
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I did try it by mounting a 3d head on my CNC plasma table, but again the print head was junk so i gave up and bought a RepRapPro Ormerod printer instead to play around with, good little machine.
Mach3 behaved perfectly though, using Slic3r to create the code.
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I like the technology and the performance of the printer but not the strength of the finished part. Thought to which way the loads will be applied is key to creating a good part. Of course that is the case in all design but I have a tendency for overkill if in metal. I havent tried the acetone vapor baths. It is all there if I need it though.
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My daughter and I are in the middle of designing and building a Delta 3D printer.
I hadn't realised that Mach3 would be suitable for 3D printers.
I have Mach3 running my cnc router and I'm confident in working with it. Could we set up another profile for a printer and run it from the same PC?
I'm open to any help or suggestions on how to do it using Mach, if anyone one wants to share their stories. :)
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ozy, yes that is exactly how I did it. A little editing on the codes for the start and ending in regards to turning on heaters and dwelling long enough to come up to temperature and the like. Also might have had to edit using either A or E as the extruder IIRC though Slic3r or similar software has that as a variable now.
You might want to download Slic3r and see how it works with Mach. Or its available settings. It just generates code but you can make changes in its outputs.
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Ozy,
It won't work with Mach 3. You are building a delta, three axis in a triagular configuration which to to produce a straight line must move all three axis simultaneously. The kinematics of that kind of motion are not part of Mach 3.
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I totally missed the delta aspect.
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Ozy,
It won't work with Mach 3. You are building a delta, three axis in a triagular configuration which to to produce a straight line must move all three axis simultaneously. The kinematics of that kind of motion are not part of Mach 3.
Even though I'm disappointed that Mach3 isn't suitable, I'm glad that I now know for sure.
Thanks.
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Even though I'm disappointed that Mach3 isn't suitable, I'm glad that I now know for sure.
Is there some particular reason you prefer the "delta" (inverse kinematics) design to the cartesian? Just interested in the design choice.
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Even though I'm disappointed that Mach3 isn't suitable, I'm glad that I now know for sure.
Is there some particular reason you prefer the "delta" (inverse kinematics) design to the cartesian? Just interested in the design choice.
I guess the main reason was predominately based on the build materials that we had at hand.
The Delta platform allows for a taller build of objects and when we first saw a video of a working Delta, it just seemed a much more elegant design. It will be a nice challenge as I've already successfully built a cnc router which is a standard X,Y,Z,A platform.
Another reason that I liked, was the fact that all 3 of the axis motors have to deal with the same forces, as opposed to a cartesian design where one motor has to deal with the weight of the whole gantry and the other motors have lesser weights etc.
And the last reason is that Delta's look much cooler and are a little different.
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Fair enough - should be fun. You probably know this already but LinuxCNC may be an option for you then.
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I have a cartesian machine in the form of a cnc mill with extruder head. The delta style in theory can provide greater accuracy at higher speeds for printing. I am building a large one with a friend and we will see if that holds true as they get bigger. This one will have a circular work envelope 22" in diameter and 25" tall. Also it is somewhat easier to have a heated build chamber as the motors can be below the chamber and not heated by it.