Conrad Electronic UK
Europe's leading electronic specialists now in the UK

Well I decided that whilst fine control over the Z axis start position is best controlled in software a handle would be a useful addition. So here is my solution. I made one for myselff as a prototype and improved upon it for one promised to a fellow Sumpod builder.

Here is a short video and a couple of photo's. I decided to remove a little more from the barrel just to make sure it didn't foul the Z (top) axis. Let me know what you think. From my initial trial its going to be very useful.

Conrad Electronic UK
Europe's leading electronic specialists now in the UK

Richard was asked on his forum if he would release the dxf files for both the holders and base plate. Which he did and I thought I would try and reverse engineer the dxf file back to a 3d file in Alibre.

Here is the image.

dremel sumpod holder

Conrad Electronic UK
Europe's leading electronic specialists now in the UK

Today I managed to get the printer running with all axis working as per Richards, x,y and z designations. I also got it to home on the Z and Y axis but the X cannot be achieved because I believe Richard has put his limit switch in a different place. Mine is at the back left hand side. Any change to the limit switch position only looses control over an axis so I am going to try and change it in Arduino (and there it becomes another 'challenge').

I decided to try operating the machine (without printing filament - one step at a time!) and see if it would 'ghost' print. I loaded the calibration cube from Thingiverse and was pleasantly surprised to see it working away! Albeit not in the correct position or close to the nozzle (which was exactly what I wanted) but I left it running for over 20 minutes and could see at least what it was meant to be doing and that was a major advance.

Conrad Electronic UK
Europe's leading electronic specialists now in the UK

Here is a brief video of my trial today of the 'new' hot end. This was done as a result of a telephone conversation with Richard after my latest post saying the temperature stays at 200 degrees without the fan.

Richard explained that the fan was needed so the filament above the nozzle was cool enough to help push the melting filament at the nozzle end out. Seems logical now! I was worried that I had wired it up wrong but in the end it was down to RepSnapper and the fact that you have to engage both the fan button and also the slier control. Varying the voltage varies the speed of the fan and thereby the temperatures.

Conrad Electronic UK
Europe's leading electronic specialists now in the UK

Well I spent the morning making the stainless steel hot end redesign matching the prototype I made for Richard. With the 16mm stainless steel bar it was less effort than the prototype that had to be reduced for a 2" diameter bar.

Once the part was completed (see photo) a start was made on assembling the hot end but that won't be completed until tomorrow at the earliest, and then we'll see if it prints!

Here though are the pictures or the build.

Well I have completed the building element of the SUMPOD and after a little bit of 'fiddling' I have managed to get all the 3 main axis to move in bot directions. As a bit of fun I added a roller ball insert and made it draw its first lines! This was not under the control of a sophisticated file or drawing, rather freehand use of the stepper controls found in the Repsnapper program.

I am not out of the woods yet, because I cannot connect it to the Replicator G program so can't utilise it for the dremel yet, but at least its working 'in principle' and that is not where I started from this morning. I will post a more comprehensive description of the process later but for now I can tell you it all revolved around the limit stops. They are counter intuitive (well for me they are) in their effects because I could only get one axis to work in both directions to begin with, In the end it was finding the correct position and orientation of the 3 limit stop wires that got everything working correctly.

After getting the electronics working 90%, i.e. the stepper motors for the x and y are working both ways, the Z just one at the moment and the E0 or stepper for the filament, working one way. The LCD is also working along with one limit switch. So it was on the advice of Richard (Sumpod) that starting the build may resolve some of the issues as the steppers do need to 'home' hence the build.

There are a few issues I want to highlight as final assembly starts. These may be fixes that do no need to be done because I have misread the build, or they may be issues that others have reported  and I have taken another route.