Today I managed to complete the kitchen I have been building for my 2 year (well on the 5th December) granddaughter,Freya. So I set up an area in the workshop to start building the SUMPOD 3D printer.
My approach is going to be a pre-build, before painting and I will be making a list of ‘experiences’ especially if linked to those of others.
The first task I undertook was to clean up the MDF parts as supplied by Richard of SUMPOD. Now do not take this as a criticism of the kit, far from it. The complexity of the cnc cutting is a testament to Richards design. There are a few areas to ‘clean up’ for which I used my Black and Decker Mouse sander with its extension nose, and my Dremel 4000 (bought to be used in the 3D printer). This was done outside because of the dust! Even though it was chilly.
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- Cleaning the bars of adhesive using cellulose thinners
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- The adhesive that needs cleaning off
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- Two bars have ‘high spots’
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- Nylon threaded ‘nut’ in place
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- Using two bars to ensure alignment of linear bearings
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- The slots aid alignement and easily adjusted
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- Tighten the inside bolts just ahead of the outside ones to prevent bowing
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- The parts clamped together
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- The Y/Z framework constituent parts
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- Y/Z fixture takes shape
I then relocated to the warmer workshop and set up a temporary build bench. I started with the Y/Z axis. Richard shows his approach in the SUMPOD Y/Z assembly instructions and I would just add that I used 2 bars through the linear bearings to ensure that they were in line when tightening up the bolts. Also it I tightened up the inside bolts first before those outside to ensure I did not ‘bend’ the MDF. Its a case of a little on each nut at a time.
The steel bars were held together with tape which I cleaned off with thinners. I then checked the bars with a linear bearing as one builder found his to ‘stick’ in places. Of the 6 bars I have, 2 have some areas where they offer some resistance (although Richard has said the motors have more than enough power to operate correctly) and since my main hobby is model engineering, I will clean up the 2 bars in my lathe. I am not sure this is really necessary but since I have the facilities, its no problem.
Secondly, the captive nuts have a slot in the top which helps you align the entrance to the threads. I used a rubber hammer to tap them into position before aligning them for later use. The photo’s show the process better than my words.
Tomorrow (after the Hospital appointment) I hope to make more progress so look back and check my progress.
Fab write up looking forward to reading more.