Finally got round to summarising my build. Pretty happy with how things turned out in the end, just need to fine tune for bridging etc, but should probably get a bed fan to get that done properly.
Parts sourcing:
Aliexpress:
5x NEMA 17 motors
PCB heated bed
Linear guide rails. Note that the rods for the y-axis are longer than specified on the reprap wiki, so cut your threaded rod accordingly (got caught out but made it work in the end)
20x LM8UU bearings. At least I have spares :P
1x Hobbed bolt
Mechanical Endstops + wires
GT2 belt and pulleys
RAMPS 1.4 + MEGA 2560 clone + 5x A4988 steppers + 5x heatsink. Figured out I needed a CH461G driver to get the MEGA working. Just google it.
10x 100K thermistors
Motor/ Endstop/ Thermistor wires. Found this to be rather useful if you dont want to go the way of soldering your own Dupont connectors
Kapton tape
2x 12V, 40mm fans
Replikeo.com: Printed parts (i3 rework)
Hotends.com: 3mm/ 0.4mm nozzle
Coastal Fasteners: Nuts, bolts, washers, threaded rod, C510 springs.
Bunnings:
25mm screws
M3 50mm spring toggle (4x, though you only need 2)
Zip ties
Got my glass from Kelly Glass and Mirror ($10 for one piece, or $16 for 2), but found out after that Affordable Glass in Island bay do it for $5 per piece. A friend cut the frame in 17mm plywood, and the bed in 12mm ply. A colleague gave me a 500W ATX PSU.
The actual build took me a day and a half, or so. I followed a couple of different website: Official i3 Rework page, and This i3 build log- I believe Zerker also posted about it.
A few things I found out:
Its probably better to cut your threaded rod after you get the other parts :P I realised this after putting together the y-carriage and finding out the linear rods were longer than expected. Also could have cut the m5 threaded rod for the z-axis a good 50-80mm longer, and got more build volume. I had cut them to the specified lengths in the wiki page. If this causes hassles later I can always get some more rod, but for now it shouldnt affect me too much.
The plastic parts from Replikeo are for the single plate version, If you are building the box-frame version like I am, you need to get extra parts printed to hold the LM8UU bearings on the bed and to hold the y-carriage to the base of the boxframe. Waitaki printed the bearing brackets for me, and I made a plan with some wire that secured the y-carriage well enough to get things started, then printed some brackets myself to keep things permanently fixed.
The box frame also reduced the distance the bed can travel in the y-direction, due to the offset of the y-carriage clamping points compared to a single plate version. To overcome this I had to off-set my bearing mounts (so half of my bed is unsupported), and extend the end-stop holder for the y-axis with part of an ice-cream lid. I will probably cut a slot in the bed at a later date to counter this. The easiest solution would be to make the bottom piece of the box-frame thinner to reduce the offset of the y-carriage, but I dont have the right tools to do this neatly.
3mm tubing works nicely as z-axis couplers- with the aid of some boiling water. I actually got some from a rexona deo can I had cut up for the aluminium shell :P works a charm.
Next things to print are a mounting for the RAMPS fan and holder for the PLA reel. I temporarily drilled a hole in the corner and stuck a threaded rod through, still undecided if I will make that a permanent arrangement or not.
Let me know if there is anything else you want to know. See attached pics for a better idea of what I did
Parts sourcing:
Aliexpress:
5x NEMA 17 motors
PCB heated bed
Linear guide rails. Note that the rods for the y-axis are longer than specified on the reprap wiki, so cut your threaded rod accordingly (got caught out but made it work in the end)
20x LM8UU bearings. At least I have spares :P
1x Hobbed bolt
Mechanical Endstops + wires
GT2 belt and pulleys
RAMPS 1.4 + MEGA 2560 clone + 5x A4988 steppers + 5x heatsink. Figured out I needed a CH461G driver to get the MEGA working. Just google it.
10x 100K thermistors
Motor/ Endstop/ Thermistor wires. Found this to be rather useful if you dont want to go the way of soldering your own Dupont connectors
Kapton tape
2x 12V, 40mm fans
Replikeo.com: Printed parts (i3 rework)
Hotends.com: 3mm/ 0.4mm nozzle
Coastal Fasteners: Nuts, bolts, washers, threaded rod, C510 springs.
Bunnings:
25mm screws
M3 50mm spring toggle (4x, though you only need 2)
Zip ties
Got my glass from Kelly Glass and Mirror ($10 for one piece, or $16 for 2), but found out after that Affordable Glass in Island bay do it for $5 per piece. A friend cut the frame in 17mm plywood, and the bed in 12mm ply. A colleague gave me a 500W ATX PSU.
The actual build took me a day and a half, or so. I followed a couple of different website: Official i3 Rework page, and This i3 build log- I believe Zerker also posted about it.
A few things I found out:
Its probably better to cut your threaded rod after you get the other parts :P I realised this after putting together the y-carriage and finding out the linear rods were longer than expected. Also could have cut the m5 threaded rod for the z-axis a good 50-80mm longer, and got more build volume. I had cut them to the specified lengths in the wiki page. If this causes hassles later I can always get some more rod, but for now it shouldnt affect me too much.
The plastic parts from Replikeo are for the single plate version, If you are building the box-frame version like I am, you need to get extra parts printed to hold the LM8UU bearings on the bed and to hold the y-carriage to the base of the boxframe. Waitaki printed the bearing brackets for me, and I made a plan with some wire that secured the y-carriage well enough to get things started, then printed some brackets myself to keep things permanently fixed.
The box frame also reduced the distance the bed can travel in the y-direction, due to the offset of the y-carriage clamping points compared to a single plate version. To overcome this I had to off-set my bearing mounts (so half of my bed is unsupported), and extend the end-stop holder for the y-axis with part of an ice-cream lid. I will probably cut a slot in the bed at a later date to counter this. The easiest solution would be to make the bottom piece of the box-frame thinner to reduce the offset of the y-carriage, but I dont have the right tools to do this neatly.
3mm tubing works nicely as z-axis couplers- with the aid of some boiling water. I actually got some from a rexona deo can I had cut up for the aluminium shell :P works a charm.
Next things to print are a mounting for the RAMPS fan and holder for the PLA reel. I temporarily drilled a hole in the corner and stuck a threaded rod through, still undecided if I will make that a permanent arrangement or not.
Let me know if there is anything else you want to know. See attached pics for a better idea of what I did